Public invited to participate in online meetings for Lake Powell Pipeline draft study comment period

Lake Powell, Arizona, date unspecified | Photo by roadtrippinwithbob from Pixabay

ST. GEORGE — Two online public meetings are being held this week by the Bureau of Reclamation to gain public input on the Bureau’s recently released environmental review of Utah’s proposed Lake Powell Pipeline project.

A map showing the proposed routes for the Lake Powell Pipeline. The Highway Alternative is marked by the red line, while the Southern Alternative (the preferred path) is marked in blue. | Map courtesy of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, St. George News

The Bureau released a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) last month for public review as part of an overall process of gathering public input on the proposed pipeline project. Input from the public will be reviewed by the Bureau and may help shape the final decision regarding the Lake Powell Pipeline project.

The project proposes to build a 140-mile pipeline between Lake Powell and Sand Hollow Reservoir. The purpose of the project is to provide Washington County with a second source of water as state and local water officials say relying on the Virgin River basin alone will not be sustainable moving into the future.

Water supplied by the pipeline will also help support the county’s growing population, which is estimated to reach 500,000 over the next 40 years.

Currently, the draft impact statement supports the county’s need for a secondary water supply.

Opponents of the project claim the cost of the pipeline will be a massive burden to Washington County residents and that it is tapping into a water source – the Colorado River – that is already over-allocated and subject to the impacts of climate change.

Set for Wednesday and Thursday at 6 p.m., the public meetings are being held online due to ongoing COVID-19 concerns.

  • What: Public meetings to discuss the Lake Powell Pipeline Project environmental review.
  • Who: Reclamation officials.
  • When: Wednesday, July 8 at 6 p.m. MDT and Thursday, July 9 at 6 p.m. MDT.
  • Where: Virtual via WebEx.

How the meetings will be conducted

Participants are asked to log into meeting at least 10 minutes prior to 6 p.m. All participants will remain on mute throughout the meeting. Questions and comments may be submitted during the meeting using the WebEx chat function. The content for both meetings will be identical.

To allow participation by everyone interested, people are asked to only attend one of the meetings.

The overall comment period for the draft environmental impact statement will run until 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 8, 2020 through the various methods listed below.

Comments posted in the WebEx chat function during public meetings do not constitute formal comments for inclusion in the draft EIS.

Note that all information included in submitted comments, including the submitter’s name and contact information, may be published with the final EIS. Only include contact information with your comment that you are okay making public.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

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