Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Environment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Rio Tinto Kennecott outlines tailings work, Southeast containment wall and planned power-plant demolition
Summary
Rio Tinto Kennecott updated the council on tailings management and dust mitigation, described a proposed southeast containment wall roughly 12–14 feet tall and 3,000 feet long pending approval, and said demolition of the retired coal-fired Utah Power Plant will begin mid-June and continue through 2026.
Rio Tinto Kennecott representatives presented a multi-part update on mine operations, tailings management and community-response efforts during the Magna City Council meeting.
Sean Daly and Eric Franco described dust-mitigation tactics including vegetation, polymer applications, sprinklers, magnesium-chloride treatments, water trucks and predictive weather modeling. The company noted complaint-tracking and monitoring systems and encouraged residents to use its Local Voices survey.
Kennecott staff discussed seismic-risk studies and a proposed southeast containment wall: company materials described a wall approximately "12-14’ feet tall x 8-10’ wide x 3,000’ long" intended to contain material on RTK property in the event of a seismic failure. The firm also outlined an East Tailings Expansion (ETE) early-works schedule with clearing and partial canal construction in 2026, full construction in 2027 and operation in 2028, and said UDOT is completing a traffic study to inform lane and traffic-control plans on SR-201.
Michael Richards described plans to demolish remaining structures at the retired Utah Power Plant beginning mid-June and continuing through 2026, with weekday daytime work and a transportation plan to limit vehicle traffic through Magna. Company representatives provided prior complaint counts: 12 in 2024, 18 in 2025 and six year-to-date in 2026, primarily for dust and contractor driving concerns.
