Hi Poudre River Lovers, We killed it once, but Thornton's ZOMBIE pipeline is back again! Next week on April 10th, there will be a hearing at the Larimer County Planning Commission. On April 22nd, there will be a final hearing in front of the Larimer County Commissioners. We have dissected the application and provided comments to the Planning Commission. Our comments are posted here. A summary of our comments: This new application has changed very little from the previous application in 2018. It's a waste of Larimer County's time to even consider this application when there is no significant benefit to the County. Further, the former Larimer County Commissioners denied the application, and then Thornton lost in court, twice. This new application should meet the same demise. Larimer County's Land Use Code requires that applicants must "FIRST AVOID" negative impacts to the County, its citizens, and its natural resources. Instead of avoiding those impacts, Thornton's application tries to "mitigate" impacts. Using the "Poudre River Option," Thornton must send its water down the Poudre River instead of putting the water in a pipeline, an option that would AVOID all impacts in Larimer County. Thornton could've sent its water down the Poudre River 10 or 20 years ago WITHOUT even needing a permit from Larimer County, and so its not Larimer County's fault, or Save The Poudre's, that Thornton doesn't already have this water. The application provides almost no material benefit to the County and its residents which is required by the Land Use Code. Thornton must choose the "Poudre River Option" which sends the water down the Poudre and would provide the following benefits to help restore and heal the Poudre River: The river water would be cooler which would benefit native fish and people recreating in the river. The higher flow would help flush sediment and mud out of the river channel. Trout could more easily spawn in a cleaner riverbed of sand and gravel. Less algae would grow on the riverbed and on rocks, making the river safer for people. Less water treatment and expense might be needed by the City’s wastewater treatment plant, and city-wide stormwater runoff would have less negative impact on water quality in the river. Wetlands would be helped to flourish along the river providing more bird and wildlife habitat. Cottonwoods and willows would be helped to flourish along the river. Recreational opportunities, including those at the new Whitewater Park, would be enhanced. Flooding impacts may decrease. The river would be more beautiful. Hearing dates with the Planning Commission and County Commissioners: Sign up to speak through the Larimer County website here. Planning Commission - Wednesday April 10 Board of County Commissioners - Monday April 22 All meetings will start at 6 p.m. and will have a hybrid format. In person: 200 W. Oak St. and via Zoom (link to be provided) In addition to showing up for the Hearings, writing letters to the Planning Commission and the County Commissioners is important! Write letters to John…
PRESS RELEASE: SAVE THE POUDRE TAKES LEGAL ACTION TO STOP NISP!
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.
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