Bear Lake hydro still in play

LOGAN — The company behind a pumped-storage project at Bear Lake is back.

Logan-based Symbiotics LLC said that instead of trying to get state approval first, it will look to get the project licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

The company says that's a way of proving the benefits outweigh the risks of building the hydroelectric plant.

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. came out against it last month because the pumping could stir up sediment, smother fish eggs and muddy the lake's lustrous blue color.

Huntsman ordered the state parks agency to stop negotiating an easement for a large dam at Hook Canyon on the lake's east side.

The plant would pump water from Bear Lake at night and release it back to the lake during the day to generate electricity.