Unemployment Insurance Claims Data Shed Light on the Local Economic Impacts of COVID-19 Public Health Directives

By Lyndsey Stram, Regional Economist; Lecia Parks Langston, Senior Economist

“You have power over your mind — not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” Marcus Aurelius

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses lost revenues and workers lost jobs. But because of the time it takes to collect and collate data, economists have been left without much information to quantify the economic impacts at the local level.

But there is one ray of data illumination. Claims for unemployment benefits are promptly available and provide information about a large cross section of the economy. This post will outline what light unemployment claims data sheds on the state of the Uintah Basin’s economy.

While not all workers are protected by unemployment insurance laws, roughly 95% of jobs are covered. This makes claims data an exceptional source of information about the economy. Not included under unemployment insurance laws are most self-employed workers, about half of agricultural employment, unpaid family workers, railroad personnel (covered separately) and many nonprofit organizations (such as churches). Also, some out-of-work employees may not have worked a sufficient work history to qualify for unemployment insurance benefits, but may file anyway.

Fortunately, in this time of economic distress, the social safety nets of the unemployment insurance program, special national COVID-19 funding and social programs are working together to keep workers’ income and well-being stable.

Unemployment claimants and the unemployed; they aren’t the same

Also, keep in mind that, in addition to individuals drawing unemployment benefits, the unemployment rate includes those entering and re-entering the workforce and non-covered groups without current employment. This means the number of “unemployed” will be greater than the number of claimants. In “normal” times, only about 40% of the “unemployed” are claiming benefits.

The generally reported unemployment rate also has a work-search requirement. If you haven’t made any minimal attempts to find work, you aren’t counted as “unemployed.”

Watch this Space

While this analysis won’t be updated on a regular basis, new data will be added to the data visualization on a weekly basis allowing readers to check back for the latest information.

An Unprecedented Event

Not surprisingly, first-time claims for unemployment benefits soared in Utah and across the nation as the pandemic swept across the country. This increase is unprecedented since the creation of unemployment insurance coverage during the Great Depression. Week 12 (beginning March 16) marks the start of this unparalleled surge in claims. On a positive note, while new claims for unemployment benefits have skyrocketed in Utah, the state currently shows one of the lowest claims rates in the nation.

For the Uintah Basin counties, initial claims peaked in week 14. At the peak, initial claims totaled 500 between the three counties. By week 19, claims have decreased considerably. The levels are now comparable to levels seen during the Great Recession in the Uintah Basin.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, counties in the Uintah Basin averaged 36 first-time claims per week. Afterwards, an average of 317 first-time claims were filed per week.

Who took the hardest hit?

Counties with large shares of accommodations/food service employment have been taking the hardest hit in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is true in the Uintah Basin as well, where 22% of the accommodations/food services workers in the area have filed claims for unemployment in the recent weeks.

Across all industries on a statewide level, 10% of the covered workforce have filled claims for unemployment benefits. Daggett County has been able to hold onto more of its workforce, with only 5% filing claims. Duchesne and Uintah Counties saw 11% and 13% of the workers file, respectively.

Tourism and COVID-19

Especially in the early stages of the restrictions, this is a story of tourism-dependent industries. Even with a relatively small portion of the Uintah Basin’s employment belonging to accommodations/food services, this industry made up for more than 14% of claims filed since the pandemic started. In addition, the true effect of the pandemic on this industry is masked by a large number of claims classified as industry “unknown” in the early days of the claims flood. Undoubtedly, many of these claims would rightfully be classified in accommodations/food services if the appropriate information were available.

Mining is a large share of the employment in the Uintah Basin and has also been responsible for a large amount of the claims filed — 21% of the regional claims. Retail trade, transportation/warehousing and healthcare/social assistance have also been high claims sectors.

The High and the Low

Although mining and accommodations/food services has generated the largest number of Uintah Basin initial claims in the COVID-19 time period, in percentage terms, other industries have actually suffered more. For example, the administrative support/waste management/remediation (which includes temporary employment services) sector has seen 45% of its workforce file for claims in recent weeks.

