State Codes and Statutes

Statutes > Utah > Title-63m > Chapter-03 > 63m-3-102

63M-3-102. Legislative findings -- Purpose of act.
(1) The Legislature finds that:
(a) Substantial deposits of tar sands exist within lands located in various places withinthe state of Utah, but this is primarily a Utah phenomenon, there being no similar significantdeposits within lands located elsewhere in the United States.
(b) While large known deposits of tar sands exist outside the United States, primarily inSouth America and Canada, only those in Canada produce commercial quantities ofhydrocarbons, this having come about only after years of research and experimentation andsubstantial private and public investment.
(c) Significant laboratory research has been conducted, including research by theUniversity of Utah, which demonstrates a potential for commercial production of the tar sandsdeposits located in the state of Utah, which potential remains to be established by the scale-up oflaboratory research to a pilot plant development stage.
(d) Successful demonstration of a hydrocarbon recovery process from Utah tar sands ascommercially viable at the pilot plant level of production could form the basis for thedevelopment by private industry of commercial production of a substantial volume ofhydrocarbon energy fuel, thereby commensurately reducing the amount of petroleum productswhich are required to be imported at exorbitant cost from foreign sources to meet the needs of thecitizens of this state and the United States.
(2) The purpose of this act is to stimulate and encourage the development andcommercial production by private industry of hydrocarbons from the tar sands deposits lyingwithin the state of Utah for the public good and economic well-being of the citizens of this stateand the United States, and to so do by providing for the design, construction, and operation of apilot plant to be employed for the purpose of demonstrating the commercial viability of processesfor the recovery of hydrocarbons from the tar sands deposits of the state through certain fundingby the state in conjunction with funding furnished from other sources, both public and private.

Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 382, 2008 General Session