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House committee advances bill limiting retention basins in Great Salt Lake drainage

Public Utilities and Energy Committee · February 18, 2026
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

The Public Utilities and Energy Committee voted unanimously to advance HB 489, which would limit the use of retention basins and favor detention basins in areas draining to the Great Salt Lake. Supporters said it would help lake levels; engineers and watershed groups urged more study and technical guidance.

The Public Utilities and Energy Committee advanced House Bill 489 on a unanimous voice vote after a presentation by the bill sponsor, Representative Peterson. Peterson said the bill would generally eliminate the option to use retention basins and instead require detention basins in most new development that drains to the Great Salt Lake.

"It eliminates the option in most instances to use retention basins instead of detention basins," Peterson said, explaining that detention basins are designed to drain in a timely way so captured stormwater is routed downstream rather than allowed to evaporate or infiltrate locally.

The bill targets the Great Salt Lake drainage basin and, according to the sponsor, focuses on a small…

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