DENVER—The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission requested more details Wednesday from a Colorado businessman on his permit application to build a 501-mile pipeline to divert water from Wyoming’s Flaming Gorge Reservoir to southeast Wyoming and Colorado.
The commission also told Aaron Million he may need permits from other agencies for his proposal, which involves hydropower and new reservoirs, because FERC has jurisdiction over only the hydroelectric component.
Million had originally asked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to review his plan for a pipeline that would take water annually from the Green River at Flaming Gorge Reservoir and pump it over the Continental Divide to communities.
He later mulled whether FERC should be reviewing his proposal instead because, he said, hydropower can be generated with parts of his proposal.
This summer, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ended its two-year-old review of Million’s proposal, saying Million missed a deadline for deciding on the future of his plan, leaving the project’s purpose “uncertain.”
Million then sought a review from FERC, which he says has a “maximum timeline” for reviewing projects, unlike some other agencies.
In a letter Wednesday, FERC gave Million’s company Wyco Power and Water Inc. 30 days to map out locations for nine proposed natural gas-powered pump stations and four new reservoirs, among other details, or risk having its application rejected.
Million said he hadn’t read the entire letter as of Wednesday evening but that it’s common for permitting agencies to request more documents during their reviews. He also said infrastructure projects often need multiple permits.
“The project is moving along like we anticipated,” he said.
