Hello Poudre River Lovers! Thank you for your support! We’re in the heat of summer and in the heat of battle to Save The Poudre. First, we filed suit against the Larimer County Commissioners and the City of Thornton for giving a 1041 permit to the Thornton Pipeline. We’re not thrilled to have to sue the Larimer County Commissioners, but our organization is committed to sound science and logic, and Thornton’s pipeline is a ridiculous idea. Further, almost 100% of Larimer County residents oppose the Thornton Pipeline, as evidenced by the hundreds of comments inserted into the permitting record. Although we are not happy to file the lawsuit, we are proud to support the people of Larimer County. Throughout the permitting process, we argued that Thornton should “use the Poudre River as the conveyance” for the water rather than put it in a pipeline. Our lawsuit takes it to the wall in state district court in Larimer County. Second, our lawsuit against the Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP) and the former Larimer County Commissioners (who gave NISP a permit back in 2020) is now in the Colorado State Court of Appeals in Denver. NISP refuses to consider running their water down the Poudre River, and instead – like Thornton – wants to put the water in a huge pipeline north of Fort Collins. This is, of course, also ridiculous and insane. Using the Poudre River as conveyance for water is cheaper, faster, easier, and more ecologically healthy than draining the water out of the Poudre and putting it in a pipeline. We’re going to fight in state court as long as we can, no matter the outcome, because it’s the right thing to do. We may have to go to the Colorado Supreme Court to fight this battle, so stay tuned. Third, in January we filed the big lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for giving a permit to NISP. Once again, the health of the Poudre River was ignored in this permit decision that we believe violates the National Environmental Policy Act and the Clean Water Act. And again in the federal lawsuit, we argued that NISP should use the Poudre River as the conveyance for the water, instead of putting that water in a huge, expensive, and environmentally destructive pipeline north of Fort Collins through private neighborhoods. Finally, NISP still needs a permit from the City of Fort Collins to build a massive pipeline across City Natural Areas. This permit process won’t start until the Fall of 2024, but we will be thick in the fight to not only protect the Poudre River, but also protect the City’s Natural Areas that all citizens bought and paid for. Our beloved Natural Areas in Fort Collins and Larimer County SHOULD NOT be sacrifice zones for river destruction and sprawl in Weld County which is where the pipeline would take most of the water. 2024 is the 20th year of this fight which could go on for a few more years in…
Save The Poudre Action Alert: NISP Needs City of Fort Collins Permit, and Your Voice Matters!
Hi Poudre River Lovers!
It’s time for action! The massive proposed Poudre River-destroying Northern Integrated Supply Project needs a permit from the City of Fort Collins, and your voice matters.
NISP is having a “neighborhood meeting” on Zoom on Wednesday, April 21st, at 6:00pm, and all members of Save The Poudre — that’s you! — are “neighbors”. We need you to do two things:
First, stay tuned for the link to sign up for the neighborhood meeting. The City’s website (here) says they will provide a zoom link 48 hours ahead of the meeting so ALL OF YOU can join the meeting. We will send you another email as soon as the link is posted on Monday.
Second, please send an email to the Fort Collins City Council telling them you are opposed to NISP and you want a full, public “development review” for NISP, not just a “Site Plan Advisory Review” that the City is proposing now. We’ve made a simple link for you to send an email to the City Council (click here).
Thank you for TAKING ACTION, and stay tuned for more information about you can help stop NISP in the City of Fort Collins.
And of course, thank you for donating to Save The Poudre (you can donate by clicking here). If you can’t show up to the Zoom meeting, your financial support makes sure that we will.
Gary Wockner, Director, Save The Poudre