Utah's Thirst for Water Comes with $13.7 Billion Price Tag

The ability to turn on the tap, flush the toilet and water the garden over the next 20 years will be a multibillion-dollar challenge in Utah because of new water and sewer systems that state officials say must be put in place.

A statewide list of water projects, including their costs, is being shopped to Utah lawmakers, along with the warning that it is better to plan now and pay now, rather than wait until dams fail or taps run dry.

The numbers are staggering, adding up to $13.7 billion. And that doesn't include billions identified for controversial projects such as the Lake Powell Pipeline or the Bear River Development project.

The Utah divisions of water quality and water resources and other public agencies compiled the list of water infrastructure needs in Utah that provides just one glimpse of a national problem decades in the making.

A roundtable highlighting the water infrastructure challenges across the country estimated the cost to maintain and replace drinking water systems alone at $1 trillion. Hosted by the Conservation Leadership Partnership, the discussion earlier this month took on new urgency as most of the nation continues to recover from the worst drought in 50 years.

The partnership is an initiative seeking to broker new alternatives to persistent conservation problems, emphasizing the need for public-private partnerships and entrepreneurship and "ground-up" solutions. Deseret News

Utah Counties Seek State Funds to Help Eradicate Noxious Weeds

Jerry Caldwell stands up to his ankles in light-brown weeds, an agricultural scourge that has spread to all corners of Tooele County and beyond.

Squarrose knapweed, a plant native to the eastern Mediterranean area, first appeared in Utah in 1954 and since has invaded nearly 200,000 acres. Each plant lives six years and harbors 3,000 viable seeds, causing several counties in Utah a major headache, Caldwell said.

Weeds such as these choke out native plants, use too much water, can harm livestock and pose a fire risk.

Caldwell, the Tooele County weed supervisor, has joined nearby counties in requesting $119,000 from a $1 million fund the 2012 Legislature created to help fight noxious weeds. Salt Lake Tribune

UDOT announces more than 200 summer road construction projects

More than 200 projects the Utah Department of Transportation will be working on for the rest of the year, a record in the state. UDOT estimates the projects will cost just under an estimated $4 billion.

"There's a lot of pain coming," said Robert Stewart, I-15 CORE deputy project director for UDOT.

They have released a guide to the 20 most significant projects they will be working on the remainder of the year that stretch across the state. UDOT hopes their guide, available at udot.utah.gov will be able to inform drivers so they can plan ahead or avoid construction zones all together.

John Njord, executive director of UDOT, said with all the projects, the goal is to minimize the inconvenience for drivers. Deseret News

Air Quality is important for a Healthy Economy

Some days, the Northern Utah air is so thick with haze that it’s impossible to see the mountains. From the benches, the downtown skyline is obscured in layers of smog. It’s unhealthy. It’s unsightly. And it’s a huge liability for economic development efforts in the state. For the Salt Lake Chamber, poor air quality presents as much an economic development threat as a health threat. “It’s not the tree-hugger thing that you might be picturing,” says Marty Carpenter, a spokesperson for the Salt Lake Chamber. “It’s important to our economic development that we maintain and improve our air quality. It’s important for job creation, for business growth, and it impacts every business in the state.”

One of the biggest threats is the possibility of additional federal regulation. Northern Utah’s seasonal pollution spikes have already drawn the attention of the EPA. Areas including Utah, Davis and Salt Lake counties, and portions of Tooele, Box Elder, Weber and Cache counties.

While the state is working to formulate a plan to deal with its air quality, “The EPA has two hammers that are waiting to fall,” says Bryce Bird, Director of the Utah Division of Air Quality. One is automatic sanctions that would reduce or eliminate federal highway funding for capacity-expanding projects. The other is an EPA-imposed plan to bring the area into compliance—in other words, additional regulatory oversight and burdens.

Both of these possibilities concern the Salt Lake Chamber.

“Highway funding has been such a vital component to our economic development effort over the last seven or eight years,” notes Carpenter. Projects like the Mountain View Corridor and the extension of the Legacy Highway are vital for the surrounding communities. Plus, these projects provide much-needed construction jobs.

