This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Boat registration fees could rise $10 a year to help fight the invasive Quagga mussel.
The Senate approved SB89 on Wednesday by a 28-0 vote to do that, and sent it to the House.
The bill's sponsor, Sen. Scott Jenkins, R-Plain City, said the new fee will generate an extra $750,000 to help fund programs to combat the Quagga, including monitoring of lakes and programs to wash boats to help prevent transporting the species.
He said the Quagga is found in Lake Powell, and samples of microscopic juvenile Quagga have even recently been found in Deer Creek reservoir.
"These little buggars hook to anything and they are about impossible" to remove from affected lakes and rivers, Jenkins said in debate. He said that includes clogging water pipes.
If they spread, he said they could cause tens of millions of dollars in damage.
— Lee Davidson