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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:

  1. No water rights – plan to fill Glade Reservoir requires buying hundreds of farms in Weld County, whereas only a few farms have been bought.
  2. Fails to take into account climate change and its reduction in streamflow in the Poudre River.
  3. Mitigation won’t occur until full build-out, maybe 30 years in the future.
  4. Mitigation doesn’t allow for peak flows to clean out the river and restore the riparian forest through Fort Collins.
  5. 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.

***end***

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