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News & Archives Executive Director's Message Summer 2009: The Thing About Great Salt Lake Matter is that One Thing Always Leads to Another
News & Archives Executive Director's Message Summer 2009: The Thing About Great Salt Lake Matter is that One Thing Always Leads to Another
| Summer 2009: The Thing About Great Salt Lake Matter is that One Thing Always Leads to Another |
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The Thing About Great Salt Lake Matters is that One Thing Always Leads to Another Summer 2009 Newsletter – Executive Director’s Message “We recommend the application be held in abeyance until environmental studies and/or a thorough analysis is completed. We recommend a conservation pool be established in the GSL to protect existing uses. Without these safeguards, this and future water diversions, if approved, could result in significant environmental consequences, including the need to list additional species as threatened or endangered. “ - Larry Crist, Utah Field Supervisor, US Fish and Wildlife Service Senator Orrin Hatch had it right when he said that Utah would be losing a great leader with the appointment of Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr. as the next U.S.ambassador to China. Most everyone I have talked with agrees, but especially my cohort of the Great Salt Lake Advisory Council. It was a year ago this August when Huntsman created the Council to evaluate existing management practices of Great Salt Lake and recommend improvements. On April 28, 2009, our work culminated in a draft of Recommendations on the Establishment of a Great Salt Lake Commission. The mission of the Commission is to provide overall guidance on management of Great Salt Lake, its watershed, and its ecosystem. And the objective of the Commission is to design and help implement strategies for the sustainable use and protection of Great Salt Lake and its ecosystem. The draft of the concept must now run the gauntlet of the Utah Legislature, and with any luck, come out the other side intact. Unfortunately, I fear that with Huntsman’s departure for Beijing there will be a complete loss of momentum for an extremely critical and long overdue focus on how we need to manage our lake. With more than 300 wild fires to fight in Utah this season, once again, the future of this hemispherically important ecosystem seems to be lost in the shuffle. One proposal after another focusing on the lake comes before the Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands claiming to either make Utah’s economy stronger or to provide “a more promising future “ for Great Salt Lake. Great Salt Lake needs a champion and it needs one now. July 9th was the deadline for scoping comments to the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) on Public Notice SPK 2007-00121 - The Proposed 91,000 acre Expansion of Solar Evaporation Ponds on Great Salt Lake by Great Salt Lake Minerals Corporation (GSLM). The mining company revised its proposal from 33,000 acres to 91,000 acres to increase production of potassium sulfate – a fertilizer - in order to maintain its market share over the next 50 years. When added to the existing operation of 43,000 acres, you get a whopping 134,000 acres for one single operation. One single operation of six currently extracting minerals from the lake. And it is proposing to do this by expanding its extraction capacity at its Great Salt Lake facility. The Corps is the lead federal agency on the project. The project will require a 404 permit under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act because of direct impacts to waters of the U.S, and the discharge of fill into a special aquatic site. It will also require 401 certification from the state for approval of water quality aspects of the project. An Environmental Impact Study (EIS) is required and must comply with NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) by including least damaging practicable alternatives which could effectively avoid these impacts. Obtaining potassium chloride from other facilities within or outside the Great Salt Lake region should be included among those least damaging practicable alternatives. Coupled with the revised expansion, GSLM filed a water right application with the State Engineer for an additional 353,000 acre ft. of lake water for consumptive use. If approved, it would be added to an existing water right of 150,000 acre ft. All this water for a single operation. This critical detail was missing from the Public Notice issued by the Corps and from information that was presented to the public during the scoping period. According to comments submitted by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the diversion of 353,000 acre ft. of water from Great Salt Lake could significantly reduce brine shrimp and brine fly numbers in Gilbert Bay and reduce available avian habitat. It would also significantly increase the vulnerability of the American white pelican colony on Gunnison Island and reduce migratory bird habitat in Bear River Bay. Bear River Bay has been designated by National Audubon as an Important Bird Area because of the numbers and species of birds that use it. As a terminal lake, we know that Great Salt Lake’s size is determined by average annual inflows from rivers, streams, groundwater, and precipitation. We also know that because the lake is very flat, relatively small changes in the lakebed have dramatic effects on the surface of the lake. Models designed by the Utah Division of Water Resources, although untested, predict that for every 100,000 acre ft of water taken out of Great Salt Lake, the lake level drops by approximately .75 ft. Theoretically, 353,000 acre ft. could lower the lake level by almost 3 feet – significant impacts from one single operation. The 2000 Great Salt Lake Comprehensive Management Plan indicates that there are currently 11 perfected water rights to divert directly from the lake totaling 362,306 acre ft. a year (consumptive use). In addition there are six approved applications (not yet “proved”) totaling 444,562 acre ft. per year as well as PENDING applications (not approved, not rejected) totaling 657,565 (all also largely consumptive). That makes for a total of 806,868 acre ft. of approved water rights, as well as 1.5 million total pending and approved (which means these rights are “in line” before the newest application from GSLM). As a result, the 353,000 acre ft. proposal would bring the lake drawdown to 1.9 million acre ft. If the state engineer approves the newest application, there would be water rights totaling 1 million plus acre ft. of water that could then be taken out of the lake. At 4193’ Gilbert and Gunnison Bays become two separate bodies of water which raises questions about how this will effect salinity levels in the rest of the lake. In a separate action with the State RDCC and the Corps, GSLM also filed an application to amend an existing easement on the lakebed for an intake canal to its west side ponds. The request which was filed in December 2008 proposes to extend the canal by nearly 2 miles to the east (toward Gunnison Island) and deepen the canal to 4185’. Should the lake level drop to the record low of 4191’, GSLM wants to make sure that they still get their water regardless of any potential damage to the lake’s ecosystem. Scoping comments were sent to the Army Corps and to the State Engineer protesting the water right application and requesting a hearing. They were prepared by Western Resource Advocates on behalf of FRIENDS and a growing coalition of organizations. The coalition includes –National Audubon, Wasatch Audubon, Great Salt Lake Audubon, Utah Airboat Association, Utah Waterfowl Association, Utah Rivers Council, League of Women Voters of Salt Lake, the League of Women Voters of Utah, the Utah Chapter of the Sierra Club, Western Wildlife Conservancy and Physicians for a Healthy Environment. You can read our detailed comments, along with comments from other organizations, agencies and interests on our website: www.fogsl.org. GSLM is looking 50 years ahead to secure the future of its operations. We must do the same for Great Salt Lake. In saline, Lynn What you can to - Keep on eye on our website for updates on future commenting and ways in which you can help. |
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