Following the cancellation of multiple events at the Bonneville Salt Flats this year, the Save the Salt Coalition and Utah Alliance met, along with a variety of stakeholder groups, to discuss potential solutions for restoring and maintaining safe salt levels at the historic racing venue on September 14.
The Save the Salt Coalition is an international group of businesses and organizations with a vested interest in the Bonneville Salt Flats, with SEMA among these organizations. The Utah Alliance provides expertise and connections at the state and local level, which the Save the Salt Coalition does not have. The two groups have come together on a shared mission of restoring the Salt Flats to safe conditions as the premier venue for land speed racing.
In response to the four major racing events being cancelled this year, the Utah Alliance organized a tour of the area with government officials who oversee the Salt Flats, mine operators, geologists, engineers, and other stakeholder groups. This tour allowed these participants to have follow-up conversations and begin talking about potential restoration actions.
"Everyone displayed a willingness to come together to find a solution," said Chariman of the Utah Alliance, Dennis Sullivan. "There was a mutual respect demonstrated among the public agencies, private entities, and racers. We all need to learn more from each other as we all have specific observations and experiences that need to be combined with scientific data to provide a viable way forward."
The next step will be for the Utah Alliance and Save the Salt Coalition to present a position statement to the stakeholders, which will identify a number of short and long-term actions. Priority will be given to determine how to expand brine pumping.
"Although concerns about deterioration at Bonneville have existed for decades, today marked the first time officials representing the government, industry, and racers sat at the same table to discuss solutions," said Save the Salt Coalition Charman, Doug Evans. "We are finally at the starting line in the race to save Bonneville."
Although the groups acknowledged that no quick fixes exist to resolve the issues, they believe that given the high level of cooperation, the internationally famous speedway will eventually be safe for racers.