Utah’s proposed Lake Powell pipeline will cost less to build and be easier to permit under a decision announced Wednesday to cut major hydropower components from the controversial project that would move 86,000 acre-feet of Colorado River water to St. George.
At the same time, the Utah Division of Water Resources withdrew its application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which had been the lead permitting agency on the project.
The division’s new plan for the 142-mile pipeline excludes two reservoirs, proposed for the top and bottom of Hurricane Cliffs, that were to help generate hydropower at times of peak demand.