People who live near drought-plagued Bear Lake, along
the Idaho-Utah border, don’t want to see water levels drop another
four feet. Yet dredging by Utah Power & Light, which aims to
dig a 2,000-foot channel to a pumping station at the north end of
the lake, would do just that. The company needs the water to
continue generating power at six hydro plants down the river. The
Army Corps of Engineers approved the plan in May 1993, but three
citizens groups sued the Corps last December. Local opponents said
the dredging could turn the lake into a mosquito-infested marsh. In
a partial victory for locals, the Corps reversed itself in January
and directed Utah Power and Light to obtain a permit. Although
residents along the lakeshore must obtain a permit just to pull
weeds on exposed lake bed near their homes, the Corps had
maintained that the dredging was exempt under the Clean Water Act.
The permit process now required includes a public hearing scheduled
for March 8 in Montpelier, Idaho. For more information contact the
citizens’ group, Bear Lake Watch, at Box 205, Fish Haven, ID
83287.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Bare land at Bear Lake.
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