Mineral or Element Extraction

Utah Code tit. 65A, ch. 65A-17, pt. 65A-17-P3

in effect

Utah Code § 65A-17-301 General royalty agreement provisions -- State action regarding evaporation ponds and leaseholds.

65A-17-301. General royalty agreement provisions -- State action regarding evaporation ponds and leaseholds. (1) In addition to the requirements of Section 65A-6-4, the division shall ensure that a royalty agreement: (a) obligates the lessee to extract minerals or elements in a manner that prevents waste to the common source of supply; (b) obligates the lessee to extract minerals or elements in a manner that avoids negative impacts to any natural resources of the Great Salt Lake; (c) contains terms and conditions wherein the lessee agrees to extract minerals or elements in a manner that preserves and conserves ecological integrity and healthy salinity levels; and (d) contains terms and conditions wherein the lessee represents and warrants full compliance, at the lessee's sole expense, with the management decisions and instructions of the division and director for preservation of minerals or elements and natural resources of the Great Salt Lake. (2) (a) The division may acquire the property interest in land or a mineral estate for a solar evaporation pond on sovereign lands and an improvement, property, easement, or right-of-way appurtenant to the solar evaporation pond by any lawful means, including eminent domain, as described in Sections 78B-6-501 and 78B-6-502. (b) The division may not implement this Subsection (2) to acquire a property interest in land or a mineral estate that is not in or on sovereign land. (c) The division may not implement this Subsection (2) on property interests in land or mineral estates held by an operator who, in an agreement with the division, has relinquished property interests in land or mineral estates. (d) Only the division may implement this Subsection (2). Enacted by Chapter 25, 2024 General Session

Utah Code § 65A-17-302 Minerals or elements extracted from the Great Salt Lake subject to royalty rate.

65A-17-302. Minerals or elements extracted from the Great Salt Lake subject to royalty rate. (1) An operator who removes or extracts a mineral or element from the Great Salt Lake and does not return the mineral or element to the Great Salt Lake shall compensate the division for the value of the mineral or element at the royalty rate established by the division by rule made in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, if a royalty rate has been established, except that this Subsection (1) only applies to the extent that the mineral or element: (a) has been nominated under Subsection 65A-6-4(7)(a) or for which the division has established a royalty rate in rule; and (b) can be extracted in paying quantities through a commercially viable technology after a reasonable period determined by the division, that is at least five years but does not exceed seven years, from the day on which the division determines that the technology is a commercially viable technology. (2) (a) The division shall require an operator that removes or extracts a mineral or element from the Great Salt Lake to annually certify to the division by no later than May 1 whether the operator is in compliance with Subsection (1). The certification by the operator shall: (i) state the operator's name; (ii) list the amount of each mineral or element that the operator has removed or extracted from the Great Salt Lake in the previous calendar year; and (iii) include other information as determined by the division by rule made in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act. (b) The operator shall submit the certificate on a form provided by the division. (3) (a) If the division finds that an operator has violated Subsection (1), the division shall issue the operator an order that: (i) finds that the operator is in violation of Subsection (1); (ii) states the mineral or element for which the operator has failed to pay the royalty rate; (iii) states the amount of the mineral or element that was removed or extracted but for which the operator failed to pay the royalty rate; and (iv) orders the payment of the applicable royalty. (b) The operator may seek review of an order issued under this Subsection (3) in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 4, Administrative Procedures Act. (4) The division may take an enforcement action against an operator in violation of this section. Enacted by Chapter 25, 2024 General Session

Utah Code § 65A-17-303 Multiple mineral development area -- Cooperative agreements -- Correlative right protection -- Withdrawn from or incapable of mineral development.

