Editing Utah Lake (section)

==Legal issues==
The ownership of lands along the shoreline of Utah Lake has been in dispute between the State of Utah and farmers for many years. The bed of Utah Lake, along with other natural lakes, was granted to the state upon admission to the Union in 1896. However, due to the lack of an exact definition and significantly fluctuating lake levels, intermittently dry areas, and wetlands, including all of Provo Bay, have been claimed and farmed by surrounding land owners.<ref>{{Citation | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=18soAAAAIBAJ&pg=5055,6818339 | title=Supreme Court to decide who owns Utah Lake bed | publisher=Deseret News | location=Salt Lake City | date=October 15, 1986 | access-date=April 9, 2010}}</ref>  The U.S. [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] ruled in 1987 that the State of Utah owned the land beneath Utah Lake.<ref>{{Citation | url=http://openjurist.org/482/us/193/utah-division-of-state-lands-v-united-states | title=482 US 193 Utah Division of State Lands v. United States | year=1987 | volume=US | issue=482 | page=193 | publisher=Open Jurist | access-date=April 9, 2010| last1=Court | first1=United States Supreme }}</ref>

In January 2018, the Utah Department of Natural Resources received a project proposal as a potential solution to the lake's nutrient pollution, invasive species, and murky water.<ref>Known for toxic algae, Utah Lake could become a housing development for half a million people. The Salt Lake Tribune Available at: https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2018/01/20/why-this-developer-believes-it-makes-sense-to-build-a-city-in-the-middle-of-utah-lake/</ref> The project proposal involved dredging the lake bottom of all nutrient-loaded sediment, replacing invasive plant and animal species with native species, and restoring the water quality before building and developing housing on arch-shaped islands. The proposal became known as the Utah Lake Restoration project,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://utahlakerestoration.com/|title=Utah Lake Restoration Project|last=ULRP|website=Utah Lake Restoration|language=en-US|access-date=2020-03-25}}</ref> and had an estimated cost of $6.4 billion which would be obtained through private investors.<ref>Utah Lake Restoration – A Comprehensive Solution. Available at: http://utahlakerestoration.com/</ref> The proposal led to the creation of the House Bill 272 - Utah Lake Amendments (HB 272), which asserted that Utah Lake faced serious challenges, that conservation and restoration were possible, and in the interest of the state, and authorized "the Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands to dispose of state land in exchange for the execution of a project for the comprehensive restoration of Utah Lake," an act which would otherwise be prohibited. On March 21, 2018, Governor [[Gary Herbert]] signed HB 272 into law.<ref>ULRP. H.B. 272 Utah Lake Amendments. Utah Lake Restoration Available at: http://utahlakerestoration.com/2018/03/h-b-272-utah-lake-amendments/</ref>

Critics of the project include ecologists and other scientists raising hydrologic and ecological concerns with the project. Specific issues include the fact that the project would likely lead to the creation of [[anoxic waters]] due to [[lake stratification]], the destruction of the lake's unique hydrology and biogeochemistry, the release of toxins and nutrients, altering the lake from its natural state, and geology unsuitable for supporting inhabited islands.<ref>News D. 2018. Op-ed: The present, future, and past of Utah Lake. Deseret News Available at: https://www.deseret.com/2018/3/8/20641364/op-ed-the-present-future-and-past-of-utah-lake</ref><ref>Commentary: Keep Utah Lake shallow and wet. The Salt Lake Tribune Available at: https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/commentary/2018/03/10/commentary-keep-utah-lake-shallow-and-wet/</ref> Other critics disputed the passing of HB272 as an attempt to trade sovereign lands in exchange for a service.<ref>Commentary: HB272 should be vetoed because Utah Lake is not for sale. The Salt Lake Tribune Available at: https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/commentary/2018/03/21/commentary-hb272-should-be-vetoed-because-utah-lake-is-not-for-sale/</ref> The ability of the developer to maintain the alterations to the lake after the completion of the project has also been brought into question.

In October 2022, permitting for the Utah Lake Restoration project was put on hold, according to the [[U.S. Army Corps of Engineers]], because of a lack of documentation required to win federal permits under the [[Clean Water Act]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Maffly |first1=Brian |title=Army Corps pauses Utah Lake dredging permit, citing lack of documentation supporting the project |url=https://www.sltrib.com/news/environment/2022/10/12/army-corps-pauses-utah-lake/ |access-date=19 October 2022 |agency=Salt Lake Tribune |date=13 October 2022}}</ref>

On October 27, 2022, Utah’s Division of Forestry, Fire & State Lands rejected the proposal by Lake Restoration Solutions. The division director Jamie Barnes said that the lake bed is sovereign state land and cannot be privatized.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Winslow |first1=Ben |title=Utah Lake islands project is rejected by state officials |url=https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/utah-lake-islands-project-is-rejected-by-state-officials |access-date=31 October 2022 |agency=Fox 13 Salt Lake City |date=27 October 2022}}</ref>