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00000174-456e-d547-ad77-67ef314e0000Following Utah's hottest and driest winter on record, KUER News and KUED Channel 7 joined forces in exploring some of the most important questions of our time. Should taxpayer money be spent to develop additional water resources? What are the consequences of extracting too much groundwater? How much is wasted from outdated water pipes? What role will climate change play as our population grows? Utah’s Uncertain Water Future is collaboration between KUER News and KUED Channel 7. In addition to the radio stories below, click here to watch the KUED television documentary.Thanks to our sponsors00000174-456e-d547-ad77-67ef31510000

State Applies to Licensing Agency for Pipeline

Washington County Water Conservancy District
A licensing application for the 139-mile Lake Powell Pipeline is set to go to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Monday.

The Lake Powell Pipelinewould haul Utah’s last big share of Colorado River water uphill from Lake Powell, bring it halfway across the state and deliver it to fast-growing Kane and Washington Counties.

State water officials plan to submit an application to build the pipeline on Monday. But the controversial water project still faces many hurdles before it can get a license.

Eric Millis, executive director of the Utah Division of Water Resources, says it’s a large, complicated proposal, so it’s understandable that preliminary paperwork has already attracted over 200 comments.

“We don’t see that feedback necessarily as positive or negative,” he says, “but are trying to look at it objectively and use that to improve the reports.”

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the licensing agency, will oversee an-depth study that weighs the need for the pipeline with its impacts. Millis says that evaluation could take two years.

But critics are already questioning whether the pipeline is a good idea at a cost of more than one billion dollars. Nevada water officials worry it will harm the quality and quantity of water downstream. Native American tribes fear it will damage the region’s cultural resources. Wildlife officials say the effects on endangered species need more study.

“I think the FERC documents in support of the application were incomplete because they did not look at the economic impact of this very, very expensive pipeline,” says Sky Chaney, founder of the Taxpayer Association of Kane County.

Chaney says other alternatives would cost much less and do less harm to the environment. But state lawmakers seem to have set the stage for building the pipeline by creating a fund this year to funnel sales taxes into water projects.

Judy Fahys has reported in Utah for two decades, covering politics, government and business before taking on environmental issues. She loves covering Utah, where petroleum-pipeline spills, the nation’s radioactive legacy and other types of pollution provide endless fodder for stories. Previously, she worked for the Salt Lake Tribune in Utah, and reported on the nation’s capital for States News Service and the Scripps League newspaper chain. She is a longtime member of the Society of Environmental Journalists and Investigative Reporters and Editors. She also spent an academic year as a research fellow in the Knight Science Journalism program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In her spare time, she enjoys being out in the environment, especially hiking, gardening and watercolor painting.
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