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Committee advances contested water-rights rewrite aimed at speeding projects to the Great Salt Lake; critics say it narrows public protections
Summary
HB 60 would narrow the State Engineer’s review criteria and streamline protests to focus on water-related statutory authorities; supporters say it speeds water delivery to the Great Salt Lake, while conservation groups, tribal leaders and civic advocates warned it would limit public standing and weaken safeguards. The committee advanced the bill 7–2.
Representative Schallenberger and State Water Engineer Theresa Williamson framed HB 60 as a statutory cleanup and a workload-focused effort to let the State Engineer concentrate on questions within the office’s statutory authority — beneficial use, quantity, quality and availability of water — and to defer non-water issues (air quality, economic impacts, zoning) to agencies with expertise.
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