Summit County Citizens Voice

Wet dreams ...

Energy agency says bid to bring water from Wyoming to Colorado is not ripe

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY— The proposal for bringing new water to the thirsty Front Range of Colorado was rejected as “premature” this week by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, subject to a potential rehearing. The original Federal Register notice for the project is online here.

The 560-mile pipeline, formally called the Regional Water Supply Project, could potentially transport up to 250,000 acre feet of water from the Green River Basin in Wyoming to Colorado. It was proposed by water speculator Aaron Million as a way of bringing water to Denver-area suburbs that don’t have sustainable long-term water supply.

After the proposal faltered and languished in the early review stages by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Million suddenly tried to reinvent the pipeline as an energy project, switching the review process to the FERC.

The pipeline was controversial from day one, drawing opposition from the environmental community as well as from the Colorado River Water Conservation District, representing the Colorado Western Slope. The River District characterized the project as speculative and said there was no evidence that any of the projected users could pay for the pipeline.

Environmental groups tabbed it as a boondoggle that would result in the most expensive water developement project ever in Colorado. The agency said it received more than 200 comments.

Proponent Aaron Million said his understanding is that FERC wanted more details on the exact route. He plans to resubmit his plans well within the 60-rehearing period.

“We’ll have something in within a couple of weeks. We’ve cowboyed through worse,” he said, describing the rejection as just another step in the permitting process.

Million touted the potential benefits of the project, including the ability to draw water from different basins during times when parts of the West are dry. He also said the plan could take some of the pressure off environmentally sensitive West Slope streams in Colorado.

Even as FERC was rejecting the application, Million said he’s put out a request for proposals for design and construction of the pipeline for what’s estimated to be a $3 billion project. The request has drawn some early interest from big international engineering companies as far away as Australia, he said.

As proposed to FERC, the project would have consisted of a 501-mile buried pipeline extending from intakes on Flaming Gorge Reservoir adn the Green River to a proposed reservoir near Pueblo, with seven hydropower projects along the way.

Conservation groups hailed the decision by FERC.

“This is a victory for Colorado’s economy, but it’s time to get past this proposal once and for all,” said Molly Mugglestone, of Protect the Flows. “If the federal government keeps refusing to waste time and money on entertaining this pipe dream, why does the State of Colorado continue to do so?”

The answer is that the Colorado Water Conservation Board is obligated to explore every possible avenue to bolster the state’s water supplies. Rejecting any proposal without due process, no matter how far-fetched it may seem, could be seen as capricious.

The CWCB recently funded a task force that is considering the Flaming Gorge pipeline.  The “Project Exploration Committee” held their first meeting on January 12 in Silverthorne, and is scheduled to continue meeting and discussing the pipeline through the end of 2012.

The state has trudged forward with the task force despite significant opposition from business interests and local elected officials.  Protect the Flows, a coalition of over 370 businesses who depend upon a healthy Colorado River system, has led a campaign to secure resolutions opposing the pipeline from counties and municipalities including: Mesa County, Montrose County, Delta County, Summit County, the City of Grand Junction and the City of Fruita.

More from the FERC rejection notice:

“As presented in Wyco’s application, these hydropower projects are exclusively dependent on water from the proposed water supply pipeline. However, this pipeline does not currently exist, and Wyco’s application does not provide any information about the timeline for seeking and obtaining the necessary authorizations for the construction and operation of such a pipeline.

The Director orders:
(A)    The preliminary permit application filed by Wyco Power and Water, Inc., on September 1, 2011, for Project No. 14263-000 is dismissed.
(B)    This order constitutes final agency action. Any party may file a request for rehearing of this order within 30 days of the date of its issuance, as provided in section 313(a) of the FPA, 16 U.S.C. § 825l (2006), and section 385.713 of the Commission’s regulations, 18 C.F.R. § 385.713 (2011).”

Jeff Wright Director Office of Energy Projects

Filed under: business, Colorado, economy, Environment, rivers, Summit County news, water Tagged: | Aaron Million, Colorado, Flaming Gorge pipeline, regional water supply pipeline, water, Wyoming