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PRESS RELEASE: Judge Allows Save The Poudre To Intervene Against Thornton Pipeline

July 14, 2019
For Immediate Release
Contact: Gary Wockner, Save The Poudre, 970-218-8310

Judge Allows Save The Poudre To Intervene Against Thornton Pipeline

Poudre River, Colorado: Today, State District Court Judge, JUAN G. VILLASEÑOR, issued an order allowing for Save The Poudre to “intervene” in the lawsuit the City of Thornton is waging against Larimer County about the proposed Thornton Pipeline (the order is posted here). Thornton opposed Save The Poudre’s intervention and formally motioned the court against it. The neighborhood group, “No Pipedream”, was also allowed to intervene in the same order.

“We are pleased with the court’s decision and, to the best of our ability, we will defend the Larimer County Commissioners’ decision to stop the Thornton Pipeline and send the water down the Poudre River through Fort Collins,” said Gary Wockner, director of Save The Poudre. “The Poudre River is already degraded by dams, diversions, and pipelines — adding this water to the river will increase the river’s health and make the river cleaner for all Larimer County residents to enjoy.”

The court case is expected to play out of the next 6 – 12 months as attorneys for Larimer County, Save The Poudre, and No Pipedream will all now defend the decision by the Larimer County Commissioners. Thornton has fought a bitter, expensive, and so-far losing battle to build their pipeline while other alternatives exist including the “Poudre River Option” which was discussed at length during the year-long permitting battle that Thornton lost.

“We should all be collaborating about how Thornton can get water and how we can restore the Poudre River, rather than fighting in court,” said Wockner. “Thornton is wasting millions of dollars of its citizens’ money, continuing to anger Larimer County residents, and wasting everyone’s time.”

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PRESS RELEASE: Save The Poudre Tries To Defend Larimer County Against the City of Thornton

For Immediate Release June 20, 2019 Contact: Gary Wockner, Save The Poudre, 970-218-8310 SAVE THE POUDRE TRIES TO DEFEND LARIMER COUNTY AGAINST THE CITY OF THORNTON LAWSUIT Poudre River: This week, Save The Poudre filed a "motion to intervene" (posted here) to defend Larimer County against the lawsuit filed by the City of Thornton. The lawsuit tries to overturn a unanimous decision by the Larimer County Commissioners to "deny" the Thornton Pipeline from diverting Poudre River water upstream of Fort Collins and piping it across the county and down to Thornton. Save The Poudre believes the organization has a strong right to intervene and is optimistic the court will allow intervention: Save The Poudre literally started this issue 10 years ago by reaching out to Thornton. Save The Poudre kept in touch with Thornton over the years. Save The Poudre originally brought the "Poudre River Option" to the attention of the Douglas Road neighbors (a coalition now called "No Pipedream"). Save The Poudre participated in all of the Larimer County hearings and Working Group processes, arguing for the Poudre River Option. Thornton discussed the Poudre River Option at length during the County hearings, and also offered the County to put a small part of its water rights back in the Poudre. The issue is solely about Poudre River water and whether to run some or all of the Thornton water rights down the Poudre. "Our organization and our members have a right to be in this case because this case directly impacts our mission to 'protect and restore the Cache la Poudre River of northern Colorado,' said Gary Wockner, Director of Save The Poudre. The City of Thornton has initially "opposed" Save The Poudre's intervention, but the judge has now given Thornton 30 days to formally respond to Save The Poudre's full motion. "It's completely ridiculous that Thornton opposes our intervention," said Wockner. "We have every right to defend Larimer County, represent the Poudre River, and represent our members in this lawsuit." ***end***

Save The Poudre, March Newsletter — Take A Look!

Hello Poudre River Lovers! We Are Deep Into The Fight And Need Your Support! Please make your tax-deductible donation today by clicking here.  First, we had a HUGE VICTORY against the Thornton Pipeline! In February, the Larimer County Commissioners voted unanimously to “deny” the Thornton Pipeline, in part thanks to your support! You sent the Commissioners about 1,000 emails and many of you showed up to provide comment during the six public hearings over the last year. We also participated in the “Larimer Water Projects Working Group” for several months, all the while arguing that Thornton should send their water down the Poudre River! What’s next for the Thornton Pipeline and the “Poudre River Option”? It’s up to Thornton – they’ve publicly stated that they might file a lawsuit against the Larimer County Commissioners, and if they do, we will stand behind the Commissioners’ decision and support them in court. If you see the Commissioners, please THANK THEM for standing up for the Poudre River throughout the permitting process. Second, the permitting process for Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP) is all coming to a head at the County, State, and Federal Level in the next few months: 1. NISP has applied for a permit from the State of Colorado Dept of Public Health and Environment for a “401 water quality certification”. Their application is 1,247 pages of extremely technical analyses that we have to digest and respond to in 60 days! We have a team of scientists and attorneys digging into the application. Your support is what makes the difference in our ability to hire professional experts to respond to this permit. 2. NISP is in the process of developing a “1041 permit” and “Intergovernmental Agreement” application to the Larimer County Commissioners to build Glade Reservoir, move Highway 287, and build two large pipelines north and east of Fort Collins. As soon as the drafts of these permits are public, in the next month or two, our team will dig into them – again, we expect them to be hundreds of pages of technical information. Your support is what makes the difference in our ability to hire professional experts to respond to this permit. 3. Last week, our attorneys sent the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers a legal letter demanding that the Corps prepare a “Supplemental Environmental Impact Analysis” for NISP. This demand is a response to the new revelation that NISP now expects to buy over 100 farms in Larimer and Weld County to obtain 25,000 acre feet of water to make NISP and Glade Reservoir feasible. This farm-buying scheme is a dramatic new twist in the now 16-year NISP debacle that changes everything about how the project would work and what its impact would be on northern Colorado. Again, your support is what makes the difference in our ability to hire professional experts to respond to this permit.    For 16 years, Save The Poudre has been the voice for the Poudre River, and YOU are the megaphone that…

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