Draft legislation aims to make it easier for officials to raise Great Salt Lake berm

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Legislature’s Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Interim Committee on Wednesday voted to support draft legislation centered around the Great Salt Lake.

The draft legislation, which could now be included in a potential special session, changes requirements related to the lake’s adaptive management berm — located at the Great Salt Lake Causeway breach that helps manage the two arms — mainly because water from the lake’s saltier northern arm has flowed into the southern arm in the past.

More specifically, the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Jill Koford, R-Ogden, said the draft legislation would allow the berm to be raised to 4,192 feet when needed “to prevent dangerous salinity spikes in Gilbert Bay.”

Despite lower water levels this year, salinity rates remain within the lake’s healthy threshold, particularly for brine shrimp and brine flies, two species vital to the lake’s ecosystem.

Levels are slightly up to 109 grams per liter at a U.S. Geological Survey site at the Saltair Boat Harbor and 112 grams per liter at the agency’s Gilbert Bay site, both of which are far below the peak of 185 grams per liter in 2022.

“Without diligent management of the berm, the levels could swing dangerously again, which would disrupt the food supply, the food web, threaten migratory birds and harm industries that depend on the lake,” Koford said. “Adjusting the berm, raising and lowering it when it’s needed, has been one of the most effective tools we have in our toolbox.”

Additionally, Koford said the bill does three other important things by requiring that the berm be raised should the southern arm drop to 4,190 feet elevation or lower; that the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands have a plan, timeline and outline that within 18 months of lowering the berm, the north and south arms will be within 2 feet of each other; and a requirement to consult with the Great Salt Lake commissioner before any firm modification.

Salinity levels were so high in 2022 that they brought the lake’s ecosystem to the brink of collapse. Utah leaders responded by raising a berm located at the Great Salt Lake Causeway breach that helps manage the two arms, mainly because water from the lake’s saltier northern arm had started to flow into the southern arm.

This bill would look to make that process easier. Koford said that under the current law, the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands doesn’t have the flexibility it needs to manage the berm properly.

“These changes are urgent. Providing the flexibility will allow the division more effective management and to keep the lake in a healthy range while considering their other management objectives,” Koford said. “Over the past five years, our Legislature has taken some bold steps to protect the Great Salt Lake, and this bill is another step forward. It’s targeted, it’s science-based, and it’s a policy that helps keep us moving forward toward long-term recovery at the lake.”

Ben Stireman, deputy director for the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, responded to concerns about the berm being raised permanently, saying there’s no intention of doing so and that the law wouldn’t allow for it.

“We’re required by law to have a plan to reduce the lake level within 18 months and bring that back to within 2 feet of elevation, so there would be no ability for us to leave that there,” Stireman said.

During the public comment period of the meeting, several speakers expressed concern that the draft legislation isn’t doing enough to address dust mitigation.

“I think it’s important to keep in mind that while the north arm may be less ecologically important, it can still become a potential source of dangerous dust,” Lauren Griffith said. “We know what’s in the dust, and we know that it can be concerning. I’ve wondered if there’s opportunities for strategic releases of water from tributaries, or strategic shallow flooding. Observational studies, while not formalized, have shown that even just temporary rewetting of the lake bed can help to reform the crust.”

Alta Fairborn, water advocate for the Utah Rivers Council, criticized the Legislature’s work around the Great Salt Lake as a whole, saying “years of promises regarding a Great Salt Lake rescue plan ring hollow.”

“The Utah Legislature continues to dismiss vital legislation put forth to deliver water to the struggling lake. Bills designed to bring water to the lake have been killed in committee despite the relief that they would bring to Utah taxpayers,” Fairborn said. “We need to have a healthy debate about solutions to saving the Great Salt Lake. Real solutions exist, but if the Legislature refuses to have a healthy discussion and debate about them, what hope do we have that this entire lake will exist in the future?”

She described the bill as an “escape hatch for failed leadership,” rather than a solution to save the lake.

With a favorable recommendation from the committee, the bill draft legislation could now be included in a potential special session of the Utah Legislature.

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