Ashtyn Asay, Daily Herald

Rep. Keven Stratton and non-profit organization Conserve Utah Valley held a virtual town hall meeting Thursday to discuss what’s next for HB 240, which changes the language of Utah Lake Amendments, now that it has passed the full house.

Stratton sponsors HB 240, which passed the Utah House of Representatives on Tuesday with a 68-3 vote, and will now move on to the Senate.

“Representative Keven Stratton has been a nonstop champion to ensure that ‘fairness’ and ‘transparency of legislative process’ is insured,” said Craig Christensen, executive director of Conserve Utah Valley, in a press release. “I admire his ability to listen, act and see this legislation through. It gives me hope that the state legislature is willing to act with more transparency against misinformation and greed. It is gratifying to see legislators understand how strongly citizens feel about protecting Utah Lake.”

According to Stratton, he believes that this bill will provide more transparency and accountability in the application process for any Utah Lake restoration project.

“What House Bill 240 does is it puts in place a lot of transparency as well as sound process to allow that,” Stratton said “The bill itself allows for a placement of the flesh upon the bone, so to speak.”

Ashtyn Asay, Daily Herald

The bill requires the approval of the Legislature and governor for the disposal of any Utah Lake land in exchange for the restoration of Utah Lake and requires the Division of Forestry, Fire, and Lands to prepare recommendations and objectives on any Utah Lake restoration to be reported to the Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Interim Committee.

According to Stratton, he is not opposed to restoration projects for Utah Lake, rather he feels that any restoration performed on the lake should meet certain qualifications and go through a process before any action can be taken.

“We need to recognize that Utah Lake needs our help for it to become its best version,” Stratton said. “A lot of good progress has been made.”

Stratton previously worked with Conserve Utah Valley on a previous conservation project for Bridal Veil Falls, so according to Carol-Lyn Jardine, the director of marketing for Conserve Utah Valley, partnering with him again in November to draft legislation after the group became concerned about the Utah Lake Restoration Project, a proponent of Lake Restoration Solutions to dredge and build islands on Utah Lake.

“We partnered with Representative Stratton to host the first-ever Utah Lake Summit,” Jardine said. “That summit was pivotal for bringing in really sound voices from the science community.”

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