Division to Oversee Critical Infrastructure and Mining Study

During the 2024 legislative session, House Bill 502 was passed, directing the Division of Oil, Gas and Mining to study critical infrastructure materials operations and related mining to understand Utah's current and future needs better. Critical infrastructure materials are sand, gravel, or rock aggregate, and operations are the extraction, excavation, processing, or reprocessing of those materials.

The study focuses on three different groups of Utah counties that are classified based on population: 

Class one: Over 1,000,000 (Salt Lake County)

Class two: 175,000-999,999 (Cache, Weber, Davis, Utah, Washington counties)

Class three: 40,000-174,999 (Box Elder, Tooele, Summit, Uintah, Iron counties)

Due to the time demand on staff and the November deadline, the decision was made to hire a third-party consultant with specialized expertise and skills to conduct the study.

Timeline: 

  • March 2024 HB 502 language finalized by Utah legislature
  • 05/01/2024 Funds received to initiate study
  • 05/16/2024 Bidding opened for consultants 
  • 05/30/2024 Bidding closed - two bids received 
  • 06/19/2024 Contract awarded to Stantec
  • July 2024 Planning meeting held with Stantec and first stakeholder group to begin communications plan recommended in the bill. 
  • July, Aug., Sept. 2024 Additional stakeholder meetings were held with the following: 
DateTimeMeeting
06/19/202411:00 a.m.Critical Infrastructure Materials Industry and Related Mining Industry
07/30/20242:00 p.m.HB-502 Utah Critical Infrastructure Materials Study Information Meeting-all parties invited
08/01/20242:00 p.m.HB-502 Utah Critical Infrastructure Materials Study Information Meeting-all parties invited
08/13/20242:00 p.m.Cache County and Local Municipalities
08/14/20249:00 a.m. Iron County and Local Municipalities
08/15/20249:00 a.m.Summit County and Local Municipalities
08/20/20242:00 p.m. Tooele County and Local Municipalities
08/21/20249:00 a.m.Utah County and Local Municipalities
08/21/202411:00 a.m.Critical Infrastructure Materials Industry and Related Mining Industry
08/21/20242:00 p.m.Washington County and Local Municipalities
08/21/20243:30 p.m.Salt Lake County and Local Municipalities
08/22/20249:00 a.m.Box Elder County and Local Municipalities
08/22/20242:00 p.m.Weber County and Local Municipalities
08/27/20249:00 a.m.Davis County and Local Municipalities
08/27/20242:00 p.m. Uintah County and Local Municipalities
08/28/202410:00 a.m.Utah League of Cities and Towns
8/29/202410:00 a.m.Utah Tax Commission
9/10/20243:00 p.m.Utah Department of Transportation
9/11/202410:00 a.m.Washington County and Local Municipalities
9/11/20241:00 p.m.Wasatch Front Regional Council
9/11/20242:00 p.m.Uintah County and Local Municipalities
9/13/20241:00 p.m.Five County Association of Governments
9/18/202411:00 a.m.Critical Infrastructure Materials Industry and Related Mining Industry
9/24/20241:00 p.m.Utah Association of Counties
10/1/20243:00 p.m.St. George City
10/3/20242:30 p.m.Utah Division of Air Quality
10/8/20243:00 p.m.Farm Bureau
10/16/202411:00 a.m.Critical infrastructure materials industry and related mining industry

The division completed the initial findings of the study on critical infrastructure materials and submitted a preliminary report to the Legislature's Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Interim Committee on November 18, 2024.

Key Study Areas:

  • Inventory of critical infrastructure materials operations and related mining within the relevant area as of the effective date of this bill, to include:
  • number and location of critical infrastructure materials operations
  • levels of production
  • the extent to which the critical infrastructure materials meet standards used by the Department of Transportation
  • Inventory of new critical infrastructure materials operations and related mining that may be created by either the establishment of critical infrastructure materials operations or related mining on or after the effective date of this bill or the expansion of existing critical infrastructure materials operations or related mining on or after the effective date of this bill, taking into consideration:
  • zoning
  • supply in the market
  • Assessment of projected future demand for critical infrastructure materials within the relevant area, including:
    • effects of residential and commercial development
    • known planned projects, such as transportation projects
  • Analysis of the financial costs of transporting and distributing critical infrastructure materials to and from the relevant area.
  • Analysis of the impacts of critical infrastructure materials operations and related mining on local infrastructure within the relevant area and possible mitigation of those impacts.
  • Analysis of the regulatory requirements faced by critical infrastructure materials operations.
  • Study whether critical infrastructure materials operations should be licensed, permitted, or otherwise authorized or regulated by the division, another state agency, or local government.
  • Any other issue the division finds relevant to the study of critical infrastructure materials operations and related mining.

Looking Ahead

Presentation of data to the Utah Legislature: The division will present the final report to the Utah Legislature by the first day of the 2025 annual general session.