Horse Canyon property presented to college by CEO

This archived article was written by: Heather Myers

The CEO of Murray Energy Corporation presented CEU with the 896.13 acres of land in Horse Canyon. UtahAmerican, a subsidiary of Murray Energy Corporation donated the land to the CEU foundation earlier in the year and the keys to the property were turned over to President Ryan Thomas at a luncheon on Oct. 20.
Robert Murray, president of Murray Energy Corporation presented a plaque and the keys to the property in Horse Canyon. The company was only able to donate the land after an exhaustive review by the Division of Oil, Gas and Mining.
According to Vice President of Institutional Advancement and Student Services Brad King, “This is one of the most significant gifts that has ever come to CEU.” Not only is the gift very large, but the process of turning the land over was extensive.
Associate Director of DOGM, Mary Ann Wright spoke about the process of review for turning over the land to the college. She said the process of getting out of a mining contract is as hard as getting into one. One of the main concerns of the review was changing the post-mining use of 16 acres of the land.
The company had to prove to the DOGM review board that changing the land use would be good for the environment. The change was approved in January 2004 but it was dependent on transfer to CEU. The post-mining use of the land was changed from wildlife and grazing to recreation, the closest category that fits the uses the college plans for.
The college is considering many uses for the land including paleontology, geology, archaeology and biology. Art and creative writing are also being considered due to the inspirational landscapes on the land.
In a speech before the presentation of the keys Murray talked about the history of the Horse Canyon Mine and other mines he owned in the area and a mine he wants to re-open. He has been attempting to re-open the Lila Canyon and Columbia mines, but has faced opposition from the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. He emphasized that opening these mines would bring jobs to the area.
Murray was upset that both areas were mined in the past and already have roads leading to them yet he was still being opposed by SUWA. He said the mines needed to be opened, not only to create jobs in the area, but to prevent Utah industry from relying on coal from outside the state or natural gas, which is much more expensive than coal.
The property includes a sedimentation pond and associated drainage features, a pump house, an office building, a bath house, a warehouse, a shop, a chain link fence, building pads, a parking lot, a powder magazine, a cap magazine, a water tank, a portal pad and five acre-feet of water rights.