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<br />impact on local businesses in communities such as Meeker, Rangely, and Rifle. <br />• Assuming a per diem rate of $40 per day and assuming that 200 of the 390 <br />construction workers during the construction peak are non-local, expenditures in <br />the local economy could amount to over $2.9 million over the course of a year. <br />Employment of local construction workers would also benefit the local economy <br />through direct expenditure of their earnings on housing, food, and other locally <br />provided goods and services. These construction workers would also pay local <br />property and sales taxes. <br />O_perating_Phase <br />The proposed Yankee Gulch Project will employ approximately 140 workers over its <br />entire operational life. About 55 of these workers will staff the solution mine at the <br />Piceance Site, about 71 workers will staff the processing operation at the Parachute <br />Site, and the remaining 14 workers will staff the company headquarters. The <br />mineral reserves available to be mined by the project are sufficient to sustain <br />operations well beyond the 30-year development sequence presented in this <br />commercial mine plan. Based on current market conditions, American Soda's <br />operation could be the lowest cost producer of sodium products in the world. Based <br />on this competitive advantage and the substantial reserves available for <br />development, the Yankee Gulch Project will create stable, long-term employment <br />opportunities for residents of Rio Blanco and Garfield Counties. Should American <br />Soda eventually increase production and expand its operations in the future, the <br />number of Long-term jobs created would also increase. <br />Examples of positions available at the Piceance Site and the Parachute Site include <br />truck drivers, heavy equipment operators, electricians, pipefitters, and welders. <br />American Soda will place a strong emphasis on hiring workers from the local <br />communities in the project vicinity. American Soda believes that many of its <br />operations positions could be filled by local oil and gas workers and former oil shale <br />workers still residing in Rio Blanco and Garfield Counties. While the <br />unemployment rates in Rio Blanco County and Garfield County are currently low, <br />many workers in both counties are currently "underemployed," i.e., they are <br />working in lower wage trade and service occupations that do not fully utilize their <br />skills. The proposed project would provide skilled employment and pay <br />considerably higher wages than tourism-related occupations. In addition, American <br />Soda plans to employ an extensive worker training program to train local workers <br />to be plant operators. Through this training program and through hiring <br />underemployed skilled workers, American Soda believes it can staff the proposed <br />project largely with local residents. Assuming a split of 40 workers from Rio Blanco <br />County and 100 workers from Garfield County, the addition of project-related <br />mining positions would equate to a 7.2 percent increase in the Rio Blanco County <br />and an 81.3 percent increase in the Garfield County mining employment sectors <br />• (Colorado Department of Labor and Employment 1997). <br />Amencan Soda, L.L.P. 8_37 <br />Commercial Mine Plan <br />August 18. 1998 <br />