________________________________ From: Utah Rivers Council <info=utahrivers.org@mail10.wdc01.mcdlv.net> on behalf of Utah Rivers Council <info@utahrivers.org> Sent: Friday, October 21, 2016 2:48 PM Subject: Water Lobbyists Running the Show [https://gallery.mailchimp.com/3e86be07a004e70a601c3568a/images/9885e72d-4fb0...] <http://utahrivers.us12.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=3e86be07a004e70a601c3568a&id=fac01bc138&e=40d6ce00ff> Lobbyists Pave Way for Disastrous Projects With Sweetheart Loan This week at the State Water Development Commission a group of water lobbyists presented new rules, which they authored themselves, for the repayment of state loans for the Lake Powell Pipeline and Bear River Water Grab. This would allow their agencies to repay just 10% of the $5 billion in tax money they want from Utah taxpayers. These rules were prepared by lobbyists in backroom meetings with the Division of Water Resources. The water lobbyists who wrote these rules have been appointed to the Commission, a subcommittee of the Natural Resources & Agriculture Committee. According to legislation passed last year, the proposed rules were supposed to establish repayment terms for the $5 billion in funds requested by lobbyists for these controversial water projects. But hidden on page 7 of the 10 page list of rules it states: “(i) Beneficiaries of projects to develop the Colorado and Bear Rivers as described in the Lake Powell Pipeline Development Act and Bear River Development Act will be required to provide at least 10% of the project cost.” This means Utah taxpayers would have to foot 90% of the bill for these disastrous projects. Once the water lobbyists presented their rules for the funding of the Bear River Water Grab and Lake Powell Pipeline, members of the public along with URC staff stood to speak on the issue, but were not allowed to comment. The Commission Chair claimed there was not enough time to allow comment and then adjourned the meeting with 40 minutes to spare. Citizens who attended the meeting were outraged, but the Salt Lake Tribune was there to write an excellent article<http://utahrivers.us12.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=3e86be07a004e70a601c3568a&id=de99c248db&e=40d6ce00ff> about the proceedings of this Commission dominated by lobbyists. Lobbyist's Secret Plan for Bear River Water Grab and Lake Powell Pipeline Exposed For the last two years, an Advisory Team heavily dominated by water development interests has been writing a new long-term water plan for Utah. The lobbyists running this Advisory Team have worked in backrooms to ensure the plan meets their agenda of spending billions on unnecessary water projects like the Bear River Water Grab and the Lake Powell Pipeline while creating obstacles to conserving water and other less expensive alternatives to these unnecessary projects. These same lobbyists have been busy at the Utah Legislature pushing both the Lake Powell Pipeline and the Bear River Water Grab, against the express wishes of many members of the public. Through their own admittance, the water lobbyists at the September Advisory Team meeting stated they hope this report will be finished for their lobbying activities during the 2017 Legislative Session – although they didn’t want to distribute it to the public or receive public comment on the proposal. [https://gallery.mailchimp.com/3e86be07a004e70a601c3568a/images/c23e2520-a537...]
From the cover of this Water Strategy Advisory Plan, it is very apparent they do not want the public involved in this process.
Such subjective planning efforts aim to misinform the public with meaningless green washing while doing little to change the status quo of wasteful water use and unneeded projects in Utah. Instead of identifying meaningful solutions to save water, which are abundant, far less expensive, and do not impact our environment, the lobbyists running the Advisory Team devised misinformation to dissuade readers from these solutions. At the September meeting, Utah Rivers Council staff stepped up and demanded the public be allowed to comment on the plan. The Utah public now has until 11:59 PM on Monday, October 24th to submit comments. To view the plan and comments by the URC go here<http://utahrivers.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=3e86be07a004e70a601c3568a&id=85cc5c71ff&e=40d6ce00ff>. To submit your comments go here<http://utahrivers.us12.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=3e86be07a004e70a601c3568a&id=083d26ee8c&e=40d6ce00ff>: Or: Envision Utah 254 S 600 E, Suite 201 Salt Lake City, Utah 84102 Donate Now<http://utahrivers.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=3e86be07a004e70a601c3568a&id=ea0def3894&e=40d6ce00ff> [https://gallery.mailchimp.com/3e86be07a004e70a601c3568a/images/6e0c981e-8862...] <http://utahrivers.us12.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=3e86be07a004e70a601c3568a&id=b826bd8072&e=40d6ce00ff> [Facebook]<http://utahrivers.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=3e86be07a004e70a601c3568a&id=7d173abf1c&e=40d6ce00ff> [Twitter]<http://utahrivers.us12.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=3e86be07a004e70a601c3568a&id=c0addb30ff&e=40d6ce00ff> [Website]<http://utahrivers.us12.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=3e86be07a004e70a601c3568a&id=c6acd05f20&e=40d6ce00ff> Utah Rivers Council 1055 E 2100 S Ste 204 Salt Lake City, UT 84106 (801)486-4776 This email was sent to janet@thesafetyconsortium.com<mailto:janet@thesafetyconsortium.com> why did I get this?<http://utahrivers.us12.list-manage1.com/about?u=3e86be07a004e70a601c3568a&id=3606de86a5&e=40d6ce00ff&c=82d2eb5c43> unsubscribe from this list<http://utahrivers.us12.list-manage1.com/unsubscribe?u=3e86be07a004e70a601c3568a&id=3606de86a5&e=40d6ce00ff&c=82d2eb5c43> update subscription preferences<http://utahrivers.us12.list-manage.com/profile?u=3e86be07a004e70a601c3568a&id=3606de86a5&e=40d6ce00ff> Utah Rivers Council · 1055 East 2100 South, Suite 204 · Salt Lake City, UT 84106 · USA [Email Marketing Powered by MailChimp]<http://www.mailchimp.com/monkey-rewards/?utm_source=freemium_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=monkey_rewards&aid=3e86be07a004e70a601c3568a&afl=1>