PRESS RELEASE: Two Out Of Three Ain’t Good Enough. All Proposed Grand Canyon Hydropower Projects Must End

12/15/2022
Fort Immediate Release
Contact: Gary Wockner, Save The Colorado, 970-218-8310

Two Out Of Three Ain’t Good Enough. All Proposed Grand Canyon Hydropower Projects Must End

Grand Canyon, USA: Two days ago, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) officially accepted the cancellation of two proposed “pumped storage” hydropower projects near the Grand Canyon. The applicant, Pumped Hydro Storage LLC, withdrew the two applications which caused FERC to notify intervenors of the cancellation. Save The Colorado is an intervenor along with Grand Canyon Trust, Living Rivers, National Parks Conservation Association, Sierra Club, Waterkeeper Alliance, and Wildearth Guardians (see this post about the cancelation on Grand Canyon Trust’s website here).

“We’re pleased that the applicant came to its senses and withdrew these two environmentally destructive projects,” said Gary Wockner of Save The Colorado.

At the same time, the applicant has doubled-down on its statements supporting a third nearby project application, called the “Big Canyon Project”, which Save The Colorado and the same coalition of groups has also intervened against (that intervention motion is posted here). The Big Canyon Project would be extremely environmentally destructive, proposing to dam “Big Canyon” just before it reaches the Little Colorado River Gorge (see this post and map on the Grand Canyon Trust’s website).

“Two out of three ain’t good enough,” said Wockner. “We will continue to fight against every proposed dam in the Grand Canyon ecosystem, including the Big Canyon Project, for as long as it takes.”

Save The Colorado et al. is represented by Earthjustice in the legal intervention.

Save The Colorado has a policy of “No New Dams and Diversions” and tracks every proposed new dam/diversion/pipeline project in the Colorado River basin, all of which are listed here on Save The Colorado’s website. There are currently at least 29 new dam/diversion/pipeline projects that are proposed, in permitting, or currently being constructed in the Colorado River basin..

This press release is posted here.

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