Rich County commissioners adopt wildfire interface map, OK asphalt plant and declare drought emergency

Rich County commissioners on Monday moved to adopt a wildland-urban interface map required by recent state legislation and signed a cooperative agreement with the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, officials said.

The commission accepted the map and the cooperative agreement after a presentation by Travis Saab, Rich County fire warden, who said the draft map uses roads, irrigation boundaries and topography to identify higher-risk areas. "If there's sagebrush that's standing more than a couple feet tall, it pretty much bumps it into" a higher-risk category, Saab told commissioners, noting the state code changes and a 2027 update to the model WUI standard.

Why it matters: The WUI map sets where the county may enforce WUI code and triggers related steps the legislature requires — adopting a local ordinance, signing a cooperative agreement and completing an interface agreement that determines who performs high-risk structure assessments. Saab and county attorney Ben Willoughby told the commission the county can edit the map later if property owners petition; several commissioners raised concerns about local capacity to perform the large number of initial inspections.

"I don't think Rich County has the staff to take on something like that," Saab said, adding that many of the initial high-risk assessments might be better handled by the state. Commissioners voted to sign the cooperative agreement and to adopt the resolution attaching the WUI map. They also agreed the state should handle broad owner notifications initially; the county will provide the map and coordinate with the state on outreach.

Votes at a glance: The meeting recorded multiple unanimous actions. The commission voted to: sign the cooperative agreement with the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands (motion carried), adopt the resolution approving the WUI map and agreements (motion carried), adopt a campaign-finance disclosure ordinance to implement state reporting defaults (motion carried), amend the land-use table to permit asphalt production as a conditional use at an existing quarry (motion carried), adopt a resolution declaring a county drought emergency under Utah Code 17-78-307 (motion carried), and approve the presented personal-property tax exemptions (motion carried). Ordinance and resolution identifiers were discussed in the meeting record but were not consistently recorded in a single line item in the transcript and are noted in county records as appropriate.

Asphalt plant approved: Staker Parson Companies representatives described plans for a hot-mix asphalt plant adjacent to their existing quarry and ready-mix operations. Jake Goodlove said the facility would primarily produce asphalt for local paving jobs and estimated "about 3, 3 or 4 more" local jobs. Company representatives said emissions would be controlled by a baghouse and that what comes from the stack is mostly steam from drying aggregate. Commissioners asked about road wear from heavy trucks; company reps and staff discussed repair and mitigation.

Woodruff watershed and next steps: The commission also spent substantial time on a proposed Woodruff Creek Watershed Plan and environmental assessment. Representatives from the irrigation company and related firms said NRCS requires a county sponsor on the watershed agreement; commissioners pressed for a memorandum of understanding to clarify that the county would not assume financial obligations and asked staff to schedule an additional public hearing to answer residents' questions before any binding commitments.

Drought declaration: The commission unanimously adopted an emergency drought resolution intended to allow access to low-interest loans, grants and other state and federal resources. Ben Willoughby told the board half the county is designated in severe drought and reservoirs were low in some areas; the declaration also enables applications for programs such as USDA and SBA drought-related assistance.

What comes next: Staff will transmit the signed cooperative agreement and the attached WUI map to state agencies, prepare the WUI ordinance for a future meeting, work with Staker Parson on conditional-use permit details and schedule the requested additional public hearing and a draft MOU for the Woodruff watershed item. The county will post adopted documents as appropriate and follow up with residents on timelines and next procedural steps.

Ending: The commission completed the day's agenda and adjourned the meeting.