The day the islands died

We got the following email from Lake Restoration Solutions yesterday.

Honorable Judge Scott,

 

Please see attached Notice of Dissolution regarding Lake Restoration Solutions, LLC - Case No. 220900164. 

 

Lake Restoration Solutions no longer has legal representation for this case. If you have any questions, I’m happy to help as best I can.

 

All the best,

What started with a poorly stapled lawsuit ended with a poorly named Word document: “Notice of Dissolution .docx”. The informal letter informed the court that LRS dissolved their LLC on June 12th. The dissolution was conveniently timed to get out of the attorney fees they were ordered to pay months ago and avoid sitting for depositions, which were scheduled for the next few weeks.

Jared Tamez took this photo of the lake from Khyv Peak just as the news broke about LRS' dissolution

From the beginning of the saga in 2017, we knew that LRS was headed for meltdown. Their out-of-state LLC status was an obvious tell. Indeed, one of the reasons they sued me was that we pointed out the many unacceptable economic and environmental risks they were trying to impose on the public. We are lucky they fell apart before breaking ground on their lake terraforming experiment.

You can't see the lake from my house directly, but a quick drone flight reveals this view of Provo Bay and Mount Nebo.

While LRS’ failure doesn’t leave us with half-built islands, it sure does raise a lot of questions. Here are a few that I am wrestling with as the news sinks in:

1. How did such an unserious proposal get so far and garner so much support?
2. Why didn’t state leaders seek independent opinions from qualified agencies and external experts?
3. How were our budgeting and permitting processes so vulnerable to improper influence and pressure within and outside of government?
4. What other important natural resource decisions are similarly compromised (e.g., permits for mining, development, and oil and gas extraction)?
5. Why didn’t independent scientists (me included) get involved earlier?
6. Once the science and management communities had spoken, why did it take so long before any political leaders were willing to criticize the project?
7. How can we strengthen internal checks and balances in the legislature and governor's office?
8. What kinds of retaliation were carried out against those with questions or criticisms? Who carried out that punishment, and how can we prevent it in the future?
9. Will there be any accountability for LRS and its agents for their illegal lawsuit, damage to public trust, and abuse of government?
10. Why do public funds continue to be allocated to this kind of project generally and this team specifically? 
11. Will the failure decrease their influence or enhance their reputation as they present themselves as victims?
12. How can we decrease conflicts of interest and establish a more rigorous and independent process for vetting proposals?
13. What firewalls do we need to strengthen to ensure protections for state regulators and managers?
14. Will we see any admission or reflection from those who supported the project or punished critics? 
15. How can we empower state employees and all community members to express their opinions about proposals in their areas of expertise?
16. How can we strengthen our decision-making process to decrease risk of similar boondoggles?
17. What do citizens need to do and what laws need to be changed to rebalance influence of the public and lobbyists?
18. How can we repair the damage to free speech and trust?
19. How can we learn the most from this?

I grew up in Orem, but it wasn't until we moved back for my job at BYU that I got involved in policy. As a state, we are facing multiple major decisions simultaneously. From the Great Salt Lake rescue to the renewable energy transition, we need to have the political and administrative maturity to ask hard questions, clearly evaluate performance, and change direction when needed. 

I love the idea of the Utah Way, and I think our state is capable of setting an example of collaborative and civil problem solving. However, if we're not vigilant, the Utah Way can devolve into the "don't rock the boat way" and eventually the "don't ask any questions way". We can't let the cohesiveness of our community compromise our commitment to process and separation of powers.

 

We currently are stuck in a pattern of overconfidence, conflicted interests, and blaming. From the Inland Port Authority to the prison relocation, we seem to be plagued by insular thinking, insider deals, and inadequate accountability. 

Let’s change that.

How the lake might feel today.

News coverage of the development:

• Deseret News: Utah Lake island project sinks after company behind proposal dissolves
• Daily Herald: Proposal to build islands in Utah Lake seemingly over as company dissolves
• Fox 13: Utah Lake islands project likely dead after company dissolves
• Tribune: Plan to dredge Utah Lake islands appears dead as developer dissolves business