65A-17-303. Multiple mineral development area -- Cooperative agreements -- Correlative right protection -- Withdrawn from or incapable of mineral development. (1) (a) The division shall manage the Great Salt Lake below the Great Salt Lake meander line as a multiple mineral development area to: (i) prevent waste; (ii) ensure the greatest ultimate recovery of minerals or elements; (iii) protect correlative rights of owners having rights to a common source of supply and the division's duty to manage public trust assets; and (iv) encourage new and emergent technologies to protect the Great Salt Lake's overall ecological integrity while ensuring the greatest possible recovery for operators and the state. (b) The division may make rules, in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Administrative Rulemaking Act, to implement Subsection (1)(a) and any related defined terms in Section 65A-17-101. (c) An operator shall conduct operations to comply with the rules made under Subsection (1)(b) and other rules made in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act: (i) governing individual operations; and (ii) made for the multiple mineral development area. (2) (a) As a condition of the division issuing a lease or royalty agreement on or after May 1, 2024, and of continued operations, the division shall require an operator to enter into and maintain a cooperative agreement with the persons with correlative rights in a common source of supply for a mineral or element in the Great Salt Lake. (b) After submitting an application with the division to obtain a lease or royalty agreement, a person shall: (i) obtain a list from the division of all operators existing at the time of application; and (ii) notify each operator on the list of the person's intention to enter into a cooperative agreement. (c) A cooperative agreement shall meet the requirements of Subsection 65A-17-304(1), shall provide that the rights and obligations contained in the cooperative agreement are subject to the division's duty to manage public trust assets, and shall address: (i) how the operators may conduct concurrent or simultaneous operations without unreasonably interfering with existing and separate operations while also preventing undue waste; (ii) recognition of other operator's vested mineral or element interests so that operations may be conducted in a manner that will result in the maximum recovery of minerals or elements with the minimum adverse effect on the ultimate maximum recovery of other minerals or elements; (iii) terms and conditions for establishing a mitigation plan for when one operator, either intentionally or unintentionally, interferes with or damages the mineral or element rights or mineral or element interests of another operator; (iv) terms and conditions for establishing a mitigation plan with the division that would limit unreasonable mineral estate interference, waste, or negative impacts to natural resources of the Great Salt Lake; (v) the protection of natural resources of the Great Salt Lake without unnecessary cost to the operations of another operator, unless there is compensation for increased operational costs; (vi) the coordination and locations of access to operations; (vii) any assessment of costs resulting from concurrent operations within the Great Salt Lake; (viii) the mitigation of surface impacts, including: (A) the location of a mineral or element extraction intake or discharge facility; (B) phased or coordinated surface occupancy to each operator to access and develop the operator's respective mineral or element estate or mineral or element interest with the least disruption of operations and damage to Great Salt Lake elements or minerals, as defined in Section 65A-6-4, or natural resources directly, indirectly, or through waste; and (C) limitations of mineral or element operations in areas where impacts to correlative rights or to natural resources of the Great Salt Lake are significant or most acute, as determined by the operators or the division; (ix) the scope and extent of how geological, engineering, product, and water use data is disclosed or exchanged; (x) how any joint reclamation obligation or plan is to be achieved or coordinated; (xi) how bonding will be obtained and coordinated on any lands impacted, disturbed, or developed in relation to mineral or element extraction and processing activities; (xii) terms and conditions indemnifying the state, the division, and any of the state's or division's directors, officers, agents, or employees from any and all damage or liability of any kind resulting from any stage or mineral or element extraction operations or any stage of mineral or element processing; (xiii) terms and conditions for the full compliance with a royalty rate reduction to which an operator is entitled; (xiv) a schedule of how the operators plan to collectively curtail production if the emergency trigger is reached and a curtailment of production is required; and (xv) any other term or condition outlining cooperative efforts consistent with the multiple mineral development area and plans or rules of the division, made in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act. (d) The parties to a cooperative agreement described in Subsection (2)(a) shall present the cooperative agreement to the division and the director may approve the agreement if the cooperative agreement: (i) is in the public interest; (ii) prevents waste of minerals or elements; (iii) protects the correlative rights of each owner; and (iv) meets the requirements of Subsection 65A-17-304(1). (e) On the director's approval of the cooperative agreement, the division becomes a signator to the cooperative agreement. (f) A cooperative agreement described in this Subsection (2) may not be held or construed to violate a statute relating to trusts, monopolies, or contracts and combinations in restraint of trade, if the agreement is approved by the director. (g) The failure to submit an agreement to the division for approval may not for that reason imply or constitute evidence that the agreement or operations conducted pursuant to the agreement are in violation of laws relating to trusts, monopolies, or restraint of trade. (h) (i) An operator may not unreasonably delay, condition, or decline to enter into a cooperative agreement. (ii) A negotiation period of 60 days from the date notice is given under Subsection (2)(b)(ii) is presumed to be reasonable. (i) A mitigation plan with the division shall be implemented in conjunction with the Division of Water Rights. (3) The division may at any time determine that certain areas within the multiple mineral development area are withdrawn from mineral development or incapable of mineral development. Enacted by Chapter 25, 2024 General Session

Utah Code § 65A-17-304 Concurrent operations -- Breach, disagreement, or conflict -- Disputes.

