How is it that estimated 14,000+ acres and more than 1100 patented mine claims are not shown on local maps in Salt Lake and Utah Counties? Read below for explanation.

In 1989, the first year Gary Herbert was a Utah County Commissioner, the State Tax Commission noted counties to assess land that is not now mined. 

What is the private / public land ownership in AF Canyon look like?
Map of Miller Hill, Mineral Basin and Mary Ellen Gulch.What does a mine look like? Below is a cross section of the Yankee Mine. A complex array of tunnels underground and just about as complex above ground to understand ownership, mine boundary overlaps etc. The reason why Central Assessing was involved in active mines.

This is a view of retired mines since 1977 (red) and (green) would show active mines that would qualify for Central Assessing in Little Cottonwood, Big Cottonwood or American Fork Canyon – however there are no qualifying mines, therefore all patented mine claims should be locally assessed, and maps made accurate.
It’s apparent that the ski resorts are in the recreational business not mining.

Utah State Tax Commission should conduct an audit and offload their central assessing tasks to the respective counties, ie Salt Lake and Utah County. That audit would be simple. All patented mine claims should be assessed locally. No active mines exist in these canyons. Central Assessing has been doing the work of local counties and the reason the maps are so inaccurate in American Fork, and also LCC and BCC.  

Mines listed below that do not qualify for Central Assessing Valuation at the bottom of this page.

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While trying to figure out how to pay taxes on our small parcel of land in Upper AF Canyon- to protect public access to historically used lands for recreation. We reached out to Senator Valentine to ask why Central Assessing is doing the assessment work when these lands are not being mined and the use has shifted to that of recreational, namely skiing. His reply below.

“You asked the following question of the Utah State Tax Commission that came to me for agency response:

“Why does Utah State Tax Commission still do mine valuations for mines whose purpose is no longer mining? Utah County and SL County should do the tax assessment, and resulting mapping or land that is not longer actively mined. In 1989 the Central Assessing asked Counties to do this, why does the ill practice of Central Assessing persist? With Central Assessing doing land tax valuation, the patented mine claims never get added to county maps, not state maps- leading public to believe its all public lands. In turn this makes it problematic to determine the ownership of mines which pollute public lands. The BLM is working this year with Utah County Surveyor to start with mapping in AF Canyon, but LCC and BCC also need to be mapped.” 

Tax Commission Answer: Utah Code Ann. Section 59-2-201(1)(a)(v) requires the State Tax Commission to assess “mines and mining claims except in cases, as determined by the commission, where the mining claims are used for other than mining purposes, in which case the value of mining claims used for other than mining purposes shall be assessed by the assessor of the county in which the mining claims are located…” 

The State Tax Commission values all active mining claims and inactive mining claims where there is no active alternative use. If a mining claim’s active use has changed to something other than mining, the land is valued and assessed by the county in which it is located. If the active use of land being assessed by the State Tax Commission has changed to something other than mining, a land owner is required to present evidence of the change to the State Tax Commission. 

The required evidence of the change is dependent on the specific facts and circumstances of each case but generally must demonstrate more than a mere temporary shift to a non-mining use. 

Examples of acceptable evidence include, but are not limited to, the following: 

*mine reclamation and return of the mine reclamation bond to the owner by the Division of Oil, Gas, and Mining; 

*a recorded restrictive covenant or conservation easement running with the land which prohibits mining activities;

*local zoning which prohibits mining activities on the land; or 

*evidence of conditions on the land that would render future mining activities impractical without great effort.

In all cases, however, it is incumbent on the property owner to request the change from Central Assessment to Local Assessment and provide the evidence of the changed use.

John L. Valentine

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Author comment
The loophole noted above in red. Legislatively we need to get an audit done of lands that are not mined and the responsibility should be to the county to do local assessment and to make maps accurate.

