NOTICE OF SUBSTANTIVE CHANGE
1. Agency Information
Natural Resources, Great Salt Lake Commissioner
Natural Resources Building
2. Contact Persons
Please address questions regarding information on this notice to the persons listed above.
3. General Information
A. Rule or section catchline:
R658-1. Great Salt Lake Preservation Program
B. Purpose of the new rule or reason for the change:
This rule describes the mission, purpose, and governing procedures for the new Great Salt Lake Preservation Program and the Great Salt Lake Preservation Board.
C. Summary of the new rule or change:
This is the initial creation of this rule, which describes a program created by the legislature during the 2026 General Session.
4. Legislative Action Information
A. Are any changes in this filing because of state legislative action?
Changes are because of legislative action.
B. If yes, any bill number and session:
HB 410 (2026 General Session)
5. Fiscal Information
Provide an estimate and written explanation of the aggregate anticipated cost or savings to:
$0. All costs to the state related to this program are already described in the fiscal note to HB 410 (2026) at:
https://le.utah.gov/~2026/bills/static/HB0410.html.
$0. This program will rarely, if ever, contract with local governments, as the program is required to exclusively lease agricultural water. If a particular lease disrupts the operations of a local government, the impact will be mitigated and/or paid for by the original funding appropriated to the program.
The cost will not be passed on to local governments.
C. Small businesses ("small business" means a business employing 1-49 persons):
$0. There are no significant impacts anticipated on small businesses. While agricultural production on some individual fields will decrease as water is being leased, this decrease in production will be temporary and highly limited.
Subsection 73-34-302(1)(b) requires that no water be leased off a single field more than two years in any five-year period. As such, small businesses serving neighboring agricultural producers will not see a significant decrease in overall agricultural activity, as only a small portion of all fields in the entire Great Salt Lake Basin will be participating in any given year.
D. Non-small businesses ("non-small business" means a business employing 50 or more persons):
$0. There are no significant impacts anticipated on non-small businesses. While agricultural production on some individual fields will decrease as water is being leased, this decrease in production will be temporary and highly limited.
Subsection 73-34-302(1)(b) requires that no water be leased off a single field more than two years in any five-year period. As such, non-small businesses serving neighboring agricultural producers will not see a significant decrease in overall agricultural activity, as only a small portion of all fields in the entire Great Salt Lake Basin will be participating in any given year.
E. Persons other than small businesses, non-small businesses, state, or local government entities ("person" means any individual, partnership, corporation, association, governmental entity, or public or private organization of any character other than an agency):
$0. Under this rule, mutual irrigation companies and other water rights holders will be contracting to lease water, and to allow their shareholders to lease water.
Some water rights holders will incur costs by virtue of signing these contracts, but those costs will either:
1) be paid for by the initial appropriation in HB 410 (2026) and after the approval of the Great Salt Lake Preservation Board, or 2) be paid for by the water rights holder, but only with their express agreement in the contract.
It is not anticipated that any other entity would have costs incurred upon them by virtue of this rule.
F. Compliance costs for affected persons:
$0. Compliance with any particular contract or agreement created under this rule would be the responsibility of the Great Salt Lake Commissioner's Office and would be paid for by the initial appropriation in HB 410 (2026), or in the operating budget of the Great Salt Lake Commissioner's Office.
6. Regulatory Impact Summary Table
Enter the cost or savings in the relevant cell. If there is no cost or savings, enter, "$0." If a cost or savings is inestimable, enter, "inestimable."
7. Regulatory Impact Analysis Approval
The Program Manager of the Great Salt Lake Preservation Program, Office of the Great Salt Lake Commissioner, Micah Safsten, has reviewed and approved this regulatory impact analysis.
8. Family Impact Information
A. The agency has considered this rule's impact on family health, stability, and formation:
9. Citation Information
Provide citations to the statutory authority for the rule. If there is also a federal requirement for the rule, provide a citation to that requirement:
11. Public Notice Information
The public may submit written or oral comments to the agency identified in box 1.
A. Comments will be accepted until:
12. Effective Date InformationThis rule change MAY become effective on:
(NOTE: This is the date the agency anticipates making the filing effective. It is NOT the effective date)
13. Agency Authorization Information
Agency head or
designee and title:
Micah Safsten, Great Salt Lake
Preservation Program Manager
R658. Natural Resources, Great Salt Lake Commissioner. R658-1. Great Salt Lake Preservation Program. Section 73-34-301 authorizes this rule. The same definitions used in Section 73-34-101 apply to this rule. R658-1-3. Great Salt Lake Preservation Board. (1) There is created within the Office of the Great Salt Lake Commissioner the Great Salt Lake Preservation Board that consists of the following five members: (a) one representative of agriculture appointed by the governor as a voting member to serve a four-year term; (b) the commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources, or the commissioner's designee, to serve as a voting member; (c) the commissioner of the Department of Agriculture and Food, or the commissioner of agriculture and food's designee, to serve as a voting member; (d) the commissioner, or the commissioner's designee, to serve as a nonvoting member; and (e) the state engineer, or the state engineer's designee, to serve as a nonvoting member. (2) The commissioner is the chair of the board. (3) When a vacancy occurs in the membership appointed under Subsection (1)(a) for any reason, the governor shall appoint a replacement for the unexpired term. (4)(a) Attendance of two voting members at a meeting constitutes a quorum for the transaction of business. (b) The vote of the majority of voting members when a quorum is present is an action of the board. (c) The board shall convene at the times and places prescribed by the chair. R658-1-4. Rates for Leased Water. (1) The board shall annually set rates under the program for the leasing of agricultural water from an agricultural water user. (2) When determining rates for the leasing of water, the board shall consider the five-year average price for alfalfa hay, based on the United States Department of Agriculture, Utah Direct Hay Report. (1) The board shall at least annually accept applications for the leasing of agricultural water for the benefit of the Great Salt Lake. (2) The board shall at least annually award the leases of agricultural water under the program. R658-1-6. Leasing Criteria. (1) Subject to Section 73-34-302, the board shall establish ranking and other criteria to determine from whom the board may lease agricultural water, except that the board shall prioritize senior perfected water rights. (2) The board may establish additional ranking criteria for the consideration of awarding leases. (3) The board shall make available all ranking criteria for each upcoming application cycle, which may include: (a) senior perfected water rights; (c) current land use; and (4) The board may lease agricultural water: (a) only to benefit the Great Salt Lake; and (b) if for a full irrigation season, no more than two years out of a five-year period on the same agricultural field. R658-1-7. Conditions Imposed on the Award of a Lease. (1) All awarded leases shall file, or have filed, an application allowing for the dedication of water to the Great Salt Lake with the Division of Water Rights. (2) The board may require a person awarded a lease under the program to repay the state for money received under the lease if the board finds that the person failed to comply with the conditions of the lease or diverted water in violation of the lease. (3)(a) To commence an enforcement action under Subsection (1), the board shall issue a notice of violation that includes notice of the amount of repayment for which the person is subject. (b) The board's issuance and enforcement of a notice of violation is exempt from Title 63G, Chapter 4, Administrative Procedures Act. (c) In consultation with the Attorney General's Office, the board may act to enforce a notice of violation under Subsection (2) if a person to whom a notice is issued fails to respond to the notice or abate the violation in a timely manner. (d) A person subject to an enforcement action by the board may request a hearing with the board. (e) The board may create a hearing committee for matters in considered in Subsection (3)(d). 
