US Magnesium has been a significant presence on the southwest shore of Great Salt Lake in Tooele County since 1972. The facility harvests brine from the Lake to produce pure magnesium, alloy magnesium, magnesium chloride, lithium, and chlorine. As the largest domestic supplier of magnesium in the United States, US Magnesium is important to the defense, technology, and food industries.
In the 1990's, when known as Magcorp, the facility gained notoriety as the nation's worst air polluter for two consecutive years. This led to the formation of Citizens Against Chlorine Contamination (CACC), a coalition including FRIENDS of Great Salt Lake (FRIENDS), Sierra Club, and others. Following a federal lawsuit, Magcorp filed for bankruptcy protection, significantly reduced emissions and rebranded as US Magnesium in 2002.
The facility as viewed from across their evaporation ponds in Stansbury Bay. Image by Doug Tolman.
According to recent data, US Magnesium depletes a substantial amount of water through its evaporative processes, averaging about 43,800 acre-feet per year from 2017 to 2021. This makes it the second most consumptive water user on Great Salt Lake. This significant water use, primarily through evaporation ponds, has been a critical point of concern for FRIENDS, especially as water levels remain below the target healthy range of 4,198-4,205’ ASL as designated by the Great Salt Lake Commissioner’s Strategic Plan.
EPA Superfund Cleanup
Throughout the early 2000’s, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sought to list US Magnesium as a site of National Priority - commonly referred to as a Superfund site. US Magnesium sued to prevent being added to the National Priority List (NPL), with the district court ruling in their favor. The EPA appealed the case to the 10th district court of appeals, who then ruled in favor of the EPA. In Fall 2009, the EPA, supported by the Utah Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), listed the US Magnesium facility and its surrounding waste disposal areas as a national priority for cleanup. This opened up additional resources, processes, and community involvement opportunities to clean-up the site. Given the site's proximity to Great Salt Lake, FRIENDS has closely followed developments in the Superfund process, including taking the initiative to apply for and be awarded a Technical Assistance Grant (TAG) from EPA. With theTAG, FRIENDS hired a Technical Advisor to advise us on the sufficiency of the cleanup effort and to assist in communicating the technical aspects of the cleanup to our community and stakeholders. This role helps facilitate community participation in the decision-making process. The cleanup addresses various environmental concerns, including potential water contamination, soil and sediment pollution, air quality issues, wildlife impacts, and worker health risks. As part of the information obtained during the TAG process, it became clear to FRIENDS that there was a significant hazardous groundwater plume beneath the company’s unlined wastewater ponds from illegal discharges to groundwater by US Magnesium. Based on this information, FRIENDS pressured DEQ to require US Magnesium to obtain a groundwater discharge permit and address the problem. As a result, US Magnesium was issued a notice of violation and is being required to construct a containment system to limit groundwater contamination into Great Salt Lake. The proposed system consists of an underground barrier wall measuring approximately 5 miles in length and 40 feet in depth, connected to the Bonneville clay layer believed to underlie the entire site. Though the concept for this barrier was submitted to the EPA in 2015, as of September 2024, construction of the barrier wall has not yet begun. This containment system is a crucial component of both US Magnesium's groundwater discharge permit and their settlement with the EPA regarding Superfund site cleanup.
Canal Extension Permit Denial
In 2022, US Magnesium proposed a controversial project to dredge and extend its intake canals by 3.7 miles into Great Salt Lake. This would have allowed the company to pump up to 100,000 gallons of water per minute from the receding Lake. FRIENDS took the lead in raising awareness about this proposal and its potential environmental impacts with both the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and DEQ. As a result, DEQ received over 800 public comments in opposition to the project, overwhelming their capacity to respond in a timely manner. Our efforts, along with those of other environmental groups and concerned citizens, contributed to both USACE and DEQ's decision to deny US Magnesium's permit application. Among other things, the agency cited insufficient information about potential impacts on water quality as the reason for the denial.US Magnesium plant with overlays of the denied canal extension and future barrier wall. Image by Doug Tolman.
Continuing Discussion
The history and impacts of the US Magnesium facility are long and seemingly endless. For years, the various entities who own and manage this site have stepped in the way of efforts to mitigate their impacts to air quality, water quality, and the health of Great Salt Lake. In Fall 2024, US Magnesium has idled a majority of operations, laying off over 100 employees. Shortly after, the State mandated a neutral party to run the company as a measure to "eliminate and remedy US Mag’s noncompliance with Utah’s environmental protection laws". This measure will hopefully speed up the barrier wall construction and other clean-up measures. Though the future of this facility is uncertain, FRIENDS remains committed to closely monitoring US Magnesium's activities and advocating for responsible practices that don’t further harm the Great Salt Lake ecosystem.