Environmentalists sue to stop Utah potash mine that produces sought-after crop fertilizer

By SAM METZ
Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Environmentalists have filed a lawsuit to prevent the construction of a new potash mine they say would devastate a lake ecosystem in the drought-stricken western Utah desert. The complaint filed Monday against the Bureau of Land Management is the latest development in the battle over the potash in Utah, which holds some of the United States’ largest deposits of the mineral, which is used by farmers to fertilize crops throughout the globe. The project is among fronts in which federal agencies are fighting environmentalists over how to balance conservation concerns with efforts to boost production of critical minerals.