Hatch Introduces Utah Lands Bills
Washington, D.C. — Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate and Chairman of the Senate Western Caucus’s Public Lands Subcommittee, issued the following statement after introducing three separate lands bills:
“Protecting lands in Utah from the overreaching hands of the federal government, and taking advantage of every opportunity to return lands that have previously been seized has always been one of my top priorities," Hatch said. "Each of these three bills represents commonsense efforts to tip the scales of sovereignty in the direction of Utahns who are best suited to be stewards over these lands. These laws are good for Utah and I encourage Congress to act on them swiftly."
The three bills include the Sand Hollow National Recreation Area, the Scofield Land Transfer and Hydraulic Fracturing and State Primacy legislation.
- The Hurricane Sand Dunes National Recreation Area Act of 2015 is a bill that will designate nearly 20,000 acres of land near the Sand Hollow Reservoir as a National Recreation Area that will ensure this beautiful area is accessible to the public for various recreational activities and protects OHV access.
- The Scofield Land Transfer Act is common-sense legislation that allows families who have owned homes around the Reservoir for generations to be able to purchase the land underneath their residences or enter into a life-estate agreement with the federal government so that they will not have to worry that their homes are in jeopardy of being seized by the government. This solution will ensure that the affected residents of Carbon County are protected and have options.
- The Hydraulic Fracturing and State Primacy legislation will uphold state’s rights to oversee the hydraulic fracturing regulatory process within the state.
