Utah
Bill limiting future municipal grass usage reaches Utah Senate – The Daily Universe
A bill limiting the amount of non-functional grass used for state and municipal landscaping has passed the Utah House and is now being debated in the Senate.
Rep. Doug Owens sponsored the bill, titled H.B. 11 Water Efficient Landscaping Requirements. The bill would affect new state and local government landscaping in the Great Salt Lake Basin, Owens said in a House Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee hearing on Jan. 18.
“It would apply up and down the line to government construction: everything from a state building to a county building to a city building to a school and to a road,” Owens said.
The bill states the limit on non-functional turf would be 20% or less of the total landscaped area. It would not affect active turf, like is used at parks, playgrounds and cemeteries, Owens said.
“You can still have all the functional turf you want … but you’re supposed to limit the use, this bill says, if you’re just doing landscape for aesthetic purposes,” he said.
The bill passed several House and Senate meetings in 2022, but failed in the Senate on the last day, according to Owens. The bill’s scope was much wider but was narrowed to the Great Salt Lake Basin this year.
“I know I’m preaching a little to the choir here, but we know conservation is critical to Utah’s water future,” Candice Hasenyager, director of the Utah Division of Water Resources, said at the House committee hearing. “How we grow matters and changing how we grow to be more waterwise and use our water efficiently is super important.”
Hasenyager later said roughly 60% of home water usage in Utah goes towards watering lawns. Setting a limit to how much lawn can be used in government landscaping sets an example of water-wise development for the rest of the state, she said.
Citizens and lobbyists at both the House committee meeting and the Senate Business and Labor Committee meeting shared their support or opposition to H.B.11. The Utah Farm Bureau’s House of Delegates debated about and voted on several policies relating to water use for turfgrass at their most recent meeting, according to Terry Camp, vice president of Public Policy with the Federation.
“Consistent with our policies, Utah Farm Bureau actively supports efforts among all stakeholders to enhance Great Salt Lake. We support marketing and wise use of drought and heat-tolerant varieties of turfgrass and other ornamental plants, and we oppose limits on the use of turfgrass and other ornamental plants in public or private spaces,” Camp said at the Utah Senate hearing.
The bill has been read twice in the Utah Senate and was voted on Feb. 1 to be read a third time. If passed in the Senate, H.B. 11 would go into effect on May 1.
A Utah physician is warning that 21 data centers in various stages of development could significantly worsen air quality along the Wasatch Front.
Dr. Brian Moench, with Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, said the planned data centers are cause for alarm. Each facility is expected to generate its own electricity using natural gas power plants.
While natural gas is cleaner than coal, Moench said it still produces nitrogen oxide, which contributes significantly to ozone, particulate formation, and smog.
“There’s no safe level of air pollution. All of it is harmful, even at the very lowest doses,” Moench said.
Moench said health advocates have legitimate reasons to be concerned about what the facilities could mean for public health in the region.
“There is a real legitimate concern on the part of any health advocates about what this impact will mean to the Wasatch Front and public health if all these data centers are built or even if just a few of them are, and that’s not to address the impact on the Great Salt Lake shrinking up and becoming a toxic dust bowl. That’s the next leg of this argument,” he said.
Moench also raised concerns about electronic waste. As computer chips and equipment become obsolete and are replaced, he said the volume of e-waste produced is something no one has yet addressed.
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UTAH COUNTY, May 11, 2026 (Gephardt Daily) — Two males, ages 14 and 19, were transported to area hospitals Sunday after the side-by-side they were riding rolled down the side of a mountain.
Utah County Sheriff deputies and Santaquin police responded to the 6:07 p.m. call. Two medical helicopters were called to the scene, in the Pole Canyon area, as was a Department of Public Safety helicopter with a hoist in case it was needed, Sgt. Austin Edwards, Utah County Sheriff‘s Office, told Gephardt Daily.
“Eventually, rescue workers were able to make it to the spot on the hill where the vehicle had come to rest, and they were able to secure the victims, stabilize the victims, and get them back down the hill again to where the helicopters were waiting,” Edwards said.
“The 19-year-old male was transported to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo, and the 14 year old was transported to Primary Children’s in Lehi.”
Both were said to have critical injuries, which were not considered to be life threatening, Edwards said.
“The cause of the rollover is still under investigation, so we don’t have that information available just yet.”
Photos: Utah County Sheriff
In what has a chance to be one of the most important nights in Jazz history, the Utah Jazz jumped in the NBA Lottery to the #2 spot for the upcoming NBA draft.
Here are the final results, which show all the movement.
Aside from it being a massive night for the Wizards, Jazz, Grizzlies, and Bulls, it was a devastating night for a few teams, but no one more than the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers, in their trade for Ivica Zubac, had a stipulation on their pick that if the pick was top-4 they kept it. But if it fell below 4, they would give it to the Clippers which is exactly what happened. Now, the Clippers, who are without Zubac, find themselves with a #5 pick to build around.
For the Jazz this is a culmination of four years of rebuilding that ends with an extremely satisfying end. Utah will now have one of the tier-1 players from this draft: AJ Dybantsa or Darryn Peterson. The player Utah drafts will be one of their cornerstone pieces and will have the chance to not only play, but be a part of a team that will be competing for the playoffs this season.
The Utah Jazz now have a Sinister Six core: Darryn Peterson (If AJ Dybantsa goes #1), Keyonte George, Ace Bailey, Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Walker Kessler (if he signs). It’s quite the core with a mix of youth and veterans in their prime. With this group, the Jazz will have a chance to be one of the top teams in the Western Conference. Yes, the Thunder and Spurs are going to be difficult to beat, but Utah has the mix of talent, coaching, and depth that could absolutely do the trick.
Now the Utah Jazz look forward to the NBA Draft that be on June 23rd. Let the posturing begin!!
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