Monday, SEPTEMBER 8, 2025 |
Photo – Image of proposed Seminoe Pumped Storage – Courtesy rPlus Hydro
Wildlife conservationists held a virtual meeting to oppose the Seminoe Pumped Storage Project.
On Thursday evening, representatives from Trout Unlimited, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting cold-water fisheries, hosted the Seminoe Pumped Storage Public Information Webinar.
Trout Unlimited Wyoming Government Relations Director Patrick Harrington began with a brief overview of the project. The Utah-based energy development company rPlus Hydro is proposing the construction of a 13,000-acre-foot lake on the peak of Bennett Mountain. When wind-generated electricity is abundant, water will be pumped 1,000 feet uphill from the Seminoe Reservoir into an upper storage lake. As energy production declines, the stored water will flow downhill through a newly constructed underground hydroelectric turbine, generating electricity.
Harrington said water will be moved between the lakes faster than the natural flow of the Seminoe Reservoir. Additionally, when operational, the Pumped Storage Project is expected to generate nearly as much electricity as the Jim Bridger Power Station.
Harrington said the facility is expected to take five years to complete and will require building two cement plants, new roads and bridges, and a storage site for earth excavated during construction of the underground powerhouse, known as spoils. The Trout Unlimited Government Relations Director said hunting, fishing, and other recreational activities are likely to be negatively affected during that time.
Harrington said the project will be located perilously close to the world-renowned Miracle Mile, a designated blue-ribbon fishery and vital economic driver for the region. Harrington said the majority of public comments have focused on the project’s potential impact on the Class One fishery. According to the Trout Unlimited Government Relations Director, the current design lacks adequate water temperature monitoring, with the furthest gauge set to be installed at Kortes Reservoir.
Harrington said the project may also elevate levels of dissolved oxygen and sediment in the reservoir, which will have unforeseen consequences for the downstream ecosystem, including the Miracle Mile.
The Trout Unlimited Government Relations Director said the project proponent, rPlus Energies, did not consider it necessary to maintain water quality beyond the Seminoe Reservoir. Harrington said the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission disagreed and is now requiring expanded monitoring in the Kortes and Pathfinder Reservoirs.
Harrington said the Board of Carbon County Commissioners has stated the project does not take into account the existing Carbon County Land Use or Natural Resource Management Plans. Additionally, rPlus failed to properly consider the project’s impact on the local population and economy.
Harrington said rPlus failed to offer any alternative plans for the project, stating it would be built how and where they proposed or not at all. Additionally, the upper reservoir will have a significant negative effect on wildlife and livestock grazing.
Next, Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation Executive Director Katie Cheesbrough delved into the potential consequences the project may pose to local wildlife. Cheesbrough said rPlus did not account for the disruption to nearby animals caused by year-round use of Seminoe Road during the construction period.
Cheesbrough said the project site overlaps critical sage-grouse, mule deer, and pronghorn habitats. The Wild Sheep Foundation Executive Director said bighorn sheep may face the greatest disruption, emphasizing the significance of the Ferris-Seminoe herd, considered the most important bighorn population in Wyoming.
In closing, Trout Unlimited Wyoming Government Relations Director Patrick Harrington urged the public to submit letters opposing the Seminoe Pumped Storage Project to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Harrington added that coordinated citizen opposition will be essential in preventing the project from moving forward.
Trout Unlimited Wyoming Coordinator Ian McCreary, of Encampment, offered to organize an opposition group in the Platte River Valley. McCreary can be contacted by calling 503-875-6641 or by sending an email to wytucoordinator@gmail.com.
In an interview with Bigfoot99 last month, rPlus Hydro Managing Director of Hydro Strategy Matthew Shapiro refuted some of the claims made by the Trout Unlimited team. Shapiro said studies show that the project will have little to no effect on the Miracle Mile. Additionally, Shapiro said if temperatures drift outside normal ranges and that change is caused by the project, rather than by natural causes, operation may be reduced until temperatures return to normal.
Construction of the Seminoe Pumped Storage Project could begin as early as 2028.
