Claims vs Record disc-039
unresolvedpeople Local jobs and 'relocated' from California: the numbers told to towns, the state and job boards do not line up
What was said
- Valar presenters to the Carbon County Commission (minutes) (2026-08-19): "They relocated to the region from California two years ago".Aug 19, 2026 Commission Meeting Minutes (Carbon County Board of Commissioners; scanned, read as page images) (Carbon County Commission (Utah Public Notice Website), 2026-08-19)
- Valar to the Trust Lands board (minutes) (2026-08-20): The current facility "employs roughly 40 full-time local residents" plus 50 to several hundred local contractors.08.20.2026 FINAL TLA Minutes (Utah Trust Lands Administration (Utah Public Notice Website), 2026-09-17)
- Valar's tax-credit file (2026-07-09): 275 full-time jobs in Emery County at an average wage of $137,567.GOED Public Board Materials, July 9, 2026 (Valar Atomics Inc. executive summary) (Board of the Governor's Office of Economic Development (Utah Public Notice Website), 2026-07-09)
What the record shows
- Ferron City Council minutes, 15 April 2026: Valar's Utah operations director said 'We actively employ 120 people. A lot of those are NOT living in Utah', with 15-20 full-time employees at the site.Ferron City Council Minutes, April 15, 2026 (scanned, read as page images) (Ferron City (Utah Public Notice Website), 2026-04-15)
- Valar's job board on 29 September 2026: 71 of 92 openings in Torrance, California, 21 in Orangeville, none in Carbon County.Valar Atomics job board (public Greenhouse feed, 92 postings; read in the safety and plans passes) (Valar Atomics, 2026-09-29)
- The federal award record lists Valar's place of performance as Hawthorne, California; its Carbon claim notice gives a Torrance address.USAspending award ASST_NON_DENE0009560_089 (API record) (USAspending.gov (U.S. Department of the Treasury), 2026-05-19)
- At the July 2025 town hall Valar said it would hire about 40 employees for about 12 months of testing.Not A Nuclear Plant Just Testing a Small Nuclear Reactor (Julie Johansen) (ETV News, 2025-07-09)
The gap: Valar told Carbon County it relocated from California, and told the state of about 40 full-time local residents and 275 future jobs. The record shows most of its openings and its registered place of work in California, and, in April, Valar saying many of its 120 Emery workers did not live in Utah. The figures count different things; no payroll record exists to check them.
In plain termsValar has told local officials it moved to the region from California and employs about 40 local people, and told the state it will create 275 jobs averaging $137,567 a year. But most of its job openings are in Torrance, California, its federal paperwork lists California as where the work is done, and in April its own Utah director said many of the 120 people working in Emery County did not live in Utah. These numbers can all be true at once, counting different groups at different times. None can be checked against a payroll, and the state tax credit depends on the 275.
Why it matters: Local jobs are the main public benefit officials cite; the state's $106.7 million credit is tied to them.
What would settle it: GRAMA to the Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity for Valar's incentive application and any annual job and wage reports.