NOTE: The Bureau of Reclamation has formally terminated the process to develop an Enivornmental Impact Statement for the construction of the Lake Powell Pipeline Project.

• September 9, 2020 - Surrounding states bash Utah's Lake Powell pipeline project. By Brain Maffley for the Salt Lake Tribune

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LATEST NEWS:

• 2018, September - FERC decides to limit its jurisdiction to the hydropower generation component of the Lake Powell Pipeline. This means the other components of the LPP Project will involve the jurisctions of other federal agencies.
• Read FERC's Order here.
• Read this story about FERC's decision by The Associated Press.

• January 29, 2018 - Utah Spent $33 Million on Pipeline Application it Never Finished; the Feds Approved it Anyway. Salt Lake Tribune.
• January 11, 2018 - FERC temporarily suspends the public process. Note: original deadline for Intervenors was March 9, 2018 and public comments were due on March 26, 2018.
• We suggest you begin writing comments anyway and post them on the FERC site (instructions below).
• Utah Reluctantly Asks Feds To Push Pause On States Lake Powell Pipeline. Emma Penrod, The Salt Lake Tribune.
• Click here to read this story by David DeMille of The Spectrum
• Letter from the Utah Board of Water Resources. 
• Response from American Rivers.
• Response from Western Resource Advocates.

INTERVENOR SUBMISSIONS (Original due date was February 9, 2018)

• eMail Addresses for Intervenors
• Central Arizona Water Conservation District
• Washington County Water Conservancy District
• Center for Biological Diversity
• Living Rivers & Colorado Riverkeeper
• Save The Colorado
• August 30, 2018 - Pinal County, Arizona, files as an intervenor against the Lake Powell Pipeline

UTAH CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION

• Delegation Letter to  FERC
• Center for Biological Diversity Rebuttal
  

NOTE: It is important to understand that the water for Lake Powell Pipeline is actually stored in Flaming Gorge Reservoir near the Wyoming/Utah border. Once the water is released, it flows down the Green River and then into Lake Powell, where the proposed pipeline begins.

NOTE: Scroll down for information to help you submit timely comments to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commision.

From The Salt Lake Tribune by Emma Penrod (December 13, 2017)

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has given its initial approval to Utah's application to build the controversial Lake Powell Pipeline to pipe Colorado River water from Glen Canyon Dam 140 miles to St. George, but many hurdles remain for the project. Federal regulators have tentatively approved Utah's application to build the Lake Powell Pipeline, but they've also thrown the state an unexpected curveball.

On Tuesday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a notice that it had accepted Utah's application to construct the 140-mile pipeline, intended to pump Colorado River water from Glen Canyon Dam to St. George and 12 other southern Utah communities. That, FERC said, clears the way for a full study of the project's environmental impacts.

This is a major milestone toward meeting Southern Utah's need to diversify its water supply and develop additional resources to meet anticipated demand, Eric Millis, director of the state Division of Water Resources, said in a statement. Permitting a water project is a lengthy process and this is a significant step.

But FERC also said it was reviewing just how much jurisdiction it actually has over the project, a move that could slow down ultimate approval for the billion-dollar-plus underground pipeline, which is already running behind schedule.

State officials filed the permit application with FERC in 2016 because the Lake Powell Pipeline at least as currently proposed, is expected to include hydroelectric generating stations along its route through Arizona and Utah. Officials with the Division of Water Resources had long expected that FERC would also be the lead federal agency on the entire project, giving it a key role in obtaining additional permits.

But in its Tuesday notice, FERC said it may only have jurisdiction over the six hydroelectric sites along the route, not the whole pipeline and network of pumping stations and water storage facilities.

If that proves true, it could put Utah more directly in charge of navigating a lengthy review from a host of other federal agencies, forcing additional work on to the Division of Water Resources, which has already spent more than $30 million in taxpayer funds to obtain permits for the pipeline so far.

As proposed, the pipeline would pump water from Lake Powell about 50 miles northwest to a high point within the area of the former Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, according to the FERC notice. The water would then flow just under 90 miles downhill through a series of six hydroelectric turbines before arriving at Sand Hollow Reservoir, east of St. George. Officials with the Division of Water Resources have said they expect the pipeline to cost between $1.1 to $1.8 billion.

FERC spokeswoman Celeste Miller said Tuesday the agency had assumed it would not take jurisdiction over the entire water project just the hydroelectric turbines. She said the commission still planned to produce documentation required by other agencies, such as the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management, that have a say in the pipeline's fate.

