FRIDAY, October 2, 2026|
Photo – Seminoe Dam – Bigfoot99 file photo
County commissioners are frustrated with how the federal government is handling the Seminoe Pumped Storage Project.
Utah‑based rPlus Hydro, doing business as Black Canyon Hydro, has proposed building a pumped storage facility at Seminoe Reservoir. Plans call for the construction of tunnels, an underground powerhouse, and a 13,000‑acre‑foot lake on a nearby mountain above the existing reservoir. The upper lake would be connected to Seminoe Reservoir by those tunnels. 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 tunnels and into the powerhouse, spinning an electrical turbine. The facility is expected to generate roughly 970 megawatts of electricity for up to 12 hours. The cycle would repeat as needed.
However, Seminoe Reservoir sits on land managed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and the surrounding area is overseen by the Bureau of Land Management. The land carries federal recreation, water quality, cultural resources, and wildlife protections, including the Rawlins Resource Management Plan, which sets seasonal construction limits to protect the nearby Ferris-Seminoe bighorn sheep herd.
In order to build the pumped storage facility, rPlus Hydro would require the Bureau of Land Management to amend the Rawlins RMP to allow for tunnel blasting, increased heavy truck traffic, and a longer construction season.
Because the Seminoe pumped storage facility is considered a hydroelectric powerplant, as it uses water to generate electricity, the project is being overseen by the Federal Energy Regulatory Committee, or FERC. After four years of National Environmental Policy Act review, FERC issued its final Environmental Impact Statement on June 12th. The federal agency determined that the Seminoe project could move forward, but that the developer must limit or offset the environmental, cultural, and recreational impacts identified in the Environmental Impact Statement, including its effects on bighorn sheep habitat, water‑quality, cultural sites, and recreation areas.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission was scheduled to either approve or deny the Seminoe Pumped Storage Project’s hydroelectric license on September 17th. However, FERC and the Bureau of Land Management filed a notice of intent to prepare a supplemental Environmental Impact Statement just six days earlier, on September 11th.
Speaking at the September 15th Board of Carbon County Commissioners meeting in Baggs, Commissioner John Espy said the notice of intent appears to show FERC attempting to assume responsibility for amending the Rawlins Resource Management Plan from the BLM.
Noting that the filing was new and had only just been released, Commissioner Espy said he was uncertain exactly how to interpret the notice of intent.
Commissioner Espy called the FERC permitting process “super disturbing” and blamed the issue on the Council on Environmental Quality’s inability to direct federal agencies on how to interpret the National Environmental Policy Act.
Commissioner Espy said the permitting process has been unclear and likely to face legal pushback. With Wyoming choosing not to serve as a cooperating entity, Espy said the state should also challenge FERC’s ruling.
Carbon County is serving as a cooperating entity in the Seminoe Pumped Storage Project’s NEPA process. Technically, that means the county should help direct the development of FERC’s Environmental Impact Statement. However, as a cooperating entity, it may not challenge FERC’s final decision in court. As an intervenor, the state of Wyoming retains the legal standing to contest that decision.
At the September 15th Board of County Commissioners meeting, Commissioner Sue Jones said the entire NEPA environmental review has been conducted in an unusual manner, adding that amending the Rawlins Resource Management Plan is normally handled by the Bureau of Land Management, not FERC.
Commissioner Sue Jones said the Rawlins Bureau of Land Management office will no longer oversee the proposed RMP amendment. Instead, the matter has been moved to the BLM Wyoming State Office, which she noted is also unusual. In addition, she said the number of cooperating entities participating in the NEPA process is exceptionally small.
September 11th’s notice of intent to prepare a supplemental Environmental Impact Statement gives state and local stakeholders until October 13th to submit comments on the Seminoe Pumped Storage Project. Commissioner Jones explained the type of feedback FERC is requesting.
Commissioner Sue Jones said the majority of public comments collected so far have opposed the project.
In the 20 days since the new comment period opened, seven comments have been submitted to FERC, all opposing the project.
The Board of Carbon County Commissioners stated that it will also submit a letter to FERC protesting its handling of the Seminoe Pumped Storage Project’s NEPA process. The Board is expected to discuss the matter in greater detail during its October 6th meeting.
Due to the ongoing preparation of the new Environmental Impact Statement, FERC is now expected to issue a final permitting decision on November 22nd, 2027.
