Hi Poudre River Lovers! Thank you for your support!! It's your support that keeps us working hard. Please donate online by clicking here. Good News First! In February, State District Court in Larimer County ruled in support of our fight to stop the Thornton Pipeline. The court ruled that the Larimer County Commissioners were legally justified to deny Thornton’s permit, a denial we intervened to support in the lawsuit. Thornton has now appealed that decision, and we are counting on this new Larimer County Commission to defend itself in the State Court of Appeals. If Thornton would simply do the right thing – which is run the water down the Poudre River through Fort Collins – they wouldn’t even need a permit at all! Thornton would have saved millions of dollars in court costs, planning, and permitting by simply taking Save The Poudre’s advice TEN YEARS AGO and keeping the water in the Poudre. We will remain vigilant and engaged in this battle – stay tuned for the action! Second, our ongoing battle to stop the Northern Integrated Supply Project continues to work its way through the court system. We now have two lawsuits against the FORMER Larimer County Commissioners, Steve Johnson and Tom Donnelly, for their illegal decision to support NISP. First we argue that Johnson and Donnelly were biased due to their decades of support for NISP. Second, we argue that Johnson and Donnelly’s decision violated the Larimer County land use code in multiple ways. NISP would have dramatic negative impacts on the Poudre River, on neighbors around the proposed reservoir, and on neighbors along the pipeline route. We have worked in close coalition with two local neighborhood groups – “Save Rural NoCo” and “No Pipe Dream” – to fight the project and influence the court’s and the County’s decision. The NISP battle now turns to the City of Fort Collins! NISP has applied for a “Site Plan Advisory Review” for the project, including for the massive environmentally destructive pipeline through the City’s Natural Areas on the east side of Fort Collins. The City has scheduled a “neighborhood meeting” on April 21st at 6:00pm, and ALL SAVE THE POUDRE MEMBERS are invited as neighbors! We are encouraging all of you to sign up for this “Zoom” neighborhood meeting – let’s show the City how much we care about the Poudre River and its Natural Areas, and how much we OPPOSE NISP. We’ll keep you posted on how to zoom attend the neighborhood meeting – make sure and sign up for our newsletter on SaveThePoudre.org. Finally, Save The Poudre is awaiting the final “Record of Decision” from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is expected to be released this year. Our legal and scientific team is ready for battle when this permit is released. We have a great attorney lined up to fight this permit if needed, and we are prepared to do everything we can to stop NISP. In other Big News, we’re excited to have launched a new “Rights of Nature” program for the Poudre River. The “Rights of Nature”…
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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