A company that wants to build a controversial quarry in Parleys Canyon asked the state for permission to alter a stream that provides water for Salt Lake City.
But last week, the state said it can’t approve the application — yet.
Granite Construction, based in California, wants to build a limestone quarry in Parleys Canyon called the I-80 South Quarry. To build it, the company says it needs to reroute and improve an access road in the canyon. Granite applied to the Utah Division of Water Rights in May, asking for permission to install a new culvert on a stream to accommodate the rerouted road.
But the company didn’t provide enough information about the new culvert, according to a letter last week from the Division of Water Rights, leading the division to keep Granite’s application in an “unapproved status.” The application could still be approved if Granite addresses the division’s concerns.
“Streams in the Wasatch Mountains should be protected, and we’re glad that the Division is upholding stream protections while not allowing landowners to alter streams that supply Salt Lake City’s water as they see fit,” said Spencer Shaver, executive director of the local nonprofit Save Our Canyons.
Granite says that its limestone quarry, if built, will provide aggregate materials for the Wasatch Front’s growing population.
But the mine has been met with mighty opposition from residents, local officials and nonprofits, who contend that the mine threatens air quality, water and wildlife. The Parleys Creek watershed provides about 20% of Salt Lake City’s water, according to the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands.
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