Utah Board of Water Resources, Washington County Water Conservancy District petition on jurisdiction for Lake Powell Pipeline
The Utah Board of Water Resources and the Washington County Water Conservancy District have filed a petition with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to issue a declaratory order that the commission’s licensing jurisdiction under the Federal Power Act includes all of the Lake Powell Pipeline’s project facilities identified in the license application as the “Hydro System” including the penstock alignments — the pipe that delivers water to the hydro facilities.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has explicitly recognized the penstock alignments as jurisdictional facilities since the project’s Notice of Intent was filed with it in 2008. In the petition, the Utah Board of Water Resources and the Washington County Water Conservancy District cite Federal Energy Regulatory Commission precedent that penstock alignments are included within the commission’s jurisdiction as they are necessary for the hydroelectric facilities to operate. The parties are requesting the commission to suspend the licensing schedule until it issues an order regarding its jurisdiction. The petition requested a decision by Feb. 15.
The Lake Powell Pipeline is a water project that will transport water to 13 southern Utah communities and generate electricity. More information about the Lake Powell Pipeline is available at lpputah.org.
