UTAH VOTES $5 MILLION TO RESTORE BONNEVILLE SALT FLATS

[velocity]

Salt Lake City, UT—Pop the champagne!  Rattle your salt shaker!  It’s time to celebrate!  The Utah State Legislature approved a $5 million appropriation to restore the Bonneville Salt Flats as part of the state budget.

In the past few weeks, Utah legislators received upwards of 1,000 emails from the motorsports community which helped focus much needed attention on the critical funding request.  The money will help support a program to restore the iconic land formation in northwestern Utah.

“This marks the first public dollars appropriated to restore the depleted salt surface since the land speed racing community began its quest more than 30 year ago,” said Save the Salt Foundation Vice Chairman Tom Burkland.  “This is a job well done.  Land speed racers the world over say, ‘Thank You Utah!’”

To read the full report, go to: www.savethesalt.org

Note the photo shows the Turbinator breaking through the salt crust and spewing mud as it rips across the middle of the international raceway

[handyguy]

     AWESOME      THANKS TO ALL WHO HELPED !!!!

[Happy Pappy]

5 mil... Gotta wonder were and how far that will go... Still pretty cool that's it's going in the right direction.
Makes it worth all the unsolicited email I get every morning from my new found government friends 

Chris

[comet]

This is fantastic news to read. Well done to everyone who played a part in getting the salt in front of the politicians faces. $5 million is a heck of a lot better than where we have been up until now.
Well done all.

John

[fordboy628]

Well Done! !

Let's all hope that this is the "turning point", and that legislators will remain convinced that "Saving the Salt" is a worthwhile expenditure of public funds.

Be thankful, but keep the focus on these and other legislators to perform as the voters decide, not in service to "industry" . . . . . . .

 

[sabat]

5 mil... Gotta wonder were and how far that will go... Still pretty cool that's it's going in the right direction.
Makes it worth all the unsolicited email I get every morning from my new found government friends 

Chris

I think the idea was that this 5mil from the state would be "matched" with 45mil from the feds. LL, Is that right?

[floydjer]

Bravo

[Bookfla]

I think the idea was that this 5mil from the state would be "matched" with 45mil from the feds. LL, Is that right?
[/quote]

I had the same question in mind. Does this mean the $5MM will not be released until a $45MM commitment has been met and funded? I'm sure this is contingent on a timeline for budgetary purposes.

[panic]

Exactly who gets the money?
And the requirements as to how it's spent?

[kiwi belly tank]

The question of how to restore the salt has never been agreed on so while this is a $ commitment from Government, how will it be used & how effective will that be?
The salt condition last year was the result of "the perfect storm" conditions, not to be misconstrued with the salt is coming back theory. The pumping back in program is also still connected to the flowing & pumping BACK OUT, remember the big a$$ pump & canal down at the east end?
If that money goes to the pumping program as I expect it will, then what's the net result when the $hit is still flowing back out to the mining company?
I'm an optimist but my logic switch is in the on position.
  Sid.
 

[Podunk]

Maybe the $5 mil is for another study.
Terry

[velocity]

Rather than wild speculation, it is respectfully requested interested parties spend time reading the volumes of information on www.savethesalt.org. where much has been gathered and posted for your eyes and information.

This is the FIRST public money in 30 years of asking that is devoted SOLELY to restore the salt crust. Period.

A restoration and engineering outline has been developed by a consortium of veteran land speed racers, the mining company and the various government agencies. 

The Utah money will ONLY be used for restoration operations, not studies, and does not have a sunset provision. Further, NOTHING will be done until the Feds appropriate the additional 45 Million to fund the estimated costs for the expected 10-year restoration period. The Utah legislators were VERY SMART in how they wrote the appropriation language. Metaphorically think: "We've done our part, we've put our money where our mouth is, so now we'd like to see you do your part Congress. . . "

And so we go to Washington D.C.

We will need more letters. So when we ask, have your thoughts formed, we will ned another avalanche of support. Letters were a primary component of what got the business done in UTAH. Believe it.

[SPARKY]

We will need to start a Save the Salt AMBASADORS/ADVOCATES GROUP  with representatives in every state especially in states that members of Congress that are on the various committees that have interests in the BLM and Salt Flats

[Dakin Engineering]

How about paying Intrepid a dollar more a load to dump those double trailers east of the access road instead of driving it into Nevada?

Sam
#6062

[kiwi belly tank]

How about paying Intrepid a dollar more a load to dump those double trailers east of the access road instead of driving it into Nevada?

Sam
#6062

Come on Sam, that'd be way too logical.
  Sid.