PRESS RELEASE: Thornton Pipeline TABLED

April 15, 2020 For Immediate Release Contact: Gary Wockner, Save The Poudre, 970-218-8310 SAVE THE POUDRE TAKES LEGAL ACTION TO STOP NISP! Fort Collins: Today, Save The Poudre took legal action to stop the Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP) by filing an "appeal" against the State of Colorado which gave NISP a "401 Water Quality Certification" in February. The State permit is one of three permits NISP needs, the other two have not yet been granted from Larimer County and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Save The Poudre's appeal (posted here) alleges thirteen violations of State regulations. The Top Five violations are: No water rights – plan to fill Glade Reservoir requires buying hundreds of farms in Weld County, whereas only a few farms have been bought. Fails to take into account climate change and its reduction in streamflow in the Poudre River. Mitigation won’t occur until full build-out, maybe 30 years in the future. Mitigation doesn’t allow for peak flows to clean out the river and restore the riparian forest through Fort Collins. Fails to quantify any requirements to meet state water quality standards and relies on nebulous "adaptive management". "NISP is a half-baked billion-dollar boondoggle," said Gary Wockner, Director of Save The Poudre. "We've been fighting this project for 17 years and we are proud to take legal action today to stop it." A Press Release Video is posted on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=657579431749602 The State permit was given by the staff at the Water Quality Control Division. The appeal now goes to the "Water Quality Control Commission" appointed by Governor Polis. The appeal process will play out in the coming months. NISP is proposed to drain tens-of-billions of gallons of water out of the Poudre River through Fort Collins, specifically during the peak flow months of May and June where up to 50% of the water would be drained out including at the new Whitewater Park in downtown Fort Colins. The river already has about 65% of its water drained out -- if NISP is built, the river would increasingly resemble a slow-moving ditch through Fort Collins. This press release is posted here. ***end***

April 20, 2020 PRESS RELEASE Contact: Gary Wockner, Save The Poudre, 970-218-8310 Save The Poudre and Neighborhood Groups Challenge Larimer County's "Completeness" of NISP Application Fort Collins: On Friday, April 17, Save The Poudre and two neighborhood groups -- Save Rural NoCo and No Pipedream -- filed a formal appeal with the Larimer County land use director requesting a reversal of the County determination that Northern Water's NISP application is "complete".   (the appeal is posted here). The 10-page appeal lists numerous issues completely ignored by the NISP application that Save The Poudre and neighborhood groups claim are required by Larimer County's land use regulations. The issues ignored in the application include a broad range of serious violations of regulations, including the evaluation of: the lack of  a permit for the "realignment" of Highway 287, the lack of water rights to operate the project, inconsistency with the County Master Plan, the complete lack of an alternatives analysis, the impact on public health and safety, the inability of the County to fund the project, the impact on the Cache la Poudre River of draining vast amounts of its water, the project relies on a huge farm-buying scheme that the Army Corps said was not feasible and too expensive, noise caused by power boats and recreation at the proposed Glade Reservoir, and the lack of mitigation. The challenge requires that the County Director of Community Development, Lesli Ellis, respond and either reverse the completeness determination or counter the challenge with justifications. "Everything NISP does continues to be a half-baked billion-dollar boondoggle," said Gary Wockner, Director of Save The Poudre. "Larimer County will be held to the strict letter of the law in its own land use regulations if this permit process moves forward." Just last week, Save The Poudre challenged and appealed the State's "Water Quality Certification" for NISP. The 17-year battle over NISP will likely reach its peak in 2020, with potential legal battles at the County, State, and Federal level. "We've been girding for this battle for 17 years," said Gary Wockner. "We intend to run through the tape in a full sprint to keep the Poudre River healthy and flowing." ***end***