BRIEF OF AMICUS CURIAE LAW PROFESSORS IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS’ OPPOSITION TO DEFENDANTS’ MOTIONS TO DISMISS

A group of over 30 law professors argues that the public trust doctrine (PTD) is an inherent attribute of state sovereignty that obligates Utah to protect the Great Salt Lake. The brief contends that Utah has violated this duty by failing to restrain upper basin water diversions, which have reduced the lake's footprint by half and threatened species extinction. The authors assert that the PTD applies not only to navigable waters but also to non-navigable tributaries and groundwater that sustain the lake, citing legal precedents from other Western states like California, Nevada, and Hawaii.

• The public trust doctrine (PTD) is an ancient, inalienable right inherent in state sovereignty, meaning it is not created by constitutions or statutes but is instead preserved by them.
• The Great Salt Lake has suffered a precipitous drop in water levels, with its footprint shrinking by one-half, resulting in toxic air pollutants and threats of species extinction due to the state's failure to restrain upper basin water diversions.
• Utah's water code treats water as a public resource, stating that all waters in the state are the property of the public, subject to existing rights and the requirement of 'beneficial use'.
• The PTD extends beyond navigable waters to include non-navigable tributaries and groundwater if their diversion or extraction harms a protected downstream navigable water body.
• Utah has violated its affirmative fiduciary obligation to preserve the Great Salt Lake by authorizing water appropriations that prevent 2.1 million acre-feet of water from reaching the lake and relying on insufficient voluntary reduction measures.
• The brief suggests feasible restoration measures for the Great Salt Lake, including changing surplus water management in wet years, managing non-irrigation season flows, and requiring efficiency improvements.

APA

Earthjustice (n.d.). BRIEF OF AMICUS CURIAE LAW PROFESSORS IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS’ OPPOSITION TO DEFENDANTS’ MOTIONS TO DISMISS. https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/2024_05_03_amicus_br_of_td_great_salt_lake_1.pdf

Chicago

Earthjustice. BRIEF OF AMICUS CURIAE LAW PROFESSORS IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS’ OPPOSITION TO DEFENDANTS’ MOTIONS TO DISMISS. n.d. https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/2024_05_03_amicus_br_of_td_great_salt_lake_1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Earthjustice |title=BRIEF OF AMICUS CURIAE LAW PROFESSORS IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS’ OPPOSITION TO DEFENDANTS’ MOTIONS TO DISMISS |url=https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/2024_05_03_amicus_br_of_td_great_salt_lake_1.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{earthjusticendbrief, author = {{Earthjustice}}, title = {{BRIEF OF AMICUS CURIAE LAW PROFESSORS IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS’ OPPOSITION TO DEFENDANTS’ MOTIONS TO DISMISS}}, institution = {Earthjustice}, url = {https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/2024_05_03_amicus_br_of_td_great_salt_lake_1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }