SALT LAKE CITY -- A Utah House committee on Monday approved the creation of an official council to make recommendations on public policies that involve the Great Salt Lake.
But in helping create the 11-member Great Salt Lake Advisory Council, the committee and the bill sponsor skipped over recommendations of an advisory group created by former Gov. Jon Huntsman.
"My intent is to not change who has ultimate responsibility of management of the lake,' said Rep. Ben Ferry, R-Corinne, the bill sponsor.
Ferry is a member of the group created by Huntsman in 2008 to take a comprehensive policy look at the Great Salt Lake.
Ferry said the new council's primary duty in the next year will be to review a 10-year plan for the lake, which is controlled by the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands.
But the acting chairman of the Huntsman group, Leland Myers, said the major thrust of suggestions for a formal Lake Council were not addressed.
One example he gives is the membership makeup of the new board.
"Is this as balanced as we originally wanted -- no," said Myers, who works in Davis County.
Weber and Davis counties would have representation on the council. Yet Myers also called the bill a "good start" and said the Ferry legislation left open the possibility of other actions that could meet the goals of Huntsman's group.
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