The developer of the proposed Flaming Gorge Pipeline denied Wednesday that the state's decision to end funding for a group looking at the project would set it back.

The Colorado Water Conservation Board decided this week to discontinue $100,000 in funding for the Flaming Gorge Task Force. Members of the group, who began their work in 2010, had outlined the project's benefits, concerns and challenges in a report to the water board.

Tuesday's decision to halt funding represented a "critical wound" to the project, Boulder-based Western Resource Advocates said in a statement. Environmentalists oppose the project because they contend it would diminish Green River flows.

The decision "sends a strong message that it's time to move on to other water demand solutions," said Drew Beckwith, the conservation group's water policy manager. "No amount of discussion is going to make the pipeline less expensive or more realistic, and we applaud the CWCB for recognizing the need to move forward."

Jennifer Gimbel, director of the water board, said the environmentalists' comments were "misleading."

The decision "doesn't reflect the board's position on the pipeline," she said. "It doesn't endorse it; it