Agar keeping busy in interim

Senator Wyatt Agar was certainly easy to spot as he kept busy during the Hot Springs County Fair this month, he’s also been keeping busy during the interim of the Wyoming Legislature.

As a member of the Appropriations Committee, Agar said he’s been dealing with the results of the Blackjewel mines closing a month ago. That closing, he noted, meant a loss of $78 million in federal mineral royalties.

Agar explained the state fronts those royalty monies for the first 18 months, so essentially the mines are 18 months behind in paying the money back. Though the matter was brought to bankruptcy court in Virginia to argue the royalties were owed, Agar said the court ruled against the state. The court’s reason for the ruling, he noted, was that it couldn’t be proven that the state provided services to the company.

Agar disagrees however, as fronting the money should certainly count as a service.

Though the mines have been sold and there still will be demand for the coal from them, the millions are essentially gone. With that, Agar said, they must figure out how to slow down the “burn rate” of the Legislative Stabilization Reserve Account, which is something of a ”rainy day” fund for the state.

Agar is also now part of the Select Water Committee, and considers this an honor as a freshman senator. He’ll be in Buffalo this next week, pushing to get a resolution for water storage at Hyattville. This would provide water for irrigation and recreation in the Big Horn Basin. Agar noted a lot of the water in the Basin flows into Montana, and there needs to be proof of beneficial use of this water in the state.

Discussion is also continuing with regard to the future of the Moneta Divide and the proposed expansion of Aethon Energy. Prior to local discussions, Agar said his major worry was that water testing regulations would be outsourced. Since the discussions, he’s learned the regulations will be kept “in house” by the Department of Environmental Quality rather than an outside company.

Looking ahead, Agar expects to be busy most of December, working with Appropriations to hear testimony and get the initial budget prepared for the 2020 Legislative session that begins Feb. 1.