CASPER, Wyo. (AP) - A new rule aimed at reducing the regulatory burden on Wyoming’s soda ash producers will take effect on the first day of the new year.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management said the rule will give the federal government the ability to grant relief on royalties and other fees for the non-energy mineral producers, the Casper Star-Tribune reported. It will also “remove unnecessary and overly burdensome requirements” to increase trona mining.
The royalty rate for federal soda ash and sodium bicarbonate leases will be reduced from 6% to 2% starting Jan. 1, officials said.
Workers refine mined trona ore into soda ash or baking soda, among other products. Soda ash is a critical component in countless everyday products, such as glass, detergent and electronics.
The mining industry said the relief would help struggling operators adjust to declining demands caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Producers welcomed the relief in Wyoming, where sodium-rich Green River Basin holds the largest known trona deposit in the world.
“With approximately half of our mine leases being federal, this royalty reduction will allow us to compete with China on a more level playing field and continue to invest in southwest Wyoming,” Ciner Wyoming LLC Director Craig Rood told the Star-Tribune.
“This growth will allow us to provide temporary construction jobs and more importantly add many permanent jobs to the state,” he said.
Republican Gov. Mark Gordon called the royalty rate reduction essential when it was proposed last year. He also said it would protect jobs and enable capital investment for future growth and job creation.
About 2,300 workers are employed across four mines, but the pandemic has complicated operations and resulted in some layoffs or furloughs.
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