THE STATE OF UTAH TO ALL PERSONS INTERESTED IN THE FOLLOWING MATTER (Docket No. 2020-019): NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Board of Oil, Gas and Mining (the “Board”), State of Utah, will conduct a hearing on Wednesday, August 26, 2020, at 10:00 a.m., or as soon thereafter as possible. The hearing will be conducted electronically as allowed by Utah Executive Order 2020-1 (the “Executive Order”). In the event that the Executive Order is lifted before the prescribed hearing date the meeting will be held in the auditorium of the Department of Natural Resources, 1594 West North Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah. The hearing will be streamed live on the Department of Natural Resources YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/Uz6CbgPbEbU. The hearing will be conducted as a formal administrative adjudication in accordance with the rules of the Board as set forth in Utah Administrative Code R641 et seq. and as provided for in Utah Code Ann. § 40-8-1 et seq. and Utah Code Ann. § 63G-4-101 through -601. DOCKET NO. 2020-019 CAUSE NO. S/057/0094: IN THE MATTER OF: The Notice of Agency Action by the Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining Seeking an Order: (1) Withdrawing the Notice of Intent to Commence Small Mining Operations for the REEF MINE, S/015/0094; (2) Forfeiting the remaining amount in the Reclamation Bond Provided by SOUTHWEST STONE INC. for the REEF MINE; and authorizing the Division to Use the Amount Forfeited to Reclaim the Surface of the REEF MINE, Located in Emery County in Township 20 S, Range 8 E in section 32 (3) Request the Attorney General recover the Division’s assessed penalties resulting from several violations. THE PURPOSE OF THE PROCEEDING will be for the Board to receive testimony and evidence regarding a Notice of Agency Action (“NOAA”) filed by Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining (“Division”), that the Board enter an order: 1. Withdrawing the Notice of Intent to Commence Small Mining Operations (“NOI”), under Utah Code Ann. § 40-8-16(2), for the Reef Mine, Permit No. S/057/0094 (the “Subject Mine”), located in Township 20 S, Range 8 E, Section 32, in Emery County, Utah; 2. Forfeiting, under Utah Code Ann. § 40-8-14, the balance of the bond for the benefit of the Division, and order Capital Community Bank to deliver the balance of account number ****5411 and Zion’s Bank to deliver the balance of account number ***1930, in the approximate amount of $47,700, together with any interest accrued, to the Division; and authorizing the Division to use the forfeited funds to complete reclamation of the Subject Mine as permitted by Utah Admin. Code R. 647-3-107, Utah Admin. Code R647-3-109, and Utah Admin. Code R647-9-112; 3. Authorizing the Attorney General to recover the delinquent penalties assessed from citation MC-2019-42-06 and Southwest Stone’s failure to abate the corresponding CO in the amount of $23,006. 4. Grant further relief that the Board deems just and proper. Objections to the NOAA must be filed with the Secretary of the Board at the address listed below no later than the 10th day of August, 2020. A party must file a timely written objection or other response in order to participate as a party at the Board hearing. Failure to participate can result in a default judgment. Natural persons may appear and represent themselves before the Board. All other representation of parties before the Board will be by attorneys licensed to practice law in the State of Utah, or attorneys licensed to practice law in another jurisdiction which meet the rules of the Utah State Bar for practicing law before the Utah Courts. Persons interested in this matter may participate pursuant to the procedural rules of the Board. The NOAA, and any subsequent pleadings, may be inspected at the office of the undersigned, and inspected online at the Utah Board of Oil, Gas and Mining’s website at https://ogm.utah.gov/amr/boardtemp/redesign/books.html. Pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, persons requiring auxiliary communicative aids and services to enable them to participate in this hearing should call Julie Ann Carter at (801) 538-5277, at least three working days prior to the hearing date. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ability of the virus to spread from person-to-person rapidly, Governor Gary Herbert has implemented numerous Executive Orders directed at controlling the spread of the virus by minimizing face-to-face interactions. Public gatherings are strongly discouraged by the CDC, State of Utah, and local health departments since they facilitate face-to-face contact and pose an elevated risk for virus transmission. The Division of Oil, Gas and Mining and the Board of Oil, Gas & Mining have determined, at the present time, that public gatherings at normally scheduled public meetings before the Board present substantial risks to the health and safety of those who attend. As such, as indicated above, the Board will conduct this public meeting using a fully electronic format. This meeting format is authorized by recent amendment to Utah Code Ann. § 52-4-207(4) and Governor Herbert’s May 18, 2020 Executive Order. The electronic format will be temporarily used in place of the in-person public meeting until the Board is otherwise directed it is safe to hold in-person public meetings. Anyone wishing to comment on the August public meeting’s agenda topics or who may wish to observe the public meeting may do so by logging on to the YouTube channel specified above.
DATED this 30th day of July, 2020.
STATE OF UTAH
BOARD OF OIL, GAS AND MINING
Chris D. Hansen, Chair Pro Tem
/s/Julie Ann Carter
Board Secretary
1594 West North Temple, Suite 1210
Salt Lake City, Utah 84116
(801) 538-5277
Published in the ETV Newspaper on August 5, 2020.