Lawmaker proposes bill allowing Utah Lake land to be exchanged for conservation projects
Jorge Martinez, a priest at the St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Orem, takes photos of Utah Lake at dusk on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018, near Vineyard. Martinez was taking the photos to share with his friends back in Mexico, where Martinez is from.
Jorge Martinez, a priest at the St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Orem, looks out over Utah Lake at dusk on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018, near Vineyard. It was Martinez's second time visiting the lake in the past month.
A lone seagull perches onto of a pole in the American Fork Harbor on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018.
A portion of a rock sits above the water level of Utah Lake on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018, near American Fork.
A cloudy sky is reflected in Utah Lake near the American Fork Harbor on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018, near American Fork.
A proposal to build islands on Utah Lake prompted a bill from a Spanish Fork lawmaker that would allow for state land to be traded to private entities in exchange for conservation projects that benefit the lake.
A group proposed a plan in January to build islands on Utah Lake that included first dredging the lake, then rehabilitating it and building in about 10 to 15 years.
Utah Lake has had its share of issues over the past few years, including widely publicized toxic algal blooms, which caused the lake to be shut down for a time in 2016.
There are also ongoing projects to remove carp — an invasive species — from the lake to enable the regrowth of native vegetation and protect the endangered June sucker fish.
Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork, has proposed House Bill 272 that would allow for the state, which owns the lake bed, to transfer “appropriately available state land in and around Utah Lake” to private entities in exchange for projects that would offer significant restoration benefits to the lake.
In order to be approved for such a transfer, the entity would have to prove that the restoration project would accomplish one of a myriad of restoration goals, from restoring the clarity and quality of the lake water, to removing invasive plant or animal species like phragmites and carp, or maximize, enhance and ensure recreational access and opportunities on Utah Lake.
McKell referred to it as a public-private partnership, and said it’s the type of out-of-the-box thinking necessary to address the lake’s needs.
“The estimates I’ve seen to clean up the lake are $6 to 7 billion,” McKell said. “We can’t foot that bill as a state.”
McKell has served on the Utah Lake Commission for about six years and in that time, said he’s seen several proposals from private entities concerning Utah Lake.
“We need a clear process we could follow if we were to trade some sovereign lands,” McKell said. “I’m excited by the potential that private partnerships could be forged, and massive conservation and preservation efforts could move forward.”
The bill is supported by the Utah Lake Commission, said Eric Ellis, executive director of the Utah Lake Commission.
“The point of that bill is to allow the Legislature an opportunity to review proposals,” Ellis said. “Both those on the table and in the future, that offer comprehensive restoration. That’s a very positive thing for the lake and a positive for the lake commission.”
Ellis echoed McKell’s sentiment that private-public partnerships will likely be the only way to fund any kind of comprehensive restoration on Utah Lake.
“Six plus billion dollars; that’s more than a third of the state budget for a year,” Ellis said. “No way one natural resource in one county could ever hope to be the recipient of that kind of public dollars investment.”
Ellis touted the fact that the bill gives the Legislature a second opportunity to review and evaluate proposals to make sure that any proposal had the best interest of the lake at heart.
“There may be concerns that the process might be less than transparent, but this just adds another area of transparency,” Ellis said. “To pursue such a proposal, it requires two 45-day public comment periods and an environmental impact study which requires public input.”
Should the bill pass, the lake commission hopes for positive results.
“We recognize that the lake has been struggling,” Ellis said. “It’s going to take a concerted effort to make improvements needed to return it to a widely used recreational water body.”
The bill passed out of a House committee Wednesday with a favorable recommendation, and heads to the Utah House of Representatives for a full vote where, if approved, it would then head on to the Utah Senate.
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