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Utah Geological Survey asks subcommittee to convert one-time appropriation to ongoing funding, highlights Great Salt Lake mapping and geothermal work
Summary
Utah Geological Survey Director Darlene Battatian asked the subcommittee to make a previous $700,000 restricted-account appropriation ongoing and outlined projects including groundwater-basin mapping, airborne LIDAR bathymetry for the Great Salt Lake, critical-minerals mapping, and a geothermal initiative tied to Operation Gigawatt.
Darlene Battatian, state geologist and director of the Utah Geological Survey, told the committee the Survey is a science agency that collects and publishes geological data used by state and local decision-makers. Battatian said the Survey’s websites and web apps — more than 40 tools, she said — receive high public use and that the agency is largely funded by a $6 million general-fund appropriation plus restricted and federal funds for specific projects.
Battatian asked the committee to correct an earlier appropriation error by converting a $700,000 one-time restricted-account appropriation into an ongoing restricted appropriation. She said the change would restore ongoing capacity that had been inadvertently funded as a one-time item the prior year.
She highlighted several technical projects: statewide groundwater-basin vulnerability mapping that combines decades of groundwater-level data with satellite measurements to identify subsidence and withdrawal impacts; airborne LIDAR surveys to build high-resolution bathymetric maps of the Great Salt Lake; work on invasive phragmites mapping and remote monitoring to guide treatments; and geologic mapping to inform infrastructure siting and hazard planning, including active-fault mapping along infrastructure corridors.
Battatian also noted UGS involvement in critical-minerals assessment and recent partnerships, including an EXPLORE award with mining firm BHP and Operation Gigawatt geothermal work funded at about $1.7 million. She said the Forge demonstration attracted private investment (presenter cited roughly $500 million) and a proposed 500-megawatt geothermal project. The Survey also highlighted industry use of its core library and online datasets — a factor, Battatian said, in attracting oil, gas and mining investment.
Committee members followed with technical questions about groundwater and phragmites management. Battatian emphasized the Survey’s role as a nonregulatory data provider and its partnerships with agencies such as the Division of Water Rights. The committee did not take an immediate vote on the funding correction request.