A spokesman for the Division of Water Resources said late Tuesday it was unclear exactly what the FERC announcement means, given that state officials had written their application assuming FERC would lead the permitting process.

While a shift in jurisdiction would not necessarily boost the number of permits Utah officials have to obtain before breaking ground, those permits could be subject to new and different kinds of review if FERC does not play the role state leaders thought, raising the potential for further delays.

Zach Frankel, executive director of the Utah Rivers Council and a long-time opponent of the pipeline, noted that if other agencies play a bigger role in the permitting process, that could subject the pipeline to more in-depth review of whether the project is necessary.

Establishing the purpose and need for a pipeline, said Frankel, will be an important part of the environmental assessment study, which FERC said will be conducted according to the National Environmental Policy Act. If it isn't properly satisfied, Frankel said, the courts can rule against an agency in the event a permitting decision is challenged.

But FERC's move could also allow the agency to evaluate the pipeline solely with respect to demand for hydroelectricity, and not water opening the possibility that state officials would not have to prove, as has been asserted, that the pipeline is necessary to prevent southwestern Utah from running out of water.

By not considering the rest of the project features, it could be easier to approve, Frankel said in an email. It's not a slam dunk for anyone. FERC has also asked for public comments regarding the pipeline proposal. Comments are due in early February and may be submitted online at:
ferc.gov/docs-filing/ecomment.asp

• NOTE: Stay tuned. The public process has temporarily been suspended as of 1/11/18. FERC Announcement.
• ORINGINAL SCHEDULE: Submissions for interventions and filings are due 60 days from December 11th (February 9, 2018), and public comments are due 105 days from December 11th (March 26, 2018).
• Comments should reference the proposal's docket number, P-12966-004.
• Click here to read the document from FERC that initiates the analysis.

ONLINE COMMENT
eComment: under 6000 characters

• Step 1: Go to http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ecomment.asp and fill out the form, including your email. You will be emailed a link.
• Step 2: Open the link in the FERC email and use the Lake Powell Pipeline docket number to comment: Select P-12966-001
• Step 3: Write and submit questions, comments and feedback.

Comments from Organizations, Comments Over 6,000 Characters, and Comments Including Photos or Graphics:

• User guide: http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling-user-guide.pdf
• Step 1: Create an account here at https://ferconline.ferc.gov/eRegistration.aspx
• Step 2: Follow the instructions for FERC's eFiling System. Select: Hydro/Washington; application License; file 12966-001

eSubscription here at:

• http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp
• When you register for eSubscription and subscribe to a specific docket, P-12966 you'll be notified via email about all future submittals and issuances. You will also be able to retrieve public documents through the links in the emails.

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD: LAKE POWELL PIPELINE

CLICK HERE to visit the FERC document library for the complete administrative record of the Lake Powell Pipeline The docket # is: P-12966.

The docket is huge. You can reduce the query by selecting a subdocket, which are: 001; 002; 003; 004 & 005 (the files are in chronological order).

NEWS

• Click here to read this story by David DeMille of  The St. George Daily Spectrum
• Click here to read this OpEd from Robert Gehrke of The Salt Lake Tribune
• Click here to read this OpEd from the Editorial Board of The Salt Lake Tribune

TALKING POINTS TO HELP COMPOSE YOUR LETTER TO FERC

• Click here to learn more about the Lake Powell Pipeline (LLP) and to review the archive of documents
• Click here to learn more about the LLP water stored in Flaming Gorge; the Ultimate Phase water right
• Click here to read great information from the website of Conserve Southwest Utah

It is important to understand that the water for Lake Powell Pipeline is actually stored in Flaming Gorge Reservoir near the Wyoming/Utah border. Once the water is released, it flows down the Green River and then into Lake Powell, where the proposed pipeline begins.

• Green River Exchange Contract for Green River Diversions. Reclamation.
• Green River Exchange for Lake Powell Pipeline. Reclamation.
• Contract Comments. Conserve Southwest Utah.
• Contract Comments. Living Rivers & Colorado Riverkeeper.

The priority of this water right is junior to the Central Utah Project and the cost to build this project is high, and so it is a speculative gamble. The authority to even move the project forward is based on human documents for a supply that Nature cannot provide. So the water to fill the pipeline will arrive from water transfers from agriculture. This is the hidden cost of the project and for perpetuity. In the near future, every municipality in the basin will be chasing water transfers and the market will become highly competitive and consequently expensive.