State officials and other proponents of the Lake Powell pipeline may have just two months to convince federal regulators that their project is backed by a robust plan to pay off more than $1 billion in costs. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has indicated it cannot review the state’s yet-to-be-completed application for permission to build the pipeline in southern Utah because it lacks an adequate financial analysis.
In an Aug. 11 letter to the state’s Board of Water Resources, federal regulators have given Utah 60 days to submit the financial feasibility study, including estimated costs to new and existing water users in Washington and Kane counties. FERC has also asked for additional water use data and for more details about cultural resources along the proposed route of the pipeline, which would carry Colorado River water from Glen Canyon Dam 140 miles to St. George. State officials had indicated the requested information would be part of Utah’s final application. But the study still has not been submitted.
Officials at the Utah Division of Water Resources said the state does intend to submit at least some additional financial information to FERC in the next 60 days. However, the state does not have all the specifics the feds have requested, such as how much the pipeline will cost Washington and Kane County residents. The agency is working on those figures, Williams said, but is not likely to have estimates ready in two months. Salt Lake Tribune
