Company President Andrew Harding delivered a $250,000 check to the Salt Lake County Council and urged county leaders to move quickly in forming a committee of Magna stakeholders to oversee the probe.
The investigation comes after revelations that Kennecott - in the early 1990s - concealed the possibility of a tailings pond rupturing during a massive earthquake and inundating the nearby Green Meadows Estates neighborhood.
While the company insists that the impoundment is safe today, Harding called for a third-party inquiry last month to support that claim.
"I absolutely want this independent study," the Kennecott chief assured county leaders Tuesday, "to deliver the information that Magna residents need to help move past this so we can get on with [our] relationship."
Kennecott's donation came without any demands on the composition of the oversight committee. The company simply asked the council to include as many Magna residents as possible and form the 15-member panel within a month.
Many Magna residents scolded the Utah copper giant in two recent community meetings for hiding - along with state regulators - those seismic dangers. Harding, who took over the company four months ago, apologized to them for that "awful decision."
In contrast, the company encountered little criticism Tuesday from council members, although Democrat Jenny Wilson popped this tough question:
"What criminal or civil penalties would be in place for nondisclosure?"
From the county's jurisdiction? None, staffers replied.
After a spattering of questions about how far Kennecott's tailings might flow if the dike breached or whether the waste contains toxins that might threaten the environment, Democratic Councilman Joe Hatch lauded the company for its response to the controversy.
Tuesday's only hostilities erupted when Hatch suggested that the county should widen its representation on the stakeholder committee to keep the panel from being politicized.
As now proposed, the committee would include three county officials - GOP Councilman Michael Jensen, Democratic Councilman Randy Horiuchi and Democratic Mayor Peter Corroon - all of whom face re-election this year.
"I don't want this used as a re-election device for anybody," Hatch said. "This has got to be as pure as Caesar's wife."
"I live in Magna," snapped Jensen, who also represents the area. "I don't want the health, safety and welfare to become a political issue. We are the governing body for the unincorporated county. This is an issue of governance. It's not about politics."
The council plans to discuss the committee's composition at a later date.
Kennecott's contribution - based on previous studies that have cost the copper company about $150,000 - does not represent a cap on the amount Kennecott will pay for the tailings investigation. Harding told the council that he would commit whatever money was needed to finish the study.
Any leftovers, he said, should be channeled into a Magna-area charity selected jointly by Kennecott, the County Council and the soon-to-be-selected stakeholder committee.
