Salt Lake Tribune – “‘We Don’t Need Your Water’ – Emigration Canyon Water Fight Breaks Out in Court”
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
NPR – Lead Levels Below EPA Limits Can Still Impact Your Health
Salt Lake Tribune – “Why is Emigration Creek — a Historic Utah Waterway — Dry?”
Feds Sue State of Utah, Claim Top Public Safety Officials Misused Grant Money
E-mails Could Contradict DEQ Claim Over Sandy Water Warning
Lawsuit Seeks $50M After Utah Allegedly Falsified DOJ Grant Requests
The ECHO-Association Press Release for the Emigration Canyon Community
Feds are Investigating Whether Utah Lied to Obtain Grants, Say the State’s Attorney General is Stonewalling
HBO’s John Oliver – “What’s So Special About Special Districts?”
Desert News – “Emigration Canyon and Groundwater Pumping in Utah: What’s at Risk?” 
KSL.com – “District’s Water Diversion Will Continue in Utah’s Emigration Canyon” 
ABC4 News – Emigration Canyon Fire Forces Residents from Their Homes
Download Wildfire Study – Emigration Oaks
High Country News – “Paranoia and a ‘Preposterously’ Oversized Water Tank”
The Park Record – “Paranoia in Emigration Oaks” 
The ECHO-Association – Letter to the 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
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)
SL Tribune – Gov. Herbert Declares Drought Emergency for all of Utah (October 16, 2018)
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)
