Coalition Demands Investigation of $33B Water Funding Request
A coalition of 18 groups has asked the State Auditor to examine the claim Utah needs $33 billion of water funding, as has been presented to Utah legislators in an effort to get Senate Bill 80 passed. This $33 billion funding scare has become a lightning rod of controversy because the list of needs is full of projects already constructed, previously-funded, duplications, and fabricated spending needs. The URC believes $18 billion of the list is completely made up.
SB80 would permanently take $36 million in sales taxes every year to fund the Lake Powell Pipeline and Bear River Development. This attempt to fund these destructive projects passed through committee last week but could be voted on by the Senate as early as TOMORROW.
This will be a close vote so it is critical that you tell your State Senator to vote NO on SB80. Find your legislators.
We Need You at Next Week's Lake Powell Pipeline Meeting
The Board of Water Resources, the entity proposing both the Lake Powell Pipeline and Bear River Development, is holding a public meeting on Thursday, February 11th at 1:00 pm at the Department of Natural Resources Auditorium, 1594 W. North Temple.
We need your voice to speak out against this rogue agency at the helm of wasting taxpayer money for destructive water projects that will devastate Utah’s amazing river ecosystems. Will you join us?
The Fight Against the Water Development Lobby
The URC has been hard at work everyday on Capitol Hill trying to stop this nightmare for Utah’s rivers, but it isn’t an easy fight. The Salt Lake Tribune reported Tuesday lobbyists outnumber legislators over 4 to 1 at the legislature. No surprise, the water development industry makes up a large part of the lobbyists in the state, with 36 lobbyists. In fact, the single entity with the most registered lobbyists for the 2016 session is the Central Utah Water Conservancy District with 13 lobbyists. These figures don’t even include the scores of water district staff members lobbying who are not required to register as lobbyists with the state.
You can help by contacting your legislators today!