PRESS RELEASE: THORNTON’S 1041 APPLICATION SHOULD BE WITHDRAWN

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

APRIL 25, 2018

THORNTON’S 1041 APPLICATION SHOULD BE WITHDRAWN
UNTIL PHASES 2 & 3 OF THE THORNTON NORTHERN PROJECT ARE MADE PUBLIC 

Based on Thornton’s own admissions in today’s (4/25/18) Rocky Mountain Collegian article, the grassroots No Pipe Dream organization, Save the Poudre and the citizens of Larimer County call on the Larimer County Planning Department to inform the City of Thornton that its 1041 application is premature and should be withdrawn, until all present and future impacts of the city’s water transfers on land uses in Larimer County can be satisfactorily demonstrated.

In the Collegian article, Thornton officials admit that multiple pipelines could be needed in Larimer County in the future; Thornton’s current 1041 application is limited to a single pipeline.  Additionally the city stated that it was currently uncertain as to when the Denver suburb will need to deliver more water from the Cache la Poudre River in Larimer County.  Both statements are at odds with Thornton’s most recent contentions that a single 48” pipeline will be sufficient to meet the city’s needs until 2065 and that the 3-phase project doesn’t include additional raw water or return flow pipelines.

No Pipe Dream, Save the Poudre and the citizens of Larimer County publicly call for the City of Thornton to withdraw its 1041 pipeline application for Phase 1 of the Thornton Northern Project, until such time that Thornton adequately lays out the full scope of the 3-phase project, provides a timeline and project description for Phase 2 and Phase 3, and discloses all present and future impacts to land uses in Larimer County as is required by the land use code.   

If Thornton declines to withdraw its current, Phase 1 application, we ask the Larimer County Planning Department, in consultation with the Larimer County Commissioners, to once again cancel the upcoming hearings based on a 1041 application that is premature, piecemeal, incomplete and fails to comply with the requirements of the land use code.

As residents of Larimer County, we believe it would be a dereliction of duty for the Larimer County Planning Commission and the County Commissioners to consider or approve the current 1041 application without full disclosure of all present and future land use impacts of Thornton’s water transfers and the Northern Water Project .  If Thornton cannot evaluate all present and future impacts at this time, the City should withdraw its application and reapply when all of those impacts can be substantiated.

Submitted by Karen Wagner (kaswagner@me.com)