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Utah Lake is pictured from Finger Jetty Road in Utah Lake State Park on Monday, Jan. 17, 2022.

Ashtyn Asay, Daily Herald

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Rep. Keven Stratton spoke about HB240, the Utah Lake Amendments, on the Capitol steps on Monday, Feb. 7, 2022.

Ashtyn Asay, Daily Herald

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Rally attendees holding signs that say "Don't Pave Utah Lake" on the Capitol steps on Monday, Feb. 7, 2022.

Ashtyn Asay

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In the penultimate day of the Utah Legislative Session, Utah Lake came up again for one final vote.

House Bill 240, the Utah Lake Amendments, passed in the Utah State Senate 27-1, with one absence. The bill will now be enrolled, then sent to Gov. Spencer Cox for further action.

HB 240, sponsored by Orem Rep. Keven Stratton and Provo Sen. Curtis Bramble, modifies the Utah Lake Amendments which were originally passed in 2018.

According to Stratton, HB 240 provides more transparency to the application process for potential Utah Lake restoration projects.

“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.”

Conserve Utah Valley, a non-profit group based in Utah County has been outspokenly in support of the legislation. The group sponsored a rally in support of the bill last month at the Utah State Capitol with over 500 people in attendance.

“The people of Utah deserve to know what’s going on behind closed doors to prevent improper and unwanted actions on the lake,” Craig Christensen, the executive director of Conserve Utah Valley said. “Utah Lake is part of the sovereign lands belonging to all Utahns. We appreciate that Representative Stratton and Senator Bramble have championed Fairness and greater public transparency in all legislative actions moving forward. As citizens of Utah, we deserve that.”

Benjamin Abbott, an assistant professor of plant and wildlife sciences, has advocated alongside Conserve Utah Valley for the bill.

“I’m really grateful that the legislature is adding guardrails to the process of transferring sovereign lands. Utah Lake and other sovereign lands are meant to be a public trust for the people of Utah today and forever,” Abbott said. “There are real constitutional concerns whenever sovereign lands are privatized without compensation, and we need impartial oversight and transparency. There are still big issues with the 2018 law that created this new lakebed transfer possibility, but until that law is repealed, H.B. 240 is a step in the right direction.”

According to Stratton, HB 240 is not meant to target any specific proposed restoration project for Utah Lake. However, the Utah Lake Restoration Project, which is a proposal to dredge parts of Utah Lake in order to create man-made islands, was mentioned multiple times during the Senate Committee discussion.

According to Jon Benson, president of Lake Restoration Solutions which is spearheading the restoration project, the company worked with Stratton to make changes to HB 240.

“We appreciate that Rep. Stratton was willing to work with us on changes reflected in the current version of the bill,” Benson said in a statement released by Lake Restoration Solutions. “Most encouraging, thanks to the many discussions surrounding HB 240 and Rep. Brammer’s Utah Lake Authority bill, it’s clear that legislators want to see significant improvements to Utah Lake.”

The Utah Lake Restoration Project is currently undergoing the NEPA process, which they have projected will take years to complete.

“We support the refined process outlined in the bill and will continue working with the State, the EPA, the US Army Corps, and other agencies to review plans to restore and enhance Utah Lake. The future of Utah Lake has never been brighter,” Benson said.

Also headed to Cox’s desk is the Utah Lake Authority bill authored by Provo Rep. Brady Brammer and Sen. Mike McKell, also of Utah County. This legislation will create a Utah Lake Authority, similar to the Inland Port Authority, to manage and approve any management plan or proposed improvement to Utah Lake.

Brammer’s bill passed the Utah House 57-17 and the Utah Senate 20-8. Stratton’s bill previously passed the Utah House by a vote of 68-3, with four members not voting.

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