Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Bear River Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Senate expedites Bear River study, sends bill to House after unanimous floor passage
Summary
Under suspension of the rules the Senate advanced SB 23 to authorize feasibility and predesign studies for Bear River development, citing urgency to capture runoff data; sponsors said the task force unanimously recommended the effort and the bill passed 26-0 and was referred to the House.
The Utah Senate moved Senate Bill 23 — a measure to authorize and oversee feasibility and predesign work for development of the Bear River — to immediate consideration under suspension of the rules and passed the bill unanimously before referring it to the House.
Sponsors and task force members told the Senate that three years of below‑average moisture in northern Utah and the timing of spring runoff make it necessary to move quickly to secure engineering data. A task force formed in the interim produced unanimous recommendations in favor of proceeding. The sponsor said many local stakeholders, bond holders and federal contract concerns (where present) were considered in the drafting of the bill to protect financing mechanisms while enabling withdrawals or boundary changes where appropriate.
In floor debate senators pressed for assurance that environmental concerns had been addressed; sponsors said environmental groups had participated in committee hearings and signed off on the bill. The bill carries an initial study budget that was discussed in committee and had been amended from an earlier higher figure; sponsors said contracting for technical studies was preferred to adding permanent staff so that predesign work could proceed during the critical spring runoff season.
Senators also debated the time horizon for developing water supplies, with sponsors estimating that delivering new Bear River water to the Wasatch Front could be a 20‑year endeavor but that interim improvements and near‑term studies were required to meet shorter‑term needs. The clerk announced the floor vote as 26 ayes, 0 nays; the bill passed and was referred to the House for further action.