65A-17-304. Concurrent operations -- Breach, disagreement, or conflict -- Disputes. (1) Two or more operators may conduct concurrent operations on the Great Salt Lake under a cooperative agreement upon stipulation and agreement that the operations can be: (a) conducted simultaneously without unreasonably interfering with the value of the resources being produced; (b) conducted simultaneously without unreasonably interfering with natural resources of the Great Salt Lake; and (c) conducted without unreasonably interfering with, or unnecessarily raising the cost of operations of another operator, unless the other affected operator is compensated for increased costs or diminished returns. (2) The division shall make rules, in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, providing for the procedures the division and operators shall follow to: (a) enable the division to enforce applicable statutes and rules on operators, including the issuance of notices of violation or cessation orders; (b) assist in the timely resolution of disputes that may arise during the formation of a cooperative agreement; (c) cure a breach of a mitigation plan; or (d) resolve a continued disagreement or conflict regarding continued negative impacts to biota or chemistry due to continuing concurrent operations. (3) If any dispute between operators under Subsection (2) has not been resolved through an informal administrative dispute resolution process created by the division, the division shall resolve the dispute by a final record of decision to be issued no more than 30 days after notice to the division by an aggrieved operator that informal dispute resolution has been unsuccessful. Enacted by Chapter 25, 2024 General Session

Utah Code § 65A-17-305 Waste.

65A-17-305. Waste. An operator is considered to not waste a mineral or element if the operator implements a commercially viable technology to extract the mineral or element after a reasonable period determined by the division, that is at least five years but does not exceed seven years, from the day on which the division determines that the technology is a commercially viable technology. Enacted by Chapter 25, 2024 General Session

Utah Code § 65A-17-306 Certification of eligibility for tax rates.

65A-17-306. Certification of eligibility for tax rates. (1) As used in this section: (a) "Great Salt Lake element or mineral" means the same as that term is defined in Subsection 59-5-202(5). (b) "Great Salt Lake extraction operator" means the same as that term is defined in Subsection 59-5-202(5). (2) (a) Subject to Subsection (7), a Great Salt Lake extraction operator shall by no later than December 31 of each year certify to the division for purposes of determining a severance tax imposed under Subsection 59-5-202(5) during the next succeeding calendar year, the information listed in Subsection (2)(b). (b) The Great Salt Lake extraction operator shall certify the following for the calendar year ending on the date the Great Salt Lake extraction operator submits the certification for purposes of determining a severance tax imposed during the next succeeding calendar year: (i) the Great Salt Lake extraction operator's name; (ii) the Great Salt Lake extraction operator's tax identification number; (iii) whether at the time a Great Salt Lake element or mineral is extracted, the Great Salt Lake extraction operator is a party or a third-party beneficiary to a voluntary agreement for water rights with an approved beneficial use by a division as defined in Section 73-3-30; (iv) if the Great Salt Lake extraction operator is not a party or third-party beneficiary to a voluntary agreement for water rights with an approved beneficial use by a division as defined in Section 73-3-30, whether the Great Salt Lake extraction operator uses evaporative concentrations of Great Salt Lake brines in any stage of the Great Salt Lake extraction operator's extractive process; (v) whether the Great Salt Lake extraction operator extracted a Great Salt Lake element or mineral when the Great Salt Lake elevation recorded under Subsection (3) is at or above 4,198 feet, and what the Great Salt Lake element or mineral extracted was; and (vi) other information as determined by the division by rule made in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act. (c) A Great Salt Lake extraction operator shall submit the certification on a form provided by the division and approved by the State Tax Commission. (3) The division shall record the Great Salt Lake elevation for purposes of this section and Subsection 59-5-202(5) as of June 15 to be applied during the next succeeding calendar year. (4) Subject to Subsection (7), the division shall forward to the State Tax Commission by no later than January 15 of the year for which the severance tax shall be determined: (a) the Great Salt Lake elevation level recorded under Subsection (3); (b) a list of the Great Salt Lake extraction operators who are subject to a severance tax under Subsection 59-5-202(5); (c) the Great Salt Lake extraction operator's tax identification number for each Great Salt Lake extraction operator listed in Subsection (4)(b); and (d) for each Great Salt Lake extraction operator subject to a severance tax under Subsection 59-5-202(5): (i) each Great Salt Lake element or mineral or metalliferous compound extracted by the Great Salt Lake extraction operator that is subject to the severance tax; and (ii) the rate of severance tax that is to be imposed under Subsection 59-5-202(5). (5) The division may audit a certification submitted under this section for completeness and accuracy. (6) The division may take an enforcement action against a Great Salt Lake extraction operator who violates this section. (7) For the tax year 2025 and tax year 2026: (a) a Great Salt Lake extraction operator that enters a voluntary agreement with the state related to water rights owned by the state may make the certification required by Subsection (2) on or before May 15, 2026; and (b) the division shall forward to the State Tax Commission an updated report required under Subsection (4) by no later than June 1, 2026, to reflect the certification made by a Great Salt Lake extraction operator described in Subsection (7)(a). Amended by Chapter 411, 2026 General Session

Source: Utah Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel (le.utah.gov)URL: https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title65A/Chapter17/65A-17-P3.html?v=C65A-17-P3_2024050120240501Fetched: 10/26/2026