SW Wyoming Residents Show Up To Oppose Planned Water Diversions From Flaming Gorge To Front Range

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ROCK SPRINGS, Wyo. (AP) -- A second public meeting in southwest Wyoming drew more comments against a proposal to divert water from the Flaming Gorge Reservoir and pipe it to Colorado. Sweetwater County residents and local municipal officials emphasized once again to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that they believe the privately funded water diversion project will have no real benefits for southwest Wyoming.

About 80 area residents attended the second, added Army Corps scoping meeting on the proposed pipeline project Tuesday night in Rock Springs. That was less than the 300 who showed up for the first meeting in April in the county, but their opposition was just as strident.

Residents said diverting much-needed water from the popular reservoir located south of the city of Green River could hurt local industry, could curtail future growth in Green River and neighboring Rock Springs, and could threaten a world-class fishery.

"I see the benefits of this for eastern Wyoming and northern Colorado, but I have a real difficult time seeing the benefits for western Wyoming," Rock Springs resident Dennis Doncastor said. "We're giving up our water, but what's coming back in return?" Colorado businessman Aaron Million wants to build a $3 billion, 560-mile pipeline to move Wyoming's and Colorado's unallocated water from the Green River Basin to eastern Wyoming and the Front Range of Colorado.

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