SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Supreme Court has rejected a project that proposes to take water from the Colorado River system in Utah, pump it hundreds of miles across Wyoming into Colorado.
In a unanimous decision, the state's top court sided with the Utah State Engineer, who rejected Water Horse Resources application to take 55,000 acre-feet of water from the Green River, a tributary of the Colorado River, and pump it to the Fort Collins, Colo., area.
In a very technical ruling, Justice Diana Hagen wrote that Upper Colorado agreements do not pre-empt Utah laws governing water exports and the company hasn't shown enough that water taken can be put to beneficial use in Colorado.
"Based on these facts we find it difficult to form any level of belief, let alone a reasonable one, that Water Horse can put the water to beneficial use in Colorado. Water Horse argues that Utah should grant the export appropriation and then Water Horse will go to Colorado and find a way to put the water to beneficial use. But this is not what the Export Statute requires," Justice Hagen wrote.
Aaron Million, the CEO of Water Horse, told FOX 13 News in an interview that he did not believe the Court's ruling shut down the project. He said he interpreted the ruling to say that Utah's export statute has a fairly low bar and they have some more work to do on it.
"They basically said, 'you guys didn't do your homework, right?' They gave us a C-minus," he said. "We've already rewritten part of the requirements. I mean, we've advanced the engineering, we've got the beneficial use in front of us."
In a statement to FOX 13 News, Utah State Engineer Theresa Wilhelmsen's office said it was pleased with the ruling.
"The Utah Division of Water Rights is entrusted to manage Utah’s water consistently, fairly, and in compliance with state law. The decisions made by the State Engineer are not subjective," the statement said. "They are made after careful consideration, ensuring all requirements are met, recognizing that water – which belongs to the people of Utah – is available, used legally, and used for a proven benefit. We take that role seriously, and it is reaffirming to see that the Utah Supreme Court agrees."
The ruling hit during a particularly delicate time for Utah and other states who rely on the Colorado River. The states are negotiating new agreements to manage the river and it has been sometimes contentious. The latest coming out of the closed-door negotiations are proposals to rely on actual water flow data instead of forecasts, and agreements to take less water. But FOX 13 News is told that Upper Basin and Lower Basin states remain divided on how deep those cuts are and who takes them.
Gene Shawcroft, the Colorado River Commissioner for Utah, who negotiates for the state's interests on the river, praised the ruling.
"The Water Horse decision is a major win for Utah’s water sovereignty, confirming that Utah law controls who can divert and export Colorado River water from our state," he said in a statement to FOX 13 News.
Million described the privately-funded project as more of a "canal," and said the water would be used for agriculture and other purposes in the Fort Collins area. He said they will go through the process again — including the courts in Colorado — establishing a stronger case.
"We'll be back in Utah before spring thaw and the tulips show up. We've been advancing the engineering on the project. We've been advancing the beneficial use piece. Beneficial use can include ag, hydropower, reservoir storage, environmental extreme flows, and obviously, municipal use and other uses," Million said. "Those are the arrows of use in Colorado for beneficial use. So this has always been a multi use project, and we intend to go back to Utah, get our permit and get on down the road."
Read the Utah Supreme Court ruling here:
This article is published through the Colorado River Collaborative, a solutions journalism initiative supported by the Janet Quinney Lawson Institute for Land, Water, and Air at Utah State University. See all of our stories about how Utahns are impacted by the Colorado River at greatsaltlakenews.org/coloradoriver
