Monticello City Council Reviews Water Plans

While water intake in Monticello is still down, according to City Public Works Supervisor Nathan Langston, it is keeping up with what is being used currently in the city.

Langston reported to the City Council on November 13 that Loyds Lake is at the lowest level it’s been at since the last drought.

The city water department is working on a proposal to the water conservancy district to get all the commercial and large users set up on secondary water metering next year.

They will present the proposal to the district on December 20 and hope for a refund of the $29,500 city contributes to the district for the next two years to meter the commercial and large users.

Once that phase of the project is complete, they plan to present a second phase for residential metering and will seek $300,000 from them for that portion of the project.

If approved, they will need an additional $200,000 for residential metering and plan to apply to the Community Impact Board for that portion of the funding. San Juan Journal

Calif. company again requests permit for hydroelectric dam project in Long Canyon

Calif company again requests permit for hydroelectric dam project in Long Canyon

A proposed project to construct two reservoir pools for hydroelectric power in Grand County has been resurrected. On March 23, the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) received a preliminary permit application from Sonoma, Calif.-based Utah Independent Power for the Long Canyon Pumped Storage Project.   

Public comments, motions to intervene, competing applications, and notices of intent to file a competing application will be accepted through May 22, according to information from FERC.

Moab Times-Independent

Grand County hydroelectric project proposed once again

A California power company has resurrected its proposal for a pumped-storage hydroelectric project outside Moab that would draw water from the Colorado River.

Frank Mazzone, president of Sonoma-based Utah Independent Power Inc., said Friday the increasing amount of interest being directed at the development of solar and wind power generation in Utah signals it's a good time to explore hydropower — which can help shore up those other intermittent sources.

Mazzone has submitted a preliminary permit application for the 800-megawatt project to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which is accepting public comment on the proposal through May 22.

Utah Independent Power had entertained putting in two hydroelectric projects using Colorado River water in 2008 at Bull Canyon and Long Canyon, but the proposals were put on hold given the uncertainty of the economy and questions about demand. Deseret News

Wind energy firm declares bankruptcy

An anticipated multi-million dollar investment in wind energy infrastructure in northern San Juan County has been put on hold, possibly indefinitely.

Blue Mountain Wind planned to begin with a 79.5 megawatt wind farm on nearly 7,000 acres of private land in the Tarb area northeast of Monticello. The company indicated that the project could have grown to 150 megawatts in the future.

Officials state that while the Blue Mountain Wind project may be viable in the long run, it is back to the drawing board at the current time. San Juan Record