Saving the Salt

[manta22]

Eldo;

Call the corporate headquarters of Quality Inn and raise hell. Don't accept the "independent franchisee" excuse-- it's their logo on the sign out front. Mention that it would make a good case on TV.

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

[Speed Limit 1000]

In January a Hilton charged me for two unused nights for checking out early. I called Chase because it was charged to my Visa. The hotel refunded the money. I left a bad revue  for the hotel and the last notice I received it had over 750 people read it. I am diamond at Choice Hotels and have never had a problem with them.

[jl222]

  Linda canceled at the Red Garter with no problem and they were very nice.

  A few years back we were a day late getting to the Nugget, [Tire problem]  we called that evening saying we had to wait
until the tire shop opened and to not give away our room. No problem and no charge for that night.
 
            JL222

[Sumner]

Eldo;

Call the corporate headquarters of Quality Inn and raise hell. Don't accept the "independent franchisee" excuse-- it's their logo on the sign out front. Mention that it would make a good case on TV.

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

Some years back with different owners at Motel 6 then I booked a room well in advance for World Finals.  Later when I called to confirm it they raised the price and then when I showed up they raised it again.  I paid one night and then moved.  Later I called Motel 6 corporate to air my thoughts on what happened.  They told me the same as Neil is saying.  I should of called them when I checked in and they would of had words with the motel.  So yes call corporate as it might help,

Sumner

[will6er]

There may be a couple more variables to include in hotrod's calculations.

1. A lot of water is removed with the mining which is then evaporated. (gone)

2. Where does the water come from to dissolve the salt for the "lay-down project"? (from the Flats?)

Will Willis

[Eldo]

Yeah, we'll call corporate in the morning. Sounds like Visa might be able to help as well. I am trying to shift my focus to the AMA week Aug 29 - Sept 3, but that is only realistic if we can recoup some of our money back from the Quality Inn. I called the Nugget this eve and they where very helpful, assuring me that in the event the AMA week is cancelled, they would refund our money no problem, with 24 hours notice. Also, 6 nights at the Nugget works out to $348CDN/room; a far cry the $2100/room we have tangled up in the Quality Inn.

Also, I feel I should back off my original statement; of this situation putting me off Bonneville; I was coming in a little hot after dealing with this all afternoon; I'm still super excited to run on the salt, it's too bad this situation is our first impression.

[jl222]

One other thing that goes along with what Chris has stated.  The jobs that are tied to the mining enterprise. 

Being a civil engineer this whole subject has had the gears turning, I am wondering if there is some kind of solution that would allow for both racing and mining to continue to operate. From some of the things I have read it seems as though they aren't really allowed to mine the area of the course. Whether or not that is actually happening or that has been revised since the documents I have seen so far is hard to say. I know there are ditches in the general area but I don't know if those collect the slurry or redistribute it out to the race course. Problem is even if they are only collecting from areas outside of the protected area they are still pulling it from the shallow aquifer that contributes to the race track. I would be willing to bet I80 is built on road base which is permeable to some extent and allows them to essentially pull the water from the aquifer. If you have ever seen the movie There Will Be Blood it is the same concept Daniel Day Lewis is talking about in this clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_hFTR6qyEo

I am wondering if we can work with the BLM to get them to make Intrepid build some kind non permeable boarder around the course to essentially cut off that area from the effects of the mining. Then also have them continue to pump salt back out to the flats. At least that way there is a potential for the surface to be rebuilt and the mine to continue to operate just not using the part of the salt that we care about. The mitigation they are doing now, pumping the salt back to the flats equal or greater to the amount they are pulling out over the same period, isn't cutting it and at most is maintaining (barely) the amount of salt out there since they started pumping it back out. If the subsurface gets cut off there is a potential to rebuild it rather than just barely maintaining it. Personally, I think the existing studies that have been done could even be used to make the argument. It was recorded that there was a loss in thickness from their first study in the middle of the century to the later studies. The "minimal loss of thickness" they are using to make the argument, whether true or not for our purposes, is based on studies done after the late 80s which doesn't help us get back to historic conditions we want.

What I don't know is how to work a potential solution in to the conversation. Also, if it can be worked in, the schedule for the lease doesn't allow for revision of the mitigation until 2023 or something like that. Can we get the government to force a revision allowing for that kind of mitigation requirements earlier?

