Tooele County approves staterequest to defer taxes on former US Magnesium parcel

The Tooele County Commission voted unanimously to approve a state application to defer payment of disputed property taxes on the former US Magnesium parcel, county staff said.

County staff member Nathan Harris told commissioners the application asks the county to defer "any and all tax liability assessed against the US Magnesium property that they purchased," noting the state purchased the site in February 2026 after winning the bankruptcy sale. Harris said the state's submission lists a disputed 2025 property value of "approximately 44.6 million" and a disputed total of "8.19 million dollars" in delinquent taxes, interest and penalties, and that the county treasurer reviewed the request and determined it met statutory requirements for a deferral application.

The move follows a written public comment from Tooele County Auditor Allison McCoy asking that "any deferral request be properly submitted, reviewed, and consideration through the county's established process," and urging care so that another exception is not created for commercial parcels that previously received unique treatment. McCoy's comment also noted county bankruptcy counsel had advised caution and recommended protecting the county's secured legal position in the US Magnesium bankruptcy case.

Harris described background to the application: the bankruptcy purchaser (the state) paid about $30 million for the property after earlier legislative allocations had been higher. He said the bankruptcy court order allowed the purchaser to challenge the amount, validity or priority of property tax liens locally, and that a related appeal of the property's 2025 valuation remains pending before the Utah State Tax Commission.

Commissioners pressed staff on unresolved questions, including whether mineral and water rights run with the parcel and who ultimately bears cleanup liability. Harris and Auditor McCoy acknowledged those ownership issues remain unclear; Harris said the attorney general's office provided an estimate that cleanup costs could range widely and had offered an upper estimate of about $500 million, which Harris said would likely require litigation to resolve if the county assumed ownership and responsibility.

Councilman Wardle moved to approve the state's tax-deferral application for the Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands parcel formerly identified as the US Magnesium site; Councilman Strongberg seconded the motion and the commission approved it by a unanimous voice vote. The chair then adjourned the meeting.

The approval defers collection while county and state officials continue settlement talks and while the property's valuation and related appeals proceed. Commissioners and staff said any final allocation of tax liability, or any county assumption of cleanup duty, would require further legal resolution and potentially legislative action.