Rio Tinto Kennecott partners with Janet Quinney Lawson Institute for Land, Water, and Air to strengthen Utah’s environment

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - The Janet Quinney Lawson Institute for Land, Water, and Air at Utah State University announced a $450,000 partnership with Rio Tinto Kennecott -- the institute’s first Summit-level community partner with annual funding of more than $100,000 per year.

“The mission of the institute is to help guide Utah land, water, and air policy by connecting decision makers with high quality research,” said Brian Steed, Executive Director of the Janet Quinney Lawson Institute for Land, Water, and Air. “Rio Tinto’s investment will significantly increase our capacity to support research, outreach, and other activities to benefit our state’s environment and landscapes. We are actively seeking investment from community partners to help us scale our positive impact on Utah’s land, water and air.”

The funding agreement will be in effect from 2024-2026, providing just over $150,000 per year. Funds will be used to support high-impact projects, including the institute’s faculty Impact Grant program; production of the “Report to the Governor and Legislature on Utah’s Land, Water, and Air;” collaborative researcher working groups; and other new initiatives to be announced this year.

“We are proud to be part of the Utah community, and we take our responsibility seriously to prioritize sustainability in our operations and minimize our environmental impacts,” said Nate Foster, Rio Tinto Kennecott Managing Director. “Supporting the work of the Janet Quinney Lawson Institute for Land, Water and Air is one of the most effective ways we can strengthen education and conservation efforts for critical natural resources in our state.” 

Though relatively new, the Janet Quinney Lawson Institute for Land, Water, and Air has had an outsized impact on Utah’s shared resources and policy. It has partnered on the Great Salt Lake Strike Team, providing needed science on the lake; spearheaded a major research program to address Bear Lake opportunities and challenges; founded the Colorado River Collaborative to build awareness of issues facing the river along with potential solutions; and engaged with Utah’s business community to support innovative air and water practices.

The partnership with the Janet Quinney Lawson Institute for Land, Water, and Air is one of many Rio Tinto Kennecott initiatives to safeguard the environment, enhance water conservation and improve biodiversity. Some of these include:

• Creating and managing the Kennecott Inland Sea Shorebird Reserve (ISSR) – a 3,670-acre shorebird and waterfowl reserve along the south shore of the Great Salt Lake. The number of bird species using the reserve area has gone from 50 in 1995 to 200 – a 300% increase – and today, approximately 120,000 birds use the reserve every year. 
  
• Decommissioning its coal-fired power plant in 2019 and transitioning to renewable energy sources, which reduced Rio Tinto Kennecott’s annual carbon footprint by 65%.  
  
• Donating up to 21,000 acre-feet of water rights each year for 10 years in partnership with Utah’s Division of Wildlife Resources, the Audubon Society, and other organizations, to return more water to Great Salt Lake. 
  
• Completing a 5-megawatt solar plant, which is designed to increase capacity by an additional 25MW in the future.  
  

Using battery-electric vehicles in its underground operations and renewable diesel to power heavy machinery in the Bingham Canyon open-pit mine.

About the USU Janet Quinney Lawson Institute for Land, Water, and Air

Established in 2021, the institute is a major interdisciplinary initiative designed to stitch together two critical discussion spaces—land, water, and air research programs and state, county, and city governments—in order to create positive results for Utah. As Utah’s land-grant institution, Utah State is uniquely connected to our state’s landscapes, woven in the fabric of statewide urban and rural communities. With an unparalleled combination of local expertise and world-renowned discovery, ILWA provides critical context to Utah’s most pressing issues.

About Rio Tinto Kennecott

Rio Tinto Kennecott is a fully integrated mining operation just outside Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S. For over 120 years, Kennecott has been mining and processing copper and other minerals including gold, silver, molybdenum and tellurium from the rich ore body of the Bingham Canyon Mine. In addition to Bingham Canyon, Rio Tinto Kennecott possesses other facilities at South Jordan in the Salt Lake Valley including a refinery, a concentrator and one of only two operating copper smelters in the US.

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