THURSDAY, October 29, 2026|
Photo – Canyon near Seminoe Dam – Bigfoot99 file photo
Two state agencies have filed objections to the proposed Seminoe Pumped Storage Project, citing concerns with the planning and environmental review process.
As reported by Toga Radio, on September 11th, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Bureau of Land Management announced their intention to prepare another environmental impact statement, or EIS, on the Seminoe Pumped Storage Project. Government entities, private-sector organizations, and local stakeholders were given until October 13th to submit a new round of comments either for or against the project.
One day after the deadline, on October 14th, the Wyoming Department of Agriculture submitted a two-page report outlining its concerns about the project’s potential effects on the livestock grazing industry. The agency wrote that the final EIS, issued on June 12th, failed to include a required forage mitigation plan to address feed losses affecting livestock and wildlife. It also stated that pastures not actively being grazed remain under permit and that those permittees retain the right to use their allotments at any time. According to the department, any loss or temporary disruption of forage resulting from the project, regardless of scale, must be fully mitigated by the proponent, Black Canyon Hydro, rather than the livestock permittees. The agency further stated that FERC should require the company to mitigate both temporary and permanent forage losses and establish clear reclamation timelines.
Secondly, the Wyoming Department of Agriculture wrote that as part of the supplemental environmental impact statement, the Bureau of Land Management should include a comprehensive inventory of all range improvements, such as fences, water pipelines, and livestock watering, that could be damaged, altered, or restricted by the project. The agency said the proponent should be required to repair, replace, or mitigate any affected infrastructure.
And finally, the Department of Ag noted that the original EIS stated that construction would take five years. However, the agency is concerned that construction delays could extend the timeline by several years, prolonging temporary forage loss and disrupting daily livestock grazing operations. It asked Black Canyon Hydro to update the construction timeline in the supplemental EIS to accurately reflect any potential delays.
Before construction begins, the Wyoming Department of Agriculture recommended that the Bureau of Land Management require Black Canyon Hydro to develop comprehensive plans for dust and weed control, livestock and construction traffic management, and post-construction reclamation, including fully restoring grazing conditions.
On October 27th, the Bureau of Land Management submitted a communication memo it received from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. According to the document, Game and Fish Habitat Protection Program Supervisor Will Schultz and Wildlife Biologist Angelique Curtis contacted the BLM to determine how the Seminoe Pumped Storage Project will comply with Wyoming Executive Order 2026-07, Greater Sage-Grouse Core Area Protection. During the discussion, the Game and Fish representatives said the agency had not received a final or updated project footprint and noted that the layout included in the June 12th EIS does not comply with the state’s sage grouse protections. They added that Game and Fish has not received a revised project footprint.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission was originally scheduled to issue a final permitting decision on the Seminoe Pumped Storage Project on September 17th, but due to the ongoing preparation of the supplemental environmental impact statement, FERC is now expected to make its ruling on October 21st, 2027.
