Huntsman bends ears in D.C.

In May, DEQ Executive Director Dianne Nielsen said testing for mercury in the Great Salt Lake's brine shrimp and waterfowl would cost $1.5 million. She also said then that there were significant concerns about mercury in fish from Lake Powell.

Last fall, Utahns were warned not to eat two types of ducks from the lake's marshes. And late last summer, the state issued health advisories about consuming certain fish from particular streams.

Huntsman, a former U.S. ambassador to Singapore, was scheduled to conclude his visit to Washington, D.C., Tuesday night as the guest of honor at a US-ASEAN (Association of South Eastern Asian Nations) dinner.

The governor will host the group next week at a state dinner July 18, the first day of an association conference in Utah that will include meetings with various business organizations and the University of Utah's Asian studies department.

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