The Division of Water Rights detailed the Great Salt Lake Distribution Management Plan to the advisory council, explaining how the plan defines Great Salt Lake water rights, accounts for dedicated water, and establishes a priority schedule that links allowable diversions to a measured lake elevation on June 15.

"When the lake is below 41 93, there's no diversions allowed from mineral extraction rights," deputy state engineer Blake Bingham said while walking the council through tranche thresholds and how priority dates determine which rights are available to divert water in a given calendar year. The plan uses the south‑arm (Saltair Boat Harbor) gauge reading on June 15 to set the priority schedule for the following calendar year.

The plan also introduces a publicly accessible distribution accounting tool to report lake volume, dedicated water and evaporative attrition. Bingham reported a year‑end accounting figure: "about 216,809 acre feet of water dedicated water was in the lake" as of Dec. 31, 2024, and noted the state has roughly 500,000 acre‑feet of dedicated water on the books when counting all change applications and voluntary arrangements (the latter often arise from agreements between Forestry, Fire & State Lands and mineral extraction entities).

Why it matters: the plan alters how rights in the lake are administered by specifying lake elevation thresholds that govern diversion eligibility and by centralizing accounting data so the public and stakeholders can see which water has actually made it to the lake. Bingham emphasized the plan does not govern unrelated regulatory actions (for example, berm management or upstream tributary calls) and that the state engineer will not assert a priority call upstream of the meander line.

Voluntary arrangements: the presentation explained some mineral extraction entities filed permanent change applications and entered voluntary arrangements with Forestry, Fire & State Lands; those change applications operate on a parallel priority schedule and may allow limited diversions at slightly lower measured elevations than the plan's general floor.

Adoption status and next steps: Bingham said the plan was adopted Oct. 1 and was in a 60‑day complaint period at the time of the meeting; he reported no petitions for judicial review had been filed so far and invited public feedback on the online tool and reports. Council members asked detailed technical questions about elevations, how dedicated water is accounted for and the possibility of upstream calls; staff answered that thresholds are fixed in the plan unless formally amended and that upstream curtailment was not part of this plan.

The council did not vote on the plan; Blake encouraged stakeholders to review the plan, the priority schedule, voluntary arrangement PDFs and the accounting tool online.