President Donald Trump is requesting $1 billion to restore and protect the Great Salt Lake as part of his annual budget proposal to Congress, the Deseret News has learned.
Trump is expected to send Congress his official budget request on Friday, and included is a hefty sum to improve water flow to the lake and ensure its long-term sustainability, a White House official told the Deseret News, which is the first to report on the budget line.
The request comes after the president earlier this year vowed to save the Great Salt Lake and “MAKE ‘THE LAKE’ GREAT AGAIN!”
It’s not yet clear how much the total budget request will be when it’s sent to Congress on Friday.
But the $1 billion dedicated to the Great Salt Lake will go toward establishing a “comprehensive Federal program” led by the Interior Department, according to the budget.
The department will work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Environmental Protection Agency to improve water flow into the lake.
The money will be used to restore ecosystems, remove invasive species, and deal with toxins within the lakebed “outside of any active environmental remediation sites.”
“Together, these investments would ensure the Great Salt Lake continues to support global aquaculture, serves as a domestic source of critical minerals, and drives economic activity in Utah and beyond,” the budget reads.
The cash boost comes as Great Salt Lake water levels have dramatically dropped over the last decade or so, placing it on the verge of collapse, according to warnings from local scientists and researchers. If the lake were to dry up, it would expose the Wasatch Front to toxic dust and pollutants.
The budget request comes as Utah’s governor and state Legislature have stepped up efforts in recent years to stop the decline of the Great Salt Lake, changing laws around conservation, agriculture and water usage to increase the flow of water into the lake. Still, they have received criticism from those who say they aren’t doing enough.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox met with Trump earlier this year during the annual National Governors Association meeting, during which Cox pitched the president on the idea of allocating federal funds to help save the Great Salt Lake.
“I told him that it’s going to take funding to help us save the Great Salt Lake. He didn’t flinch at that at all. He said he could be supportive of helping us secure the funding that we need,” Cox said in February. “We’ve been working on a plan for a long time, and I’m very excited about the future of the Great Salt Lake.”
Utah Sen. John Curtis was the first among the state’s delegation to react to the news, lauding the Trump administration for making the investment.
“Protecting the Great Salt Lake is a critical public health and economic issue not only for Utah, but also for the entire American West as this historic drought continues,” Curtis told the Deseret News. “I applaud the Trump Administration for taking this significant step to provide resources and build momentum to save the lake.”
The budget still must be approved by Congress in order for Utah to receive the funding. The president’s request is sent annually to lawmakers, typically in early February, to give lawmakers a blueprint for how to draft and approve appropriations bills for the upcoming fiscal year.