Utah water officials will have to wade through a multitude of federal agencies to secure permits for the proposed Lake Powell pipeline, potentially setting back approval for the controversial project.
Even though the pipeline’s entire purpose is moving 86,000 acre-feet of water to growing Washington and Kane counties, proponents wanted permitting to be handled primarily by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC.
But on Thursday, the commission ruled that it has jurisdiction only on the hydropower stations along the pipeline’s downhill run and related transmission facilities. This ruling will bring in greater oversight from three federal land agencies — the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Reclamation and the National Park Service.