BYU scientist urges council to oppose Utah Lake island development
January 4, 2022, 4:05 p.m. · City Administration Office, 51 E. Main St.
A BYU ecologist told the American Fork City Council that Utah Lake is recovering and warned against a private plan to dredge it and build islands for up to 500,000 people. Mayor Brad Frost said he would bring a resolution backing the Utah Lake Commission.
From the approved minutes.
Agenda, item by item
Item 1 · Presentation
Presentation on Utah Lake development
Discussed
BYU ecologist Benjamin Abbott said Utah Lake's habitat, water flow and algal bloom trends are improving and its sediments are not polluted. He criticized Lake Restoration Solutions' proposal to dredge the lake and build islands for 200,000-500,000 residents on about 20,000 acres of sovereign land, made possible by 2018's H.B. 272, and noted it received a $10 million state loan guarantee. Mayor Frost said he would bring a resolution supporting the Utah Lake Commission; the city pays about $8,000 a year to it and has about $4 million from the county and state for Boat Harbor work.
What residents said
Eileen Miller (Utah Lake): A former state Senate recorder said a nearly identical lake development proposal was made in a 1989 Senate bill that never advanced.