Scott Powers, BLM project leader for the West-wide Energy Corridor project, said that after further discussions with agency officials in Moab, a decision was made to remove a potential corridor identified on maps mandated under the Energy Act of 2005. The act requires federal agencies to identify new energy corridors - rights of way for power lines or pipelines - up to 3,500 feet wide across Western public lands for inclusion in federal management plans.
The BLM's Moab field office, county officials and environmentalists raised significant questions about the viability of the potential route through Moab Canyon, Powers said. That route crosses lands included in environmental groups' proposals for wilderness, and runs adjacent to a federal wilderness study area on the west side of Grand County. The corridor also poses some technical problems because it crosses the Colorado River, and includes areas where utilities would have to be located on steep cliffs.
“One of the main criteria is that we be consistent with the resource managers issues for those areas," Powers said. "This is just not consistent with the resource management plans.”
The decision is a relief for Grand County officials and for environmentalists who objected to the location of the proposed corridor.
“For Moab, this is a fantastic result,” said Steve Bloch, staff attorney for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. “We're pleased that the BLM has come to their senses and decided to protect some of the country's most scenic public land by keeping the energy corridor on existing routes through Moab Canyon.”
Bloch said questions still remain about other potential energy corridors throughout the state. He accused the BLM of “playing games with the public” by not releasing detailed maps showing the exact routes of the possible energy corridors across all of Utah's public lands.
“We dodged a bullet,” said Joette Langianese, chair of the Grand County Council, who had lobbied the BLM to eliminate the parallel corridor from consideration. “I'm really pleased that the BLM in Washington D.C. respected our position on this issue.”
BLM officials in Moab also praised the decision. Maggie Wyatt, manager of the BLM's Moab Field Office, said the decision is “a win-win all around.”
lchurch@citlink.net