Utah’s air quality presents another economic development concern—a reduced ability to recruit businesses to Utah. “The EDCUtah really gets nervous about bringing people to Utah in January and February for fear there will be poor air quality issues,” says Carpenter. “If they see a valley filled with haze and pollution, it’s not as attractive to them.”

Other economic costs of poor air quality include reduced worker productivity and increased healthcare costs as a result of illnesses caused and exacerbated by the pollution. Utah Business

Utah to borrow $130M less than planned for roads

Utah lawmakers are moving to borrow $130 million less than planned for highway construction — and released a list Monday of what projects would receive money from that bonding. The House Transportation Commission voted 7-1 to approve that bonding authorization in HB173 by House Majority Leader Brad Dee, R-Ogden, and sent it to the full House. It would authorize borrowing $2.08 billion, or $130 million less than earlier planned, for projects during the next three years. Salt Lake Tribune

Public construction projects saved Utah economy during freefall

As home-building plunged, a remarkable boom in government-funded, labor-intensive construction was taking hold, and it wasn’t just the headline-grabbing I-15 project in Utah County, the $350 million extension of TRAX or the National Security Agency’s mega-data-center at Camp Williams.

Big as those projects were, they were only a fraction of $7 billion worth of public construction projects undertaken by local, state and federal governments (sometimes with the assistance of private donations), as well as by at least 20 school districts, during the past five years. Salt Lake Tribune

Utah floods bring most federal aid of any state

Utah may be a desert, but disastrous flooding here last year led it to receive the most of any state in a big package of federal emergency agricultural disaster aid announced. The U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded Utah $60.3 million out of the $307.6 million given nationally — about 20 percent of the national total. Utah’s money is for emergency watershed repair projects statewide. Salt Lake Tribune

Government pushes solar energy in Utah, Western states

The federal government has identified five “Solar Energy Zones” in Nevada, four in Colorado, three in Utah, two each in California and Arizona, and one in New Mexico as ideal for solar development. The sites comprise 285,000 acres, down from about 677,000 acres in December, and reflect the department’s judgment that the targeted land has the highest potential for solar development with the fewest environmental conflicts.

The plan is intended to promote development of large, utility-scale solar projects on public lands that will generate thousands of megawatts of electricity. The zones are intended to maximize electricity generation while minimizing conflicts with wildlife, cultural and historic resources. Salt Lake Tribune

Feds offering grants to develop job skills

Federal grants totaling $240 million are available to organizations that help people develop the technical skills necessary to get a job. The U.S. Department of Labor expects to provide 75 to 100 grants, ranging from $1 million to $5 million, to applicants whose proposals update workers’ current skills or help them acquire new ones “so they can enter career pathways leading to higher paying jobs.” Salt Lake Tribune

Most Utah liquor stores to stay open

Faced with a host of liquor store closures, Utah imbibers stared down state officials and on Tuesday, lawmakers blinked. Nine Utah liquor stores targeted for closing this summer will stay open at least until February of next year. In addition, store operating hours will not be cut, and more than 100 liquor store employees, slated for layoffs, will keep their jobs. Salt Lake Tribune

Four schools get grants to make dramatic changes

Four of Utah’s persistently lowest achieving schools will work to turn around their performance with nearly $6.2 million in federal grants, the State Office of Education announced. The money, however, means they have to make dramatic changes — replacing the principal, in some cases; extending the school day and/or school year; using educator evaluation systems that take student growth data into account; providing additional teacher training; rewarding educators who improve student achievement and removing those who ultimately don’t after receiving additional support. Salt Lake Tribune

Layoffs looming at DHS

the Department of Human Services took a $10.5 million hit in the final budget, which will mean the loss of the full-time equivalent of 149 positions, 27 in the Department of Children and Family Services, many of those caseworkers. Salt Lake Tribune

State parks take a hit, face possible closures

Some state parks may close and many are certain to see cuts in hours and services. Lawmakers shaved $3 million from the parks budget. And more trimming could take place next year. The Legislature’s cuts come on the heels of an audit that recommended some rural parks — such as the Green River Golf Course, Edge of the Cedars Museum in Blanding, the Utah Field House in Vernal, Frontier Homestead Museum in Cedar City and the Territorial Statehouse in Fillmore — be shut down. Salt Lake Tribune

