AI-generated summary. We recommend consulting the bill text for important decisions.

When farmland is proposed for development, this bill requires city and county land use authorities — the local bodies that approve building permits and development applications — to consider how the conversion of that agricultural land might affect groundwater levels beneath it, and to weigh methods for preserving those levels before approving the project. Authorities may consider requiring developers to use techniques like irrigation, recharge basins, or injection wells to help replenish underground water supplies. Local governments can also request groundwater level data from the Utah Geological Survey or local irrigation companies to inform those decisions.