SALT LAKE CITY — Utah political leaders have executed a series of agreements on gas and water after a public feud with their counterparts in Idaho.
At an event on Utah's Capitol Hill on Monday, Governor Spencer Cox signed agreements to increase fuel capacity in a deal with petroleum industry executives. It will include state investments to expand refinery output in an effort to lower fuel prices across Utah and surrounding states.
"We look forward to a continued productive relationship with the state to grow our output and further solidify the Salt Lake refinery as a leading fuels hub," said Rikki Hrenko-Browning, the head of the Utah Petroleum Association.
It came out of a bill pushed by House Republican leaders on Utah's Capitol Hill. For months now, they've been advocating for a gas tax cut — while proposing a new tax on refineries. FOX 13 News first reported that prompted Idaho's legislature to run a memorial (similar to a resolution) that openly criticized the Utah State Legislature out of fear the bill would harm Idahoans.
In an interview with FOX 13 News' sister-station Idaho News 6, Idaho House Speaker Mike Moyle threatened to cut off water to the Great Salt Lake in retaliation.
"Because Idaho wanted to be part of the discussion, it forced important conversations," Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, said to laughter from the room on Monday.
Part of the gas deal includes a water agreement with Idaho over the Bear River, which flows through Idaho and into the Great Salt Lake, which is in crisis. The states will work closer on managing the river, which is the lake's largest tributary.
"Instead of tit-for-tat and going after each other, how can we come together for a positive solution?" Joel Ferry, the executive director of Utah's Department of Natural Resources said in an interview with FOX 13 News. "Utah has the only refineries in the intermountain West. The more we produce here, the more benefit to Idaho."
Ferry said there will also be increased investments in cloud seeding and endangered species management, to the benefit of both states.
"These are things that impact both states and even more reason that we should be the closest, closest of friends," he said.
Gov. Cox said he was pleased with the agreement between Utah and Idaho on the river. He and Idaho Gov. Brad Little engaged in negotiations over the gas tax bill after rhetoric between the two legislatures heated up.
"Regardless of how we got the attention, it’s good to have a friend and a partner," Gov. Cox told reporters.
The Great Salt Lake is getting more attention from President Trump. On Saturday, he posted on his Truth Social site about the importance of saving the lake and reiterated it in remarks at a dinner with the nation's governors. Gov. Cox had pressed him for action on the lake.
"We promised to work closely together. I told him that it’s going to take funding to help us save the Great Salt Lake," Gov. Cox told FOX 13 News of his conversation with President Trump. "He didn’t flinch at that at all. He said that he could be supportive of helping us get the funding that we need. We're going to come back to him with a proposal."
House Speaker Mike Schultz told reporters that $1 billion has been asked of President Trump in federal support. Wrapped up in that, the Speaker said, could be things like California's expression of interest in a Colorado River water swap to expand desalination plants along the Pacific Ocean, or even water piped in from the Columbia River.
Environmentalists pushing for bills in the Utah State Legislature to help the Great Salt Lake told FOX 13 News they were thrilled to see President Trump's desire to "Make the Salt Lake Great Again."
"I'm honestly pretty excited about it," said Chandler Rosenberg with Stewardship Utah. "To have the President giving credence to this issue does a lot for us. The crisis of the Great Salt Lake is such a massive and complex issue, it's going to cost a lot of money. It's going to take unlikely alliances and doing things that have never been done before,"
Jake Dreyfous with Grow the Flow said he has already observed some very conservative lawmakers on Utah's Capitol Hill become more engaged on lake issues.
"Obviously, when the leader of the Republican Party makes an announcement and a clear demonstration that more needs to be done on Great Salt Lake, you’d hope the federal delegation and our state legislature would listen," he said. "Time will tell if it resonates or more needs to be done."
