Heber City farmers speak out against potential US 40 bypass

HEBER CITY — Some farmland owners in Heber City are speaking out against the Utah Department of Transportation over a proposed bypass corridor that they say would have significant environmental impacts on an aquifer.

Laren Gertsch, one of the largest landowners in the North Fields area of Heber City, said UDOT has been trying to fix traffic on U.S. 40 since he was in high school — almost 50 years. The city and county have slowly bought land and acquired property for a potential bypass corridor so U.S. 40 traffic would not need to go through Heber City Main Street.

But after a recent environmental impact statement, UDOT has chosen a preferred plan that would route the bypass through the North Fields — a decision that landowners adamantly oppose.

UDOT said the preserved corridor has space limitations, and it would've failed to improve local and regional mobility with narrower, slower-speed road designs.

The Alternative B plan would reduce Main Street congestion and regional traffic, minimize property disruption through fewer relocations and improve safety by separating local traffic from regional travelers, according to UDOT.

"While it impacts some agricultural land, UDOT is committing to strict 'no-access' rules to prevent new development and to (offer) permanent protection of sections of the North Fields as wetland mitigation," UDOT said on its website for the project.

But Gertsch said he and the other farmers disagree, claiming a bypass through the fields would have devastating environmental impacts. They agree traffic needs to be improved, but "if they come through with Alternative B, it will basically ruin agriculture in the North Fields and significantly impact the aquifer."

The North Fields are located above a Class 1A aquifer, meaning it has "pristine groundwater," according to the Utah Department of Environmental Quality. The aquifer acts as an underwater reservoir that is used in agriculture and provides drinking water to about 1.5 million people.

The North Fields Irrigation Company said UDOT's current plan proposes that all highway runoff will go straight into the ground without any treatment, which could negatively impact the drinking water. The company says it warned UDOT about this in 2022, but still, no plan has been made to prevent the aquifer from being contaminated.

"What contaminates the North Fields doesn't stay in the North Fields; it flows downstream to the taps of families from Orem to Salt Lake City," the company said.

Putting a road through the aquifer would also act like a dam, causing the wells to dry up, Gertsch said.

"We are organized out on the North Fields, and all the landowners are willing to fight this. ... We are serious about this," Gertsch said. The farmers even created a website against the proposal.

UDOT said it will prioritize wetland mitigation for the North Fields. Final mitigation plans will be developed during the permitting process, which will occur after the study is complete and the project moves into its final design phase.

"For every acre impacted, UDOT may mitigate between 2 and 15 acres, ensuring the community gains more protected land than is lost. Mitigated lands will be removed from private ownership, limiting the potential for future development," UDOT said on its website.

The North Fields Irrigation Company issued a statement opposing the Alternative B plan, citing 99 "specific deficiencies." Alternative B destroys more wetlands, converts more farmland, impacts more Rock Creek canal infrastructure and damages more acres of the agriculture protection area than the other bypass option, the company claims.

"Despite these numbers, the (study) declares Alternative B the 'least environmentally damaging practicable alternative.' It would use self-created loopholes to override the Clean Water Act, then slap the 'least damaging' label on the more damaging option because they control the paperwork," the company's board of directors said in a statement.

UDOT said Alternative B is the best option as it "saves more homes, businesses, and historic sites," making it the "most practicable and least damaging choice overall ... though final federal approval on water impacts is still pending," the agency's website said.

The irrigation company also claims UDOT is severely underestimating the cost of the project and hasn't accounted for the cost of mitigation systems promised to them or the cost of acquiring more land.

"UDOT is asking Utah taxpayers to write a billion-dollar blank check to save 70 seconds of drive time — while gambling with the valley's drinking water, destroying irreplaceable farmland that has been in local families for generations, and ignoring four years of warnings from the people who know this land best," the statement said.

The farmers said they have tried giving UDOT different solutions but feel they aren't being heard.

"Six generations of Clydes have worked this land since 1860. We're not anti-road; we are anti-reckless. What we oppose is a land grab. ... With its proposal, UDOT has declared farming to be disposable," landowner Ed Clyde said.

Gertsch said it's been difficult to continue fighting to preserve the wetlands as residents are "worn out."

"I can't even tell you the amount of times this issue has come up. This is probably the most serious ... but we've been dealing with this off and on for 50 years," Gertsch said.

On Feb. 28, farmers and residents hosted a "tractorcade" to show their opposition to the plan and encourage people to submit comments to UDOT. The public comment period for the UDOT proposal is open until Monday, March 9. The final environmental impact statement will be completed this summer.

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