State officials grant use of water for nuclear plant in Green River

SALT LAKE CITY — Critics of a proposed nuclear power plant near Emery County's Green River say the state dodged its only real chance to say no to the deal and instead waffled by granting water rights necessary for its operation.

"It is devastating news," said Matt Pacenza, HEAL Utah's policy director, reacting to Utah State Engineer Kent Jones' Friday decision to grant water rights for the Blue Castle project. "This was the only opportunity for a Utah official to weigh in on the wisdom of building nuclear reactors on the Green River, and unfortunately he made the wrong decision."

Under state law, applications for water rights must be approved if it can be demonstrated to the state engineer that a number of factors have been met, including if the water is available from the source, existing rights won't be impaired and if the project is financially feasible. Those requirements were met, Jones said, and criticism was weighed during an evaluation process that took more than two years.

The water — 53,600 acre-feet per year — is owned by Kane County and San Juan County water conservancy districts, which have proposed leasing the water to Blue Castle Holdings for use at the two-unit nuclear power plant.

Both districts have contended they won't need the water for decades to come and such a business arrangement promises to deliver a financial windfall to the rural, sparsely populated counties.

The requests, however, have raised multiple concerns such as the safety and oversight of nuclear power, local water use interference, wildlife concerns including endangered fishes, over-appropriation of Colorado River water and the economic viability of the project.

“We have listened to and very much appreciate the concerns raised by those in the local community and others,” Jones said. "Those concerns helped us look carefully and critically at the proposal as we considered the appropriate action on these applications.”

Pacenza's HEAL Utah, an anti-nuclear activist group, has been among the many organizations voicing strong opposition to the power plant and criticizing the use of river water as unsustainable.

"Pretending there is enough water in the Green River for the power plant is a mistake,” says Bob Quist, the owner of Moki Mac River Expeditions, which leads rafting trips on the Green River. “It’s bad for my business and bad for everyone that depends on this river.”