Although retail trade has seen a large number of claims, the percentage of its covered employment that has filed claims is relatively low at 7%. In other regions, retail trade saw a large share of the workforce file; but, in rural areas, a larger share of the retail establishments are likely deemed “essential,” meaning more of the workforce remained employed.

Public administration accounts for much of the Uintah Basin employment, and this is a sector that has kept a large share of its workforce employed, buoying the economy of the area.

County by County
Daggett County
• Prior to COVID-19, Daggett County had an average of one first-time unemployment claim per week. This has since increased to three claims.
• Public administration is an industry that has kept much of its workforce employed in the wake of COVID-19. With 49% of Daggett County’s workforce employed in the public administration sector, a relatively small percentage of the county’s covered workforce have filed claims for unemployment — only 5%.
• Like many other areas, the sector that suffered most from the restrictions was accommodations/food services. A significant 45% of this sector’s workforce filed claims for unemployment benefits.
• Prior to COVID-19, Daggett County accounted for 2% of the region’s unemployment claims, which has since decreased to 1%.

Duchesne County
• Prior to COVID-19, Duchesne County had an average of 11 first-time unemployment claims per week. This has since increased to 105 weekly claims.
• Mining and transportation/warehousing accounted for the largest numbers of claims in Duchesne County. Because these are such large industries in the area, the claims as a percentage of the workforce are relatively low — at 12% and 16% respectively.
• Public administration is also an important sector in Duchesne County and only 6% of that workforce has filed claims in recent weeks.
• Prior to COVID-19, Duchesne County accounted for 31% of the area’s unemployment claims. This has increased to 33% of the claims.

Uintah County
• Prior to COVID-19, Uintah County had an average of 24 first-time unemployment claims per week. This has since increased to 209 weekly claims — an increase of 774%.
• Mining and accommodations/food services have been the hardest hit sectors in Uintah County. Nearly 20% of the mining workforce in Uintah County has filed first-time claims for benefits in the wake of COVID-19. For accommodations/food services, more than 24% of the workforce has filed.
• Similar to the other counties in the region, public administration is an important sector in Uintah County. Only 1% of the workforce in that sector have filed claims, which helps offset some of the economic impact of some of the harder hit industrial sectors.
• Prior to COVID-19, Uintah County accounted for 67% of the area’s unemployment claims. This has decreased to 66% of the claims.

Reviewing the 2012 Agricultural Census for the Uintah Basin

Scott Smith, Regional Economist

The 2012 Census of Agriculture is just that — a census. It is an attempt to count an entire population and generally does not use sampling or statistical techniques to make conclusions about the population. It is conducted every five years and includes all farm operators regardless of whether farming is their primary or secondary occupation. Operators and hired laborers are combined for a total count. There can be a maximum of three operators per farm, but labor hired on a contract basis is not covered.

Uintah Basin agriculture is centered on the production of livestock and associated feedstock. Practically all the agricultural land in Daggett County is devoted to the livestock industry. The relevant proportions in both Duchesne and Uintah counties are around 90 percent. 2012 net cash income per farm for Daggett County was $15,650. The analogous figures for Duchesne and Uintah counties were $8,630 and $3,995, respectively. The vast majority of farms have annual total sales less than $250,000.

Uintah Basin’s 2012 agricultural employment was 4,965 jobs according to the census. The state’s unemployment insurance data suggests that a very small number of these jobs generate the income or possess the duration to be considered “full time” employment in the urban sense. Further data indicates that most farmers and ranchers are sole proprietors (regardless of how they are organized for tax purposes). Finally, a comparison of the other sources and the census figures show that most individuals involved in agriculture have their primary job in other sectors of the economy.

The size and composition of the agricultural workforce has changed markedly over time. In 2002, there were 4,950 Uintah Basin agricultural jobs, of which 42 percent was hired labor. In 2007, the total workforce decreased by 17 percent to 4,121, and the share of hired laborers fell to only 25 percent in the same period. By 2012, agricultural jobs increased 20 percent to 4,945, yet the hired labor share fell further to 23 percent.