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So the response to Senator Valentine

“Senator Valentine, 

Thank you for the information above. It’s pretty much how I have understood how things are supposed to be, yet are not. Both SL and Utah county have failed to apply these process changes noted nearly 30 years ago. This failure of local tax assessing and subsequent failure to map these lands as privately owned- created a perfect storm for ski resorts to purchase thousands and thousands of acres, and keep it off the radar of the public.

Perhaps 2018 will be a year of process change/compliance in all three major canyons (LCC, BCC, AF) which were once historically mined, to local assessment. To my knowledge and research, no active mining takes place currently in these canyons, nor has it for decades (LCC, BCC or AF Canyon). Do the resorts have to reach out for the change? It seems evident that the uses have changed to recreational and that Central Assessing should audit the mines / cross referencing with Division of Mining and make the appropriate change at the State Level, then push the assessments to local level.  The onus should lay on the counties and states to determine such. Permits for mining can be readily cross referenced with the Division of Mining. 

As Executive Director of American Fork Canyon Alliance, I would therefore request that our AFAC 501c(3) land purchased in AF Canyon be given a local assessment. We own a portion of the BoRussia claim. (See attached pdf). We have recorded the Warranty Deed, have filed a land survey with Utah County and have not been assessed taxes yet. The prior owner has likely been being over assessed and our portion not broken out since Central Assessing and Utah County Recorders offices do not cross share data sets.  Local assessment pushes to the state data sets, these data sets are then used to make accurate maps. In order to get maps accurate in Little Cottonwood, Big Cottonwood and American Fork Canyon, it seems imperative that Central Assessing require the counties to do local assessment, this will result in county maps being made accurate, that data being uploaded to the state etc.

Senator Valentines Reply.

I am forwarding you request to have your property moved to local assessment to the Property Tax Division of the Utah State Tax Commission.  They will contact you for the needed documentation to make that change.

Commissioner Valentine

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Now waiting on this to transpire. Once this is done, our AFCA property taxes should be assessed by Utah County. Our land survey should be put on county plat maps. That data will be uploaded to State databases and our land placed on all local and state maps. The resorts should be required to do likewise. The resorts had a perfect storm for buying land under the noses of the public.  Some of these lands contain hazardous metals and accurate maps will help the EPA and local jurisdictions determine clean up responsibilities as well as provide the Forest Service maps so that they can determine what lands they actually manage in these canyons. As it is, the rangers can’t show the public what lands are public, what are private. 2018 should be the year to get this figured out.

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The BLM is willing to help with mapping in AF Canyon. Utah County just needs to adopt these records until over the span of time, other surveys are added and things are gradually made as accurate as possible.

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BLM has the ‘unapproved’ Public Land Survey System Data Set (PLSSDS) from the contractor, for T3S,R3E, Utah county, in-hand, and are currently reviewing it.

We could share this ‘draft’ version, if requested by the county.

We do anticipate having the project completed and up to the State of Utah, Automated Geographic Reference Center (AGRC), for publication by mid-summer.

https://gis.utah.gov/data/cadastre/

 

Daniel W. Webb
BLM, Utah State Office (UT925)

Division of Lands & Minerals
Chief, Branch of Geographic Sciences
Chief Cadastral Surveyor, Utah
801-539-4135
dwebb@blm.gov

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How many parcels of land have not been locally assessed? 1180+ parcels and est. 14,153 acres of land.

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To see detail on ownership Big Cottonwood Canyon mine ownership here.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1z0mr8zwKQArHBDkBTfpUkKL1gId467eX-_Fy-TtxoQ4/edit?usp=sharing

To see detail on ownership Little Cottonwood Canyon mine ownership here.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1B4Xy86jlwJgpD3BGyGl7Nue3fIMeJ8IrCLCYj4zhhBA/edit?usp=sharing

To see detail on ownership American Fork Canyon mine ownership here.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wqzynPernBfTs1M6mD35CvW3PJElthJIIvePNBomWfc/edit?usp=sharing

What does the old mining map look like?