This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Utah House Speaker Becky Lockhart is planning to demand that Utah legislators be involved in any negotiations or legislation to expand the Utah Test and Training Range, and wants Senate leadership on board, too.
The Defense Department is proposing to add 700,000 acres — mostly Bureau of Land Management land, but also some Utah school trust lands — to the bombing range in Utah's West Desert.
Lockhart told House Republicans on Wednesday that she has had a letter drafted that she plans to send to Utah's congressional delegation stating that the Utah Legislature should be consulted and approve any plans to grow the footprint of the range, which now spans 2,675 square miles — an area larger than the state of Delaware.
Legislators found out about the proposal last month.
"In a lot of ways this was done outside … of our input and for me personally and as a legislator, that concerned me greatly," Lockhart said.
Ryan Wilcox, a former state representative who now works for Sen. Mike Lee, said the congressional delegation only found out about it a few weeks earlier and went to the Legislature as soon as it could to include the body in the negotiations.
Lockhart said that Utah land should not be scooped up without the state's permission. She said she understands the importance of the range and that expansion could help keep Hill Air Force Base avoid closure, but she wants the Legislature to have a "seat at the table."
Lockhart said the letter would serve as "a line in the sand that any of this kind of stuff that goes on needs to involve the Legislature, always, and hopefully at the very beginning of the process and not at the end."
She has given a copy of the letter to Senate leadership and hopes they will join in signing, but she will send it, regardless.
Senate President Wayne Niederhauser, R-Sandy, said he has seen the letter, but the Senate wants to do its own "due diligence" before signing on.
Wilcox said that, with a lame-duck Congress only planning to meet for a few weeks before the year ends and a new Congress convenes next year, he thinks it is unlikely the expansion will be approved before next year.
Rep. Doug Sagers, R-Tooele, said his county supports the Air Force mission, as well, but the federal government already owns 83 percent of the land in Tooele County — including a large chunk taken up by the bombing range. He said consideration should be given to agricultural, recreational and other uses, as well.
"Tooele County fully supports keeping the Air Force viable, but not at the risk of Tooele County becoming just a wasteland," he said.
Wilcox said the county commissions have also been included in the discussions, which was small consolation.
Twitter: @RobertGehrke