The reason for this can be gleaned from expense data. In 2002, the labor cost per worker (as defined by dividing annual labor expense by the hired workforce) was $650. In 2007, the cost had risen 76 percent to $1,140. In 2012, this number had increased again by 56 percent to $1,140. In contrast, inflation increased by 15 percent and 9 percent as of the 2007 and 2012 censuses, respectively. It is interesting to note that the share of hired labor fell only slightly from 2007 to 2012, in spite of a substantial increase in cost. The decrease was most likely mitigated by a robust increase in income per operator. In general, faced with higher real (inflation adjusted) labor costs, Uintah Basin operators substituted away from hired labor to their own labor or made investments in capital goods.

The number and character of operators has displayed an interesting combination of volatility and adherence to the trend. The number of Uintah Basin operators was 1,868 in 2002 (the statistics refer to “principal” operator and therefore will not agree with other totals). The number increased by 2 percent to 1,908 in 2007, and then increased 23 percent to 2,340 as of the 2012 count. Similarly, in 2007, the proportion of operators who relied on other sources of income shot up to 66 percent from 53 percent in 2002. The share remained at 66 percent in the 2012 census.

Analysts speculate that the changes are partially in response to fluctuations in farm income. In 2002, net cash income per operator was more than $5,851. Income per operator declined by 21 percent to $4,613 in 2007. The analogous figure for 2012 is $5,950 per operator. The decline in income per operator in 2007 made it necessary for some operators to seek other sources of income. Superficially, the gain in share of operators with other sources of income shown in 2012 is perplexing. Given the increased utilization of increasingly expensive hired labor, one should expect to see more operators revert back to “full time.” A possible explanation for this phenomenon could be comparative advantage. Even though hired labor was more expensive, operators’ other jobs were paying so handsomely that those operators were better off paying hired labor rather than doing the work themselves. In light of the commodity boon this makes sense — oil field jobs pay substantially more than agricultural jobs.

Duchesne County Economic Update

Tyson Smith, Regional Economist

The Uintah Basin continued to add employment throughout the fourth quarter of 2014. Average annual employment in the region grew nearly 4 percent from 2013. Despite the sustained growth trend throughout last year, it appears that the economic conditions in the Uintah Basin are taking a turn for the worse.

The Utah Department of Workforce Services relies on several data sources to help describe the state of the economy. The most accurate data available is the nonfarm payroll employment information that is collected through the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. However, the resources required to gather data accurately come at the expense of timeliness, which results in a four to six month lag between the time these data are collected and when they are available to the public.

When economic trends change dramatically it is important to understand the recent history of the region, while also using up-to-date information to inform the current economic climate. The most recent data that highlight the shrinking labor market in the Uintah Basin are the unemployment rate and the initial weekly unemployment claims, both of which have jumped significantly to start 2015.

Uintah County Economic Update

Tyson Smith, Regional Economist

The Uintah Basin continued to add employment throughout the fourth quarter of 2014. Average annual employment in the region grew nearly 4 percent from 2013. Despite the sustained growth trend throughout last year, it appears that the economic conditions in the Uintah Basin are taking a turn for the worse.

The Utah Department of Workforce Services relies on several data sources to help describe the state of the economy. The most accurate data available is the nonfarm payroll employment information that is collected through the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. However, the resources required to gather data accurately come at the expense of timeliness, which results in a four to six month lag between the time these data are collected and when they are available to the public.

When economic trends change dramatically it is important to understand the recent history of the region, while also using up-to-date information to inform the current economic climate. The most recent data that highlight the shrinking labor market in the Uintah Basin are the unemployment rate and the initial weekly unemployment claims, both of which have jumped significantly to start 2015.

Daggett County Economic Update

Tyson Smith, Regional Economist

The Uintah Basin continued to add employment throughout the fourth quarter of 2014. Average annual employment in the region grew nearly 4 percent from 2013. Despite the sustained growth trend throughout last year, it appears that the economic conditions in the Uintah Basin are taking a turn for the worse.

