Task force urges funding for 2 major water projects

• Four changes in state law would be needed to carry out the group's recommendations. They would remove the cap from appropriation to the water loan fund; reserve a portion of the surplus of the state's surplus for water development; do away with the requirement that money can't be spent on the Bear River Project until 70 percent of the water is covered by purchase agreements; and authorize the Lake Powell Pipeline as a state project.

Alter said a final report will be made to Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. Later, task force members will report to the Legislature.

Merrett Frey, executive of the Utah Rivers Council, said she objects to the funding plans for the Bear River Project.

"The proposal to use taxpayer dollars or steal from the surplus to pay for the Bear River dam and diversions is unfair," she said. "The task force proposes taxing the entire state to deliver water to a small number of citizens."

Frey predicted that many Utahns will never get a drop of water from the projects "but will be stuck paying the bill."

The Bear River Project is simply unnecessary, she charged in an e-mail comment, "but the task force and Gov. Huntsman are pushing this $500 million boondoggle through for a few special interests."

The project's water would be far too expensive for rural communities, she added. "The cities are making a grab for northern Utah's water," Frey said.

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