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Senate advances bill defining recreational use along targeted stretch of Weber River
Summary
Senator Sandahl said the bill clarifies where and which recreational activities are allowed along a specified portion of the Weber River, defining access by the vegetative line while saying it does not change title to land beneath water; the Senate approved the bill for third reading, 25–0.
Senator Sandahl on Jan. 21 explained Second Substitute Senate Bill 63, a measure that the sponsor said defines the bounds and permitted recreational activities in a particular stretch of the Weber River and clarifies questions that followed years of litigation.
Sandahl told the Senate that litigation over riverbed access reached the Utah Supreme Court and that subsequent administrative guidance from the attorney general and the Division of Wildlife Resources left open unspecified boundaries. "This piece of legislation is a collaborative effort between stream bed access and landowners to define points that the supreme court did not define, as in the width of the access, which we have defined being the vegetative line, and activities that could be conducted in that stream access area," Sandahl said on the floor. She added the bill "does not have anything to do with title to the ground underneath the water and does not conflict with any of the sovereign land code."
Sandahl recounted earlier litigation where, she said, a fisherman cited on the Weber River won an appeal and the legislature subsequently acted in 2010. The present bill, she said, applies to the stretch from the confluence of the main fork and Bridal Fork in the Holiday Park area down to Echo Reservoir and specifies which activities are permitted in that access zone.
The Senate voted 25–0 to read the second substitute for a third time; floor action recorded the vote to advance the bill to third-reading consideration. The sponsor said the measure was narrowly scoped and had broad support in committee.
What this means: according to the sponsor's floor remarks, SB63 would set a defined boundary for recreational access on the named stretch of river, spell out allowable activities within that vegetative-line boundary, and explicitly leave ownership of the riverbed intact. The bill was advanced by the Senate and will follow the legislative calendar toward final action in the chamber.
Source: floor remarks by Senator Sandahl, Jan. 21, 2020; recorded roll-call on the question to read for third time.
