3 new Great Salt Lake-themed proposals were unveiled by state and local leaders this week. They would add more water to the lake, redirect funds and set a new benchmark for success.
SALT LAKE CITY — Rep. Joel Briscoe, D-Salt Lake City, admits he has a sentimental reason behind his desire to save the Great Salt Lake.
So as state and local leaders look for solutions to bring water back to the lake, Briscoe is tossing in a new idea. The lawmaker is proposing, which would redirect close to $60 million in "existing annual tax collections" every year to a fund to help restore the Great Salt Lake over the next five years, or nearly $300 million over that span.
The new funds, he adds, would help the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands in their efforts to restore lake levels.Briscoe's bill is one of a few new ideas for preserving the Great Salt Lake proposed this week. Sen. Nate Blouin, D-Salt Lake City, also on Wednesday unveiled details of a resolution that seeks to set 4,198 feet elevation as the goal for "saving" the Great Salt Lake.
"We've set up a great framework that's going to get water back to the lake but we haven't yet established a target that gives us an overarching goal to work toward," Blouin said. "We know is an economic and environmental anchor in the region. ... We're all counting on the lake in one way or another."as a result of storms over the past few weeks; however, it remains almost 9 feet below that target objective at the moment.
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