Cuts would force 13 Utah liquor stores to close

State lawmakers, if their proposed $2.5 million in cuts hold up in the budgeting process, would force liquor-control commissioners to close up to 13 stores in Utah, costing nearly 150 mostly part-time employees their jobs. Hours at the state’s largest liquor stores would be cut be cut as well, with closings at 7 p.m. or 8 p.m., rather than the current 10 p.m. Salt Lake Tribune

Canyons board gives the go-ahead on construction projects

Canyons School District board members on Tuesday voted to approve a time line that includes 13 new construction, repair or replacement projects within the next 10 years.

First on the list will be a new high school, built to accommodate the growing numbers of high school students in the Draper area and to facilitate a grade reconfiguration within the district that would place ninth-graders in high school. Albion Middle, Butler Middle, Midvale Elementary and Sandy Elementary schools will also see immediate action, meaning that students will be bused to other locations during construction at their schools.

The board will issue up to $70 million in bonds approved by voters last June to cover the immediate construction costs on the first five projects. Some of the costs will be covered by ongoing capital, or cash sitting in the district's account. Deseret News

Stimulus package roadwork almost finished

After nearly two years of construction, all of the Top of Utah roadwork associated with the 2009 stimulus package is complete. The $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 was signed into law Feb. 17 of that year and was designed to boost the economy, partly through domestic spending on infrastructure.

As part of the legislation, the state received $213 million to be used on state and local transportation projects. Federal funds were doled out for 124 pavement preservation, bridge rehabilitation and capacity-improvement projects around the state that would not have been completed without the stimulus funding.

The goal was to spread the projects throughout all corners of the state, rapidly use the funds to provide jobs throughout local communities, and repair and replace roads and bridges in critical need. Utah Department of Transportation spokeswoman Tonia Mashburn said that of the 124 statewide projects that received funding from the ARRA, 14 still need to be finished. Ogden Standard-Examiner

Utah can claim millions to close abandoned coal mines

Utah is eligible to receive $4.2 million from the Department of Interior to close abandoned coal mines. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced that more than $395 million in grants is being made available to eligible coal-producing states and Native American tribes. Utah is among 25 states in the country that can use the funding to eliminate safety hazards and generate jobs by closing old mines. State officials estimate there are 17,000 abandoned mines in Utah. Deseret News

Guv’s budget expected to show first signs of growth

Gov. Gary Herbert will unveil his blueprint Friday for nearly $12 billion to run state government next year, with his plan expected to contain no recommended tax hikes and to feature something Utah hasn’t seen in years: black ink. For the first time since 2007, the governor will be able to propose a budget larger than the one approved the year before. Salt Lake Tribune

First Wind Farm to be Built by Utah-based Utility

The first wind farm built by a Utah-based utility will some day provide power to an array of Utah communities--to as far south as Blanding and Enterprise to the northern reaches of the state in Cache County's Hyrum. Constructed by the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems, the Horse Butte Wind Project will be located on more than 17,600 acres in Bonneville County, Idaho, near Idaho Falls.

An announcement of the project was mad Thursday by the constortium, which draws on 51 members spanning eight states. The initial installation of 32 wind turbine generators will provide58 megawatts of power to be dilivered to communities in Utah, Nevada, Wyoming and California. Deseret News

Herbert calls special session to approve federal education funds

Gov. Gary Herbert has called a special legislative session for next week to approve $101 million in federal aid to cash-strapped school districts. Legislators will meet Wednesday to authorize districts to receive the federal money. About half of it will be used to cover a budget shortfall created because tax collections haven’t met the projected levels. The remainder will be distributed to school districts based on a formula.

Conservative Republican lawmakers had argued the state should refuse the federal money. But Congress structured the law in such a way that if the state rejected the funding, the U.S. Department of Education could send the money directly to Utah school districts. Salt Lake Tribune