Hi Amazing Friends of the Poudre River! It's been a wild 10 days since our announcement about the Agreement we reached to stop opposing the Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP), all of which is still being solidified. Stay tuned for more information about all of that in the coming weeks and months. In the meantime, we're doubling down against the Thornton Pipeline. Yesterday, we filed our opening brief in our lawsuit against the pipeline, in which we made it perfectly loud and clear that Larimer County should have required Thornton to present a "Poudre River Option" for sending its water down the river instead of a pipeline north of Fort Collins. In fact, NISP will be sending about 1/3 of its water down the Poudre River, equaling about 14,000 acre feet, which is nearly the exact same amount of water that Thornton is proposing to put in its pipeline. If NISP can do it, Thornton can also do it! Further, Thornton's water would be during the summer months which would greatly help to make the river cleaner and healthier at the same time that more people are recreating in the river, including at the Whitewater Park in downtown Fort Collins. Rest assured that our work protecting the Poudre is not done and we are still working hard. Thank you for your ongoing support! Gary Wockner, Director, Save The Poudre
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.”
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