TAKE ACTION: Don’t Let The River District Become The “Ditch” District”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE APRIL 25, 2018      For Further Information Contact:      Karen Wagner,  970-227-7437 THORNTON'S 1041 APPLICATION SHOULD BE WITHDRAWNUNTIL 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Larimer County Planning Department to inform the City of Thornton that its 1041 application is premature and should be withdrawn, until all present and future impacts of the city’s water transfers on land uses in Larimer County can be satisfactorily demonstrated.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) on behalf of the No Pipe Dream Steering Committee and Gary Wockner (gary.wockner@savethepoudre.com) for Save The Poudre

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***