US Magnesium’s bankruptcy has stalled the state’s move to cut off the company’s Great Salt Lake mineral and water leases—even though long-running contamination and cleanup failures at the federal Superfund site remain unresolved.
What you can do: Ask DEQ Director Tim Davis (tim.davis@utah.gov) to terminate US Magnesium’s Great Salt Lake leases and enforce cleanup obligations.
Talking points:
- Even though US Magnesium has not been operational since 2022, the site still contains some of the most toxic industrial chemicals ever produced.
- The risks to humans, birds, mammals, and invertebrates drastically exceed regulatory benchmarks.
- The half-life of dioxins and PCBs is 10-20 years, while heavy metals persist indefinitely—meaning toxins can remain in the ecosystem and dust for decades or longer.
- A consent decree with the EPA required US Mag to build a barrier wall and salt cap, but the wall is unfinished, work has stopped, and the cap was never built.
- In 2016, Utah DEQ announced US Magnesium’s toxic waste was leaking into groundwater and into Great Salt Lake
- If the lake continues to shrink, toxins near the plant could become airborne and threaten 2.5 million people on the Wasatch Front.
