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…
Save The Poudre, Neighborhood Groups Challenge Larimer County’s NISP Application
April 20, 2020
PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Gary Wockner, Save The Poudre, 970-218-8310
Save The Poudre and Neighborhood Groups Challenge Larimer County’s “Completeness” of NISP Application
Fort Collins: On Friday, April 17, Save The Poudre and two neighborhood groups — Save Rural NoCo and No Pipedream — filed a formal appeal with the Larimer County land use director requesting a reversal of the County determination that Northern Water’s NISP application is “complete”. (the appeal is posted here). The 10-page appeal lists numerous issues completely ignored by the NISP application that Save The Poudre and neighborhood groups claim are required by Larimer County’s land use regulations.
The issues ignored in the application include a broad range of serious violations of regulations, including the evaluation of:
- the lack of a permit for the “realignment” of Highway 287,
- the lack of water rights to operate the project,
- inconsistency with the County Master Plan,
- the complete lack of an alternatives analysis,
- the impact on public health and safety,
- the inability of the County to fund the project,
- the impact on the Cache la Poudre River of draining vast amounts of its water,
- the project relies on a huge farm-buying scheme that the Army Corps said was not feasible and too expensive,
- noise caused by power boats and recreation at the proposed Glade Reservoir,
- and the lack of mitigation.
The challenge requires that the County Director of Community Development, Lesli Ellis, respond and either reverse the completeness determination or counter the challenge with justifications.
“Everything NISP does continues to be a half-baked billion-dollar boondoggle,” said Gary Wockner, Director of Save The Poudre. “Larimer County will be held to the strict letter of the law in its own land use regulations if this permit process moves forward.”
Just last week, Save The Poudre challenged and appealed the State’s “Water Quality Certification” for NISP. The 17-year battle over NISP will likely reach its peak in 2020, with potential legal battles at the County, State, and Federal level.
“We’ve been girding for this battle for 17 years,” said Gary Wockner. “We intend to run through the tape in a full sprint to keep the Poudre River healthy and flowing.”
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