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Utah Rivers Council's Letter To State Attorney General

Author Name, ProPublica

2021-12

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Attorney General Reyes June 30, 2021 Office of the Attorney General 350 North State Street, Suite 230 Salt Lake City, Utah 84117-2320 Dear Attorney General Reyes, We are writing to request an investigation into the possible conflicts of interest among staff and contractors of Utah’s largest water supplier, the Central Utah Water Conservancy District (CUWCD). These conflicts involve the CUWCD executive staff’s hiring of contractors for their own personal benefit and their joint lobbying efforts against popular water conservation proposals at the statehouse over many years. These actions are likely in violation of state law, and they threaten the best interests of all Utah water users, including both cities and farms within the Central Utah Project (CUP). Moreover, the long-standing existence of the conflicts has led to a range of de facto water and fiscal policies that have limited the CUWCD’s ability to provide a low-cost water supply to Utah water users. Since the CUWCD Board of Trustees has failed to take any action to address the conflicts of interest among its executive staff and contractors, an external investigation by your office is clearly required. Indeed, the Board’s failure to adequately oversee CUWCD executive staff may very well stem directly from the conflicts of interest at issue. It is also critical to note that CUWCD staff have worked to curtail consideration of these concerns by the CUWCD Board of Trustees in its regular meetings, including by limiting public participation in the meetings. The fact that CUWCD staff are attempting to prevent its own board and the public from reviewing these matters underscores the need for your office to take action, especially in light of the severe drought that is currently impacting the state. Accordingly, we write your office today to ask for an investigation into whether these conflicts of interest comply with state statutes governing the Central Utah Water Conservancy District.

I. THE CUWCD’S RETENTION OF THE LOBBYING FIRM OF FINLINSON & FINLINSON IS A SUBSTANTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST.
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[1] URL: https://www.scribd.com/document/516241214/Utah-Rivers-Council-s-Letter-to-State-Attorney-General
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