Business Insider – The US has Pumped So Much Groundwater That It’s Literally Splitting the Ground Open Across the American Southwest (September 11, 2023)
ECHO – Aerial Recording of Groundwater Depletion in the Emigration Oaks PUD (YouTube) (June 16, 2020)
Salt Lake Tribune – Why is Emigration Creek — a Historic Utah Waterway — Dry? (September 8, 2018)
ECHO Presentation to the Utah State Engineer – Willful Dewatering of Emigration Canyon by Emigration Improvement District (December 18, 2018)
CNN – Great Salt Lake’s Disappearance Is an ‘Imminent’ Crisis (February 12, 2023)
HBO – Water: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (June 27, 2022)
Wall Street Journal – As Utah’s Great Salt Lake Dries Up, Economic Crisis Looms (September 8, 2022)
Desert News – Emigration Canyon and Groundwater Pumping in Utah: What’s at Risk? (January 2, 2019) ![]()
KSL.com – District’s Water Diversion Will Continue in Utah’s Emigration Canyon (January 18, 2019) 
HCN – The Mormon Church Supplied Tainted Water to Its Members for Years (September 2 ,2019)
Salt Lake Tribune (November 8, 2019) 
EID Trustee Chairman Michael Scott Hughes: Emigration Improvement District Had No Obligation to Report Lead Contamination To Water Users and “Standby Customers” in 2016
The Washington Post – In America’s Fastest-Growing Metro, a Rising Fear Water Will Run Out (August 15, 2022)
HBO – Special Districts: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (March 7, 2016)
KSL.com – E-mails Could Contradict DEQ Claim Over Sandy Water Warning (March 7, 2019)
60 Minutes – The Legacy of the Flint Water Crisis (June 12, 2021)
NBC – Ex-Governor, Former Michigan Officials Charged In Flint Water Crisis (January 14, 2021)
Salt Lake Tribune (June 18, 2015)
KSL.com – Feds Sue State of Utah, Claim Top Public Safety Officials Misused Grant Money (April 13, 2020)
KSL.com – Lawsuit Seeks $50M After Utah Allegedly Falsified DOJ Grant Requests
Salt Lake Tribune – Feds are Investigating Whether Utah Lied to Obtain Grants, Say the State’s Attorney General is Stonewalling
ABC4 News – Emigration Canyon Fire Forces Residents from Their Homes
Download Wildfire Study – Emigration Oaks (June 25, 2002)
High Country News – Paranoia and a ‘Preposterously’ Oversized Water Tank (June 28, 2019)
The Park Record – Paranoia in Emigration Oaks (July 3-5, 2019)
The ECHO-Association – Letter to the HCN Editor
Dear Editor,
The entire premise of the HCN article “Paranoia and a ‘preposterously’ oversized water tank” is both false and misleading.
“Fire Paranoia” is not the problem in Emigration Canyon, Utah.
What is?
Development. In 1998, private land-developers of the “EID Advisory Committee” sold numerous parcels designated as the “Bel Air of Salt Lake City” to unsuspecting buyers. However, because Canyon residents had defeated EID’s proposal to construct a water system in 1995, they had neither the water rights nor infrastructure to make the project economically viable. So, ignoring Canyon voters, EID simply acquired $6.3 million dollars of debt through a program intended for “economically disadvantaged communities” thereby yielding tens of millions in private profit.
What else did the article fail to mention?
According to its own records, EID water-supply lines are grossly undersized and cannot provide adequate flow in case of a fire emergency. This was the additional reason why Utah State Engineer Dr. Steve Onysko refused to certify the project in addition to a “preposterously oversized” water tank and improper use of federally-backed funds.
Most importantly, EID’s own commissioned study concluded that their own large-diameter commercial wells have been groundwater mining since 1998. Rather than “fanning rumors”, we have meticulously collected evidence of impairment of over 40 private wells.
What is next?
Contrary to the article’s “bottomless pit” metaphor, if pending litigation against EID is successful, The ECHO-Association will relieve taxpayers of federally-backed debt with the stroke of a pen.
Why is that now likely to occur?
Notably, the 6-year statute of limitation cited by both Judge Parish and HCN was recently overruled unanimously by the US Supreme Court (Docket No. 18-315) in favor of the 10-year statute argued by our legal team since Day 1.
Sincerely,
Mark Christopher Tracy
Ass. jur. (German Barrister, inactive)
J.D. (University of San Diego)
Related Media/News
The Guardian – A Utah town is running dry. Its Solution Stoked an Age-Old Water War (April 3, 2022)
NPR – How A ‘Perfect Storm’ Cut Off Water To This Colorado Town
NPR – Supreme Court Overturns Precedent In Property Rights Case (June 22, 2019)
Desert News – Groundwater Depletion Sinks Portions of Cedar Valley (March 31, 2014)
KSL.com – Are Taxpayers Getting Soaked by Water District Salaries? (November 2, 2018)
WSJ – Newark Water Tests Show High Lead Levels, Prompting Threat of Legal Action
NRDC – Nestlé’s Ice Mountain Bottled Water Leaves Nothing for Michigan’s Trout (June 1, 2018)
Utah State Auditor – EID Complaint Nr. 1-2
Utah State Auditor – EID Complaint Nr. 1-6
Utah State Auditor – EID Complaint Nr. 1-7
Utah State Auditor – Open Investigation (April 28, 2014)
Utah State Auditor – Final Report (August 24, 2016)
Open Land Purchase of $700,000 in Emigration Canyon with $200,000 of Public Funds (4.6 acres) – 2016
Desert News – A Colorful Past Lies Buried at Mount Olivet (June 5, 1991)
The New Yorker – The Personal Toll of Whistleblowing (January 29, 2019)
