Governor Cox holds meeting on state of Great Salt Lake, announces $200M in funding

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Today, Governor Spencer Cox held a meeting with state, federal, and non-profit officials to discuss the state of the Great Salt Lake, and after the meeting, he announced $200 million in funding going to the lake.

Cox met with state, federal, business, and non-profit leaders at Eccles Wildlife Education Center in Farmington to discuss the importance of the Great Salt Lake and the current state of the lake. Following the meeting, Cox announced that the non-profit sector had invested $200 million in projects working to restore the Great Salt Lake.

Cox also announced that the attendees signed a charter asking all Utahns to commit to save and restore the lake. As part of the funding agreement, they made a multi-decade commitment to the lake, to restore it by the 2034 Winter Olympic Games, and take care of it for the next generation.

Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz, Utah Senate President Stuart Adams, Rep. Blake Moore, Gail Miller (Co-founder of Larry H. Miller Company), Scott Anderson (Chairman at Zions Bank), Great Salt Lake Commissioner Brian Steed, and Salt Lake Chamber President and CEO Derick Miller were some of the people in attendance.

The Great Salt Lake has been facing critically low water levels, leading to fears of toxic dust spreading across Utah. According to Grow the Flow, an organization that tracks water levels and advocates for the lae, the decline is already reducing precipitation, polluting our air, and threatening our water supply.

The Utah Legislature, scientists, federal organizations, and other community leaders have been taking steps to address the crisis facing the Great Salt Lake. Recently, $53 million in grant funding was made available for projects working to protect the lake. A bill that would allow officials to raise the berm of the Great Salt Lake to address water levels recently moved out of committee.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also recently announced that they would be releasing over 3 billion gallons of water to the lake over the next several years. Additionally, the Shoshone Nation recently began a project to restore water to their ancestral lands, which would have a positive impact on the Great Salt Lake.