The Utah Department of Workforce Services relies on several data sources to help describe the state of the economy. The most accurate data available is the nonfarm payroll employment information that is collected through the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. However, the resources required to gather data accurately come at the expense of timeliness, which results in a four to six month lag between the time these data are collected and when they are available to the public.

When economic trends change dramatically it is important to understand the recent history of the region, while also using up-to-date information to inform the current economic climate. The most recent data that highlight the shrinking labor market in the Uintah Basin are the unemployment rate and the initial weekly unemployment claims, both of which have jumped significantly to start 2015.

Uintah Basin Economic Discussion (TV Interview)

Tyson Smith, Regional Economist

I was recently asked to do an interview with VTV6 in Vernal, Utah. Chris Piner, one of the hosts of Local Point, focused the discussion on the Uintah Basin's economy, but we also touched on national and international issues and the role of the Utah Department of Workforce Services in the labor market.

For more local content, please visit the VTV6 YouTube channel.

News on Crude Oil Prices

Tyson Smith, Regional Economist

Residents of the Uintah Basin continue to keep a close eye on crude oil prices. As has been discussed on this blog, and by news outlets across the nation, falling crude oil prices have had a negative effect on domestic oil and gas production and employment. Falling oil prices shrink the profit margins of U.S. extraction companies, which leads to less exploration, more rig closures and more layoffs. The questions being asked most often in oil and gas communities are: "When will prices stabilize?" and "At what level?"

While it is unclear what the answer to these questions will be, two recent articles in the Wall Street Journal directly addressed those issues.

Both articles, one by Georgi Kantchev and Bill Spindle and the other by Benoît Faucon, explore the possibility that oil prices my still have room to fall.

Kantchev and Spindle ask, "After their sharp drop late last year, oil prices have been trading in a relatively steady band for more than a month, raising an obvious question: Has the market hit a bottom?", before answering, "A number of fundamentals suggest not yet..."

Faucon addresses the possibility of stable gas prices even more bluntly when he quotes the monthly report from the International Energy Agency, which states, "On the face of it, the oil price appears to be stabilizing. What a precarious balance it is, however behind the facade of stability, the rebalancing triggered by the price collapse has yet to run its course, and it might be overly optimistic to expect it to proceed smoothly.”

Residents of the Uintah Basin will have to wait (along with the rest of us) to get the answers to these questions. But until then, energy prices will continue to be a major topic locally, nationally and globally.

BLM unveils preferred power line routes through Utah

The BLM this week identified its preferred alignment for PacifiCorp’s proposed Gateway South transmission line, connecting Wyoming renewable energy sources to a future substation in Juab County.

The route crosses the southern part of the Uinta Basin, while other options would route the 500- kilovolt line through the basin’s north side and to the south along the Interstate 70 corridor.

The preferred route hews to one of the Bureau of Land Management’s preferences for another major transmission project known as TransWest Express. Earlier this month the BLM released a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the right of way for the project, one of two that would move Wyoming power across Utah to consumers in southern Nevada. Salt Lake Tribune

Basin Transit Authority sees ridership increasing in area

Beginning local transportation services in April of 2011, the bus service started as a sort of experiment in mass transportation in a highly rural setting.

Conceptually, the BTA was created to deliver low cost transportation option for commuters from as far west as Fruitland and terminating in the Vernal area.

BTA Director Kevin Yack has been at the helm of the agency since the two-year anniversary in April 2013.

Hinto Energy acquiring additional wells and 4,400+ acres in Utah

Hinto Energy reported on Wednesday the Company has entered into a letter of intent to acquire a 100% working interest in 9 natural gas wells and in excess of 4,400 gross leased acres in the Cisco Springs oil and gas field, in the Uintah Basin of Grand County, Utah. The company is planning to connect the well into the local gas gathering system, as soon as proper testing and evaluation is completed. They expect to complete the acquisition in May of this year. Fairfield Sun Times

Senior housing project nearly ready

Located just south of Walmart, a new 20 unit senior housing apartment complex is very nearly completed.

The Daniels Crossing Project in Vernal will offer one bedroom garden-style apartments with an outside access and small patio. Residents must be at least 62 years of age, must be able to live independently, must income qualify, and will have to fill out an application with the Uintah Basin Assistance Council, Uintah County building.

