WEDNESDAY, September 16, 2026|
Photo – Seminoe Reservoir – Bigfoot99 file photo
The Bureau of Land Management says more environmental review is needed for the Seminoe Pumped Storage Project.
On Friday, September 11th, the Bureau of Land Management submitted a notice of intent to prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement for the Seminoe Pumped Storage Project to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC. The document will accompany FERC’s final environmental impact statement issued on June 12th.
BLM has identified five issues that FERC failed to address in its National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, review. NEPA requires federal agencies to study and publicly explain the environmental impacts of any major federal action before making a final decision on a project. This includes the proposed Seminoe pumped storage facility.
The first issue cited by BLM is that the project would require an amendment to Seminoe Reservoir’s Visual Resource Management Plan. The area is classified as level two, meaning the federal agency’s objective is to preserve the existing character of the landscape. BLM asked if the proposed change was compatible with that classification.
The second issue raised by BLM is that the Rawlins Resource Management Plan, or RMP, for Seminoe Reservoir would also require an amendment. The RMP is designed to protect local big game ranges, including the Seminoe‑Ferris bighorn sheep herd, the last population in the state free from domestic livestock diseases. rPlus Hydro has requested special waivers to bypass those herd protections and allow a longer construction season. BLM asked if that request was compatible with its objective to protect the big game herds.
In its third point, the Bureau of Land Management questioned the project’s impact on the local economy, including hunting, fishing, and tourism.
Fourth, BLM asked how the Seminoe pumped storage facility would affect nearby aquatic habitats and the water quality of the North Platte River, specifically the Miracle Mile blue‑ribbon trout fishery.
And finally, BLM asked what the reasonably foreseeable future effects would be on the recreational accessibility of federally‑administered public lands in the vicinity of the project.
The Bureau of Land Management will work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Army Corps of Engineers, the Western Area Power Administration, the Saratoga-Encampment-Rawlins Conservation District, the Medicine Bow Conservation District, and the Board of Carbon County Commissioners to independently review each of the listed issues in its supplemental environmental impact statement. BLM staff will also consider reasonable alternatives for the project, which could include a closed‑loop system that would prevent water used for power generation from entering the North Platte River.
As part of its review process, BLM is holding a 90‑day public comment period for the proposed project. Comments can be filed electronically using the eComment feature on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s website, www.ferc.gov. Search for Docket Number P-14787.
The Bureau of Land Management plans to submit its supplemental draft environmental impact statement on January 14th, 2027, with the final EIS expected by July 16th.
For those unaware of the project, Utah‑based rPlus Hydro, doing business as Black Canyon Hydro, has proposed building a pumped storage facility at Seminoe Reservoir. Plans call for a 13,000‑acre‑foot man‑made lake to be built on a nearby mountain above the existing reservoir. The storage lake would be connected to Seminoe by an underground electrical powerhouse. During periods of high wind‑energy production, water would be pumped into the upper lake and stored until needed. When demand outpaces production, that water would flow downhill through the underground turbine, generating roughly 970 megawatts of electricity for up to 12 hours. The cycle would repeat as needed.
Project opponents say construction of the facility, which involves five years of blasting and frequent heavy truck traffic, will disrupt the nearby Seminoe‑Ferris bighorn sheep herd. In addition, opponents have stated that transferring water between Seminoe Reservoir and the proposed upper lake will change conditions in the downstream ecosystem, particularly the Miracle Mile. They argue that any changes to dissolved oxygen or sediment levels have the potential to negatively affect the blue‑ribbon trout fishery.
Project proponents, including rPlus Hydro, argue that the facility is needed to stabilize Wyoming’s electrical grid and support regional energy expansion, adding that the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation specifically identified Seminoe Reservoir as a potential location for a pumped storage facility.
After completing the legally mandated National Environmental Policy Act review, FERC released its final environmental impact statement on June 12th. FERC has until tomorrow, September 17th, to decide whether or not to issue a federal permit for the Seminoe Pumped Storage Project. The Bureau of Land Management’s notice of intent to produce a supplemental EIS will not postpone that deadline.
