Application for Proposed Utah Lake Restoration Project Canceled

SALT LAKE (October 26, 2022) – The Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands (FFSL) has issued a Record of Decision notifying Lake Restoration Solutions, Inc. (LRS), that its current application for the proposed Utah Lake Restoration Project will be canceled. 

Because the pending application considers the disposal of land that would impede navigation and permanently transfer sovereign lands to private parties, violating the public trust that is constitutionally imposed on these lands, the division determined that cancellation of the pending application is appropriate and required. 

The Record of Decision details the reasoning behind the decision and is the final step with regard to the current LRS proposal. LRS can reapply in the future, as can other entities.

FFSL holds the regulatory authority to cancel a pending land exchange application if the division determines that cancellation is in the best interest of the beneficiaries of the land being impacted. 

About the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands

The Utah State Legislature has designated the Division of Forestry, Fire & State Lands as the executive authority for the management of sovereign lands, and the state’s mineral estates on lands other than school and institutional trust lands. The Utah State Legislature defines sovereign lands as “those lands lying below the ordinary high water mark of navigable bodies of water at the date of statehood and owned by the state by virtue of its sovereignty.”

It is also recognized that the public health, interest, safety and welfare require that all uses on, beneath or above the beds of navigable lakes and streams of the state be regulated so that the protection of navigation, fish and wildlife habitat, aquatic beauty, public recreation and water quality will be given due consideration and balanced against the navigational or economic necessity or justification for, or benefit to be derived from, any proposed use.

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