The project is expected to be ready for occupancy by the end of May, at which time the Uintah Basin Assistance Council will host an open house. Vernal Express

Utah business makes energy bars from crickets

Pat Crowley wants to attract Americans to what most of the world’s population already knows: Edible insects are a rich source of protein that’s easy on the Earth.

Crickets ground into flour — that way there are no legs or antennae to think about — provide the protein in the energy bars Crowley and his three partners started making last September.

The business is small but growing steadily, with 2,000 bars sold last month. The Chapul Bars — it means cricket or grasshopper in Aztec — are sold for about $3 in 30 locally-owned stores in 12 states, and Crowley expects to double the retail locations in the next month. He also is about to double the number of energy bar flavors — bringing it to four — and will soon be moving to a larger kitchen.

"People are ready for a change," Crowley said. "They’re more in tune with where their food comes from and the unsustainability of our mainstream food products."

Some 80 percent of the world’s population intentionally eats 1,700 species of insects for food. People eat red tree ants in Cambodia, bee larvae in Japan and grasshoppers in Mexico, Crowley said.
Americans and Europeans are notably absent from the guest list.

As Crowley mixes up a batch of his Thai flavored bars — cricket flour stirred with coconut flakes, dates, almond butter, agave nectar, cashews, ginger and lime — he says the flavors are inspired by cultures where insects are traditionally consumed as part of their diets.


Utah has its own cultural tradition of eating insects. Like about 50 percent of Native American tribes that used insects as food, the Utes and Southern Paiutes did, too. In the 1870s, John Wesley Powell noted that grasshoppers and crickets were collected in droves, roasted like seeds and ground down to be eaten as a mush or in cakes.

They were eaten whole, salted and sun-dried, "much as residents of any present-day neighborhood lounge consume beer nuts," David B. Madsen, Utah’s former state archeologist, wrote in his article "A Grasshopper in Every Pot" published in a Nevada historical quarterly in 1989. Madsen has also written that Mormon pioneer diaries were full of references to eating insects.

Not only were insects widely used as Native Americans’ winter food storage, they also were a delicacy. The mixture of insects, pine nuts and berries left to dry in the sun was called "desert fruitcake."

Chapul bars can currently be found in many locations in the Salt Lake City area as well as OARS in Vernal. Salt Lake Tribune

Program aims to erase gap in early education

Kevin and Kristen Remington knew that they wanted a top preschool education before their children began public school. But with limited preschool options in the Uintah Basin, they, like many parents in rural Utah, found their choices were limited.

That is until Kristen Remington discovered an at-home early childhood education program called Upstart. Now, three children later, the Remingtons say the Upstart program was crucial to their children’s current academic success.

The good news, they said, is that the program is free and available to Uintah Basin parents. That can be a tremendous benefit to parents in Utah, where a Pre-K education isn’t mandated.

Traditionally, students in rural areas have entered public school significantly behind students in more highly-populated areas.

The rural nature of Utah, where schools are literally few and far between, when compounded with the poverty prevalent in many areas of the Basin, means that rural children often start public school at a significant disadvantage.

That’s why Utah is taking steps to encourage in-home preschool education, especially for rural areas like in Duchesne or Uintah Counties, said Claudia Miner, program director for Upstart, a free at-home preschool education curriculum.

Children who are behind during the first years of school often tend to learn slower than students who begin ahead, according to research by economist James Heckman.

Heckman notes that the phenomenon creates a “Matthew effect” for reading skills, in which the academically rich become richer, and the academically poor become poorer.

Upstart is aimed at erasing that deficit by putting those pre-K opportunities into the home.

Kristen Remington said the program is free to parents because it is funded by a federal grant, can grow more as more people sign up. Uintah Basin Standard

Transportation ills could derail Uintah oil boom in Utah

Utah’s Uintah Basin could see huge growth in oil and natural gas production — akin to the current boom in North Dakota — except for one problem: the remote area lacks adequate transportation to handle it.

