Speaker Wilson unveiled HB 410 to help the Great Salt Lake, but many are disappointed that the measure fails to offer a permanent means of protecting the Lake. HB 410 awards $40 million to one new entity to acquire temporary water rights, protect lands or prepare studies on the Lake. But Utah’s restrictive instream flow laws threaten to impair these efforts before they even get off the ground.
Read MoreThe Utah Rivers Council just announced its Great Salt Lake Drought Contingency proposal, a bill that has received sponsorship from Representative Douglas Sagers (R) from Tooele. Because citizens and elected officials are all interested in saving the American West’s largest lake and namesake of Utah’s capital city, the bill has gotten a lot of attention. To answer some popular questions, we turned to the bill’s original author, Utah Rivers Council Water Policy Associate Lindsey Hutchison.
Read MoreThe Utah Rivers Council has proposed an exciting, new piece of legislation to save the Great Salt Lake. The bill is a drought contingency plan that phases in commonsense, water-saving actions when the Lake shrinks below a healthy elevation. Representative Douglas Sagers has agreed to sponsor the legislation as a priority bill, and we await its announcement in the House.
Read MoreOn January 13, Governor Cox released his Coordinated Action Plan for Water. Branded as a “groundbreaking effort,” the document is meant to show that Utah’s executive office is on the cutting edge of water policy. However, the governor has not announced large new plans, programs, or strategies for addressing water issues in the state. There is nothing substantially new in the Governor’s plan.
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