Hundreds of Magna residents living south and east of the impoundment might have been buried under the muddy "tailings" if there was a large earthquake, The Salt Lake Tribune reported March 23. The stories prompted Attorney Gen. Mark Shurtleff to ask a member of his internal "Civil Review Committee" to study the legal issues "on an expedited basis."

"We want to know what happened and why," said Shurtleff's spokesman, Paul Murphy.

The attorney, part of a 10-person review panel, was directed to focus "on whether any agency or state employee did something wrong."

According to an internal memo by a former Kennecott attorney, the State Engineer agreed to keep documents describing the unsafe conditions out of public view and assured the company he had "no intention . . . of going public with the information."

In the 20 years since the danger was identified, the company has spent more than $13 million to stabilize the old impoundment, but it is unclear how closely state dam safety regulators monitored the company's work. Just two reports about the hazard and the improvements are part of the public record.

Shurtleff has asked the lawyer to focus on these questions:

* Was there an affirmative duty to notify the public of the danger of a collapse in the event of an earthquake?

* If there was, did the agency or a state employee breach that duty?

* If there was a breach, what state statutes were violated and what is the liability or harm for such a breach?

* Should any action be taken - including any recommendation for rule or statutory changes?

The Salt Lake County Council is slated to hear a report today from Kennecott president Andrew Harding. He is expected to discuss the improvements to the old impoundment and the company's public outreach.

Last week the council voted to create an oversight committee that will hire independent experts to review Kennecott's work on the old impoundment - the sort of third-party review the company had performed on its new tailings impoundment, just north of the old one. The company has offered to pay for the expert study.

fahys@sltrib.com