Unless that problem is solved, $30 billion worth of oil and gas may go undeveloped there over the next 30 years. It could cost Utah’s economy $10 billion, and prevent creation of nearly 27,000 jobs.

That’s the conclusion of a study funded by the Utah Department of Transportation and local governments in Uintah and Duchesne counties, which was presented Friday to the Legislature’s Infrastructure and General Government Appropriations Committee.

Cory Pope, UDOT program development director said that also means Utah would be losing on average $180 million in taxes a year over that time, equivalent to about 4 percent of the state’s annual tax collection.

Pope stressed that the study tried to be conservative in its estimates. It did not count on, for example, much production from oil shale, which so far has not resulted in much commercial production in Utah despite large reserves. Salt Lake Tribune

Environmentally-friendly oil sands extraction technology

The International Resource Journal story focuses on MCW's breakthrough, oil sands extraction technology in an industry often criticized for its extraction processes by concerned environmentalists throughout Canada and the United States. The MCW story elaborates on the Company's proprietary, patent-pending oil sands extraction technology, which requires no water (a major benefit in desert locations), high temperatures or pressures. Included in this feature, are some candid comments from MCW's CEO, Dr. R.G. Bailey who expresses confidence in the future of MCW's unique technology in Utah where there's been no commercially-viable oil sands extraction technology to date. He also outlined the tremendous upside potential for worldwide licensing. Utah has over 30 billion barrels of oil (U.S. DOE) within 8 major deposits....representing a massive untouched resource.

MCW is now entering the assembly stage of its initial extraction plant on its lease location in Asphalt Ridge, Utah. It is expected that upon assembly completion, the Company will subsequently conduct a series of tests on the efficiencies and capacities of the unit prior to production. Azom

Dickey’s Barbecue opening in Vernal

A new Dickey’s Barbecue Pit restaurant is opening today in Vernal.

The outlet is the 11th operated by Dickey’s franchise owner John Thomson and is located at 2085 W. Highway 40.

According to their website, Dickey's Barbecue Pit prides itself on authenticity, innovation and barbecue sauce, one store at a time. With roots in Dallas, Travis Dickey set out to perfect Texas-style barbecue.

Dickey's believes that the success of a franchise depends on quality food, recruiting the right owner-operators and providing an in-depth support system. The initial stage of franchise support begins at Barbecue U, an intense, three-week training session where owner-operators learn how to run the restaurant from open to close.

The loyal patrons are what keep Dickey's thriving in every community. Barbecue is a regional cuisine in mostly southern states, but Dickey's Barbecue Pit is changing that one restaurant at a time. As it continues to expand from coast to coast, customers are wooed by the home-style flavor and family friendly atmosphere. Salt Lake Tribune

Roosevelt School board forecasts overcrowding

Students in portable classrooms are coming soon to Roosevelt area schools according to projected enrollment figures generated by the Duchesne County School District.

To meet some of those growth predictions, the school board voted in their last meeting to move forward a proposed bond election to build an expansion elementary school in Roosevelt and a replacement elementary for Duchesne Elementary School, which has outlived its useful life according to independent engineering evaluations.

Director of Student Services Bruce Guymon, updated the Roosevelt City Council regarding the bond election and the growth projections during a school board visit to the Roosevelt City Council on Tuesday Jan. 15, in the Roosevelt City Council chambers.

Between the 2010/11 and 2015/16 school years, elementary enrollment in the Roosevelt schools will experience a 44 percent growth, according to Guymon.

District Superintendent David Brotherson said that of the 110 new students at the junior high school this year, 40 were anticipated and 70 were not.

The predictions for growth at Union High School were no less concerning.

The center section of Union High has reached the end of its useful life according to engineering evaluations. However the north end of the building and the separate math building may have 15 to 20 years of life remaining according to the engineering studies.

Economic growth within the county continues to raise the bonding level for the district.

Estimates for the new UHS campus are presently set at about $50 million with a possibility of being as high as $60 million. Uintah Basin Standard

Awash in Oil, U.S. and Utah Set a New Course

When it comes to oil, a dramatic shift is under way in America, and Utah is playing a role.