   
  A berm like you say would be great and a discharge closer to the course would be nice.
  How far away is the discharge pipe and how many ft and how large a pipe would be needed?
 Cost figured from length and size. But I'm sure there would be labor and hauling donated.
 Maybe help from pipe manufacture.
 Also a ditch and berm to divert mudflow from mountains around edge of salt flats.

                     JL222

[Buickguy3]

   Eldo,
   I hope you don't mind but I took your story to the LandRacing site on Facebook and you have lots of support there as well. From the comments over there you are on the right track with the Corporate HQ and with the card company. Good luck and keep us posted on how it's resolved.
    Doug 

[Texican]

    As of last night; 07/22/2015.......
22   21:15   E 8   6.00   Thunderstorm   FEW043 SCT075 BKN090   70   55          60%   NA   NA   29.93   NA   0.14   
At Wendover airport.

[Buickguy3]

    Eldo,
     On Facebook this site was mentioned. They oversee the Quality Inn group. Highly likely they don't want to get a bad name from one vendor.
          https://www.choicehotels.com/?source=pmfgoch&pmf=GOOGLE&k_clickid=a0ef400d-e6c2-4fb8-98e5-a3c30ddf7321

    Doug 

[BasementBorn]

JL, It's pretty hard to say how they are currently working the discharge. Best I really have to go on for now is using google maps and figuring they would probably just do the least expensive thing they could. My guess is they are likely just pumping backwards up the collection ditches and letting them overflow on to the flats but I don't know for certain. That's sort of what I was thinking with that idea, they could use the ditches outside the berm for their collection and have a line of ditches on the inside wall of the berm for discharge. Potentially it could be run in a 4 year cycle where they could be required to pump a minimum of the same amount they are taking from outside the berm back to the inside of the berm and on the 4th year they could pump from inside the berm (as a compromise) but would still have to pump the same amount back out to the inside portion that year. You wouldn't want the berm to be to high, maybe 6" over the existing salt surface, that way we aren't creating a lake that wouldn't dry our but would hold enough of the effluent to slowly rebuild the surface. Later down the line the height could be increased to build up beyond the initial 6 inches. most of the materials could be pit barrow or just random fill. The worst part would be the construction because they would have to either cut down to the impervious clay layer (from the reports 9-12ish feet down) to make a berm that will actually cut off the flow. At that point there would be added cost of shoring and pumping. Personally, I think any mitigation costs associated with any proposed plans should be put squarely on the mine's shoulders, it should be their responsibility 100%. Mitigation is the cost of doing business and if you don't want to do it you shouldn't be allowed to do business.

[Bob Drury]

  I can't keep up with all the Name changes of current Motels, but if the Quality inn is the two story structure across from Mayor Mikes Auto Parts (I think the first one after entering town, I had multiple rooms there for several years in the mid ninety's until the Owner (who I believe was at that time the Mayor and before that ran the Nugget Inn) decided to initiate that policy. 
  If memory serves, it was a Days in at the time and I ended up with two unneeded rooms.  Luckily It was a week before Speedweek and thanks to this site I hooked up with a Racer from Pittsburg, Pa. so it all worked out.
  Their was a pretty big discussion on here as everyone who had made reservations faced the same dilemma.  This place featured large framed pictures of racing on the Salt in the Lobby and the Hallways and up until that year all was good.
  As I recall a few called Corporate Headquarters and were told that The Wendover Motel was not a typical franchise agreement and therefor blah, blah, blah. 
  I believe it changed name  in a year or two, and it sounds to me that it probably is still owned by the same greedy folks.
                                                                                                      Bob

[velocity]

Salduro Loop

This is the only piece of land on the north side of Interstate 80 OWNED by the mining company.

That it presents an illusion of healthy salt to unwitting travelers from the rest stop is most certainly a major reason the mining company keeps the dykes in place.

This is only a guess, but if I were on the mining company's PR payroll it would be my recommendation to keep public awareness as low as possible about the degradation of the salt overall.

[velocity]

Kevin Oliver of the BLM has asked racers communicate using this email:

koliver@blm.gov

[BasementBorn]

Ahh got ya. I am wondering if it could be used almost as a case study to make an argument for a similar dike around the race area. It seems to work there, why not where we race?