Utah environmental groups sue Dept of Natural Resources for failure to preserve Great Salt Lake

Environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the Utah Department of Natural Resources on Wednesday claiming that the department has failed to invoke efforts to preserve the imperiled Great Salt Lake, which is continuously receding water and is reportedly blowing toxic dust.

The plaintiffs allege in the complaint filed in the Third District Court on Wednesday that the state Department of Natural Resources has failed to protect the largest saline ecosystem in the Western Hemisphere by not taking the necessary steps to reduce Utah residents' overconsumption of water, according to Salt Lake Tribune.

The plaintiffs include Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, American Bird Conservancy, Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club, and Utah Rivers Council.

"As trustee, the State of Utah has an ongoing obligation to protect the Great Salt Lake's waters and underlying lands, so that Utahns can continue to use them for navigation, commerce, brine shrimp fishing, recreation, and other uses recognized under the public trust doctrine," the complaint argues.

Brian Moench, a plaintiff with Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, told the publication: "We think this is the most important environmental issue the state of Utah has ever faced."

"We are disappointed we have to go to this extent, but we feel we don't have any other choice," Moench explained.

The Great Salt Lake, which supports billion-dollar minerals businesses and a multimillion-dollar brine shrimp harvesting industry, hit its lowest elevation record for the past two consecutive years, which has significantly impacted these industries. However, the southern half of the lake saw a vast increase in water during the spring due to abundant snowfall and it being sealed off from the northern half of the lake, according to the outlet.

Despite past policy changes not making any meaningful impact, the plaintiffs are demanding Utah regulators take necessary action. The lawsuit, which will be debated in state court, urges Utah regulators to act quickly before diminishing water causes a mass extinction of species, including birds, brine shrimp, and other animals, and before its drying lakebed poisons millions of Utah residents who live along the Wasatch Front.

Deeda Seed, the Utah campaigner for the Center for Biological Diversity, told the publication: "The Great Salt Lake is facing enormous peril."

"If concerted action isn't taken immediately we could lose the lake and the human health consequences of that are unimaginably dire," Seed asserted.

Human consumption uses up around two-thirds of the water that would otherwise flow to the Great Salt Lake, which the complaint describes as "unsustainable." It demands that the state stop diverting water until the lake reaches a minimum elevation of 4,198 feet above sea level, which is required for the support of industry, recreation, public health, and the environment.

Zach Frankel, executive director of Utah Rivers Council, told the publication: "Every Utahn should be very worried about Utah's failure to restore the Great Salt Lake. We have the tools available to us to raise the Great Salt Lake's water levels. But we're failing to hold our elected and appointed officials accountable for even establishing so much as a goal to raise the lake."

The public trust doctrine, which is cited in the suit, was at the forefront of saving a saline lake in California's Great Basin years ago. 

In 2013, authorities in Utah investigated and compiled data on the altitudes required to maintain a healthy Great Salt Lake. Only ten years later, when the lake reached a record low, did legislators update the state's water law to assist the lake in getting there. However, the plaintiffs claim the efforts are not enough.

Stu Gillespie, lead attorney with Earth Justice representing the plaintiffs, said that his clients "are extremely concerned about the future of the lake and impacts to public health."

"With this litigation, we see this as an opportunity for solutions," Gillespie said. "To show other states how to do this right, and, frankly, show the world there are ways to achieve a viable lake elevation."