Colorado River Update: VICTORY! One proposed dam near the Grand Canyon likely dead

Hi Friends of the Colorado River!

First, some good news for a change! Last week, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) sent a letter to “Pumped Hydro Storage LLC” informing them that their preliminary permit would “probably be canceled” because they had not submitted the required progress reports.

The permit should have NEVER been granted in the first place. The hydropower project is proposed on the Little Colorado River right before it flows into the Grand Canyon. The project would have put a dam across the Little Colorado River, a beautiful canyon just a few hundred yards from Grand Canyon National Park (click here to see a full=sized map of the project). 

We fought the preliminary permit, and we were ready to engage against the project if it moved forward. Joined by a coalition of environmental groups, we are represented by Earthjustice in this battle to protect the Grand Canyon. We are pleased that FERC probably intends to cancel this project and we will keep our due diligence against the project if anything changes.

It’s your support that helped achieve this likely victory!

Second, check out our new column about the massive chaos of overuse and drought on the Colorado River. Titled, “Godzilla and the Colorado River” (click here) in the Pagosa Daily Post, the piece argues that although this extreme drought is impacting water supplies, it’s the human managers of the Colorado River that are draining the reservoirs and really causing all of the chaos.

In fact, these same managers have intervened in court against us multiple times when we try to force the agencies to stop denying climate science. They intervened against us in our lawsuit against Glen Canyon Dam, and they intervene against us in our work to stop proposed new dams and diversions. 

Why Godzilla? The famoust 1977 song by the rock band, Blue Oyster Cult, states this refrain over and over, “History shows again and again, how Nature points out the folly of man…” Indeed, the Colorado River is an unfortunate example of the “folly of man” — the river is increasingly ecologically imperiled, fish are endangered, reservoirs are draining — all due to the massive dam building of the past and present. While our position is not popular, we will continue to point out how water managers are destroying the river and we will continue to fight them every chance we get.

Finally, since we’re talking about music, we offer this Monday morning song by the legendary guitarist, J.J. Cale.

Titled, “Stone River”, the Cale speaks out for rivers and against dams which turn rivers into stone. Take a listen by clicking here to Youtube.

Thank you for your support! It’s your support that keeps us working hard.

You can donate online by clicking here.

Gary Wockner, Director, Save The Colorado