The Ute Indian Tribe is seeking a 4-year extension on their preliminary permit for the Ute Pumped Storage Project. The federal register shows that the Ute Indian Tribe filed for the original preliminary permit on December 12th, 2015, proposing to study the feasibility of a Ute Pumped Storage Project adjacent to Flaming Gorge Reservoir. The preliminary permit was granted in 2016, giving the Tribe priority to file a license application during the permit term. An article published in Hydro Review on Thursday shared that the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation has requested another four-year extension on the preliminary permit from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The original permit had a 3-year term and a successive preliminary permit was issued in 2020 but which expires in just a few weeks on April 1st. The Ute Tribe’s application is for a 4-year extension to provide time to complete the feasibility study and apply for the license. If constructed, the Ute Pumped Storage Project would include a dike to form an up to 120-acre upper reservoir, infrastructure, and transmission line to deliver generated power to the electric grid for the Ute Indian Tribe.
