The nation’s fastest-growing and second-driest state had a banner year for water conservation as it plays catch-up to the rest of the West.
By Mark Olalde, ProPublica
Utah policymakers billed the 2022 legislative session as the “year of water.” Gov. Spencer Cox signed into law more than 15 measures related to water conservation, heralding “generational” progress as the West’s megadrought continues well into its third decade.
Those pieces of legislation allow farmers to earn money by sending their water downstream to shrinking lakes, require water meters for landscaping, appropriate $40 million to protect the Great Salt Lake and more. But perhaps more telling were proposals that lawmakers carved up or voted down.
Legislators in the country’s fastest-growing and second-driest state rejected a bill meant to address leaky pipes. New laws aimed at mandating low-flow plumbing both in state facilities and new homes had to be scaled back to win passage. And regulations on Utah’s lush green lawns remained largely off-limits, as interest groups stalled or rewrote bills targeting grass.
Recent Posts
Van Hollen, Khanna Launch Effort to Cut Trump Off From Funding His War on Iran
Take Action Now The lawmakers say they’ll go as far as forcing Donald Trump to choose between ending the war and a government shutdown.By Sharon…
The Private Equity Lobbyist Network Surrounding Chuck Schumer
Take Action Now Blackstone, Apollo, and private equity trade groups employ Schumer alumni to push their interests in Washington as progressive…
With 74% of Voters Saying Iran War Was Big Factor in Midterms, Dems Urged to Become Peace Party
Take Action Now “Will Democrats finally get it?” asked one progressive expert. “Americans are tired of war. They want a new foreign policy.”By…
Democrats Have Been Handed an Antiwar Mandate — and the Opportunity to Enact It
Take Action Now The Democratically controlled Congress must go further than just war powers resolutions, an ex-Biden official says.By Sharon…