Improved technology in both the oil fields and under vehicle hoods are big reasons why rising energy
production in the state and nationally is helping the country not only more than meet demand but also is putting it on course to reduce oil imports to historic levels.

Along the way, gas prices have fallen 50 cents or more in the state in the past month as oil stockpiles
grow, reducing the pressure on fuel costs, at least for the time being.

This year, Utah crude oil production is estimated to top 29 million barrels, marking a steady increase
since 1989. By comparison, the lowest output according to record-keeping going back 36 years came in 2003 at 13 million barrels, when drillers ran into a familiar boom-and-bust cycle common in the U.S. oil industry. Highs were registered in 1985 (41 million barrels) and in 1976 (35.4 million barrels).

"Historically, we’ve had more than one boom-and-bust cycle," said John Rogers, associate director of the Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining. "But production has steadily been increasing recently, largely through better technology."

In fact, production is up in the country a whole to a level that the United States could overtake Saudi
Arabia to become the world’s biggest oil producer before 2020, and might be energy independent a
decade later, according to a recent forecast by the International Energy Agency.

The radical reshaping of the nation’s energy picture means that the U.S. could become a net exporter of oil around 2030, the global organization said. Salt Lake Tribune

New Pedestrian Bridge in Duchesne

A new footbridge over the Duchesne River in Duchesne was installed Dec. 23.

The Utah Department of Transportation closed Utah Highway 87 between 8 a.m. And 5 p.m. as the new bridge arrived and was set in place.

The bridge arrived in two sections and was “flown” or lifted into position by two large cranes after assembly on the road deck. The engineering for the bridge was precise and the complete unit settled onto its foundations with little effort.

Pedestrian traffic was deemed to be unsafe on the highway bridge by the Utah State Transportation Board and UDOT.

During the floods of 2011, Duchesne City Mayor RoJean Rowley walked over the UT 87 Bridge to observe the water levels.

Rowley called a meeting with representatives from the state transportation board and UDOT and the group visited the bridge crossing.

The transportation board set aside money for the project.

Final work on the pathway and approaches is continuing. Uintah Basin Standard

Uintah Basin Gets Attention in Proposed Budget

On 12-12-12, Utah Governor Gary R. Herbert rolled out his budget recommendations for 2014.
This year’s budget work was impacted by the dichotomy of having a healthy economy in Utah, one of the best in the nation, the governor said, juxtaposed against the uncertainty of what type of impacts may result from the fiscal cliff and the affordable health care act.

Gov. Herbert said as his team worked on the budget, the focus was strongly on growing the state’s economy. “Everything I do focuses on how does that help or hurt our economic opportunities,” he said.

The lion’s share of state monies goes into education, about 63 percent, approximately $3.4 billion. Monies go into a variety of education targets, including expanding Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programs both in the lower grade levels as well as post high-school education. The governor noted in his Wednesday’s telephone press conference for publications from rural areas of the state that he believes investing in education to be strategic, “putting that money where we get the best bang for the buck.” He noted that if the state is going to have economic expansion it will need an educated labor force. “This budget exemplifies this effort; we are going to try to make sure everything we do in the state is designed to optimize opportunity.”

Other highlights of the budget include funds for economic development initiatives, including business expansion and retention programs for rural communities. Also, the budget calls for the state to continue to promote Utah tourism and travel, as well as business marketing recruitment and outreach..

In other areas, particularly those of interest to the Uintah Basin, the governor noted that the Utah Department of Transportation is aware of the increase in truck traffic on U.S. Highway 40 and is looking at some band-aid solutions such as adding more passing lanes and more signage. Mayors and county commissioners try to prioritize transportation needs, working through UDOT to determine where to spend finite amounts of money, the governor said.

Other ongoing projects include looking to improve air quality and emissions. “We are spending a significant amount of money in a combined effort to study the air shed in the Basin because of the ozone problem,” the governor said.

For full details on the governor’s budget proposal, go to Budget Recommendations.

The Utah State Legislature will grapple with coming up with their own 2014 budget proposal when it convenes Jan. 28. Vernal Express