Honoring and Protecting our Mother Earth
Working to Save Utah Lake
Despite its environmental, cultural, and economic importance, our lake is in grave danger because of a law passed in 2018. The “Utah Lake Amendments” (H.B. 272) created a loophole that allowed the lakebed to be given to commercial developers. Right now, an LLC called “Lake Restoration Solutions” is preparing to build 20,000 acres of dredged islands and house 500,000 people on them. The state legislature gave this company a $10 million loan guarantee last year to subsidize their fundraising and permitting efforts (coverage here).
State resources and taxpayer dollars should not be used to subsidize a real estate venture that claims to have billions lined up from foreign investors. Repealing H.B. 272 will restore Utah Lake’s constitutional protection, ensuring Utah Lake is held in “public trust” in perpetuity for all Utahns, present and future.
Oklevueha Native American Church stands with the Timpanogos Nation in defending, protecting, and honoring the sacred waters of Utah Lake. We also stand with over 100 scientists and supporters who decry the ecological and spiritual disaster this proposed project would bring.
The technical response to the current USACE permit application by Lake Restoration Solutions called the Utah Lake Restoration Project.
The Utah Lake dredging proposal is not legal, officials tell lawmakers
In a bombshell announcement Wednesday, August 17, 2022 , Utah state land managers said crucial elements of the proposed Utah Lake dredging project are not constitutional because privatizing the lake bed, considered “sovereign land,” would run afoul of the state’s duty to manage such land in the “public trust.”
In an article published by the Salt Lake Tribune, the details of the illegalities are explained. State officials are alerting lawmakers of their serious reservations about the legality of the project’s key feature: “disposal” of the lake bed.
Counter Suit to SLAPP suit against Ben Abbott
This document give an enormous amount of information about this situation.
State of Utah House Representative
Keven J. Stratton
Letter from James “Flaming Eagle” Mooney
regarding Utah Bill HB232
Good People,
Timpanogos Nation Chief Executive Mary Murdoc Meyer and I are in full support of Utah State Senator Mike McKell’s bill HB232 to be amended with Utah State Representative Keven Stratton’s 240HB and Representative Brady Brammer’s 232HB. Both Stratton and Brammer proved to Mary and me their integrity with their transparent approach in formulating their bills by listening to their Utah State Environment experts. We both feel Amending HB232 would instill preventive measures in protecting the citizens of Utah from being embroiled in any more litigations where the citizens of Utah would be the major losers. Equally important, the lawsuits would further hamper the healing of more than 100 years of desecrating Timpanogos Lake (Utah Lake).
The basis for our support of this amendment is that HB232 intent was not to heal Utah Lake, but to advance Lake Restoration Solution (LRS) Island in commercializing our Sacred Lake.
1. The decision to design and push through HB232 was based on financial gain rather than the health and sanctity of Utah Lake being its primary concern.
– This opinion in part is based on the lack of transparency in developing HB232 with the citizens of Utah,
– Not consulting with Utah’s massive amount of environmental experts and the Timpanogos Nation, the original caretakers of Utah Lake.
– Thus, opening the door for our well-intentioned political representatives to be duped by LRS.
2. Jon Benson, president Chief Operating at LRS flat out lied to Mary.
3. Harley LRS Lobbyist lied to me.
4. Jon and Jeff lied to the Utah Lake Summit panel led by state of Utah House Representative Keven Stratton with most of Utah County state representatives and a hundred or so more concerned citizens in attendance.
5. LRS, filing a multi-million-dollar Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP) against BYU Assistant Professor Ben Abbott. A tactic that only will finance nefarious organizations undertake.
6. BYU Assistant Professor Ben Abbott counter suit to LRS SLAPP suit.
Both Mary and I are in hopes that the state of Utah political representatives will continue to listen and honor their constituents, thus, avoiding any more litigations to protect the sanctity of Utah Lake.
James “Flaming Eagle” Mooney
Copied:
State of Utah Governor Spencer Cox
State of Utah Lt. Governor Deidre Henderson
U.S. State of Utah Representative John R. Curtis
U.S. State of Utah Senator Mitt Romney
U.S. Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland
U.S. Secretary of Land Management Tracy Stone-Manning