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 Update: “Clean The Poudre” Campaign Would Allow More Water in the Poudre
Hi Poudre River Lovers!
It’s your support that keeps us working hard — thank you, and please click here to donate!
Here’s the updates about the Poudre River you need to know.
First, today, Save The Poudre released a short report about “Cleaning the Poudre River so it can be used as a conveyance for water supply”. The report is posted here.
A background summary: Both the Thornton Pipeline and NISP claim they can’t run all of their water rights down the Poudre River through Fort Collins because the water quality in the river is too dirty due to the City’s stormwater runoff. While that may, or may not, be true, there are engineering solutions that can “clean” stormwater before it runs into the Poudre. These solutions are cost-effective, environmentally sound, and proven in other municipalities around the U.S.
We consulted with AbTech Industries (https://www.abtechindustries.com/) to provide some estimates of technologies and costs for cleaning the City’s stormwater before it runs into the Poudre. Our report, as well as AbTech’s website, provide lots of examples and photographs for you to consider.
Long-story short — all water providers can use the Poudre River as a conveyance, which would provide the following benefits:
- Increase quality-of-life for City and County residents,
- Preservation of the environment and natural habitat along the Poudre River corridor,
- Maintaining or increasing flows for recreation including at the new downtown Fort Collins Whitewater Park,
- Increase water quality and cleanliness in the Poudre River.
Save The Poudre is requesting that the County and City convene a “Working Group” to examine cleaning the Poudre River so it can be used as a conveyance for water supply.
Second, last week the City of Fort Collins informed NISP that their Site Plan Advisory Review (SPAR) application is “not complete”. Specifically, NISP has failed to describe how their proposal will impact flooding along the Poudre River in Fort Collins. We are continuing to closely monitor this application and process. As we’ve noted before, we strongly believe that SPAR is an illegal use for NISP, and that the City should require a full development review of NISP that covers ALL OF THE DAMAGE NISP would cause to Fort Collins’ Natural Areas. The City has so-far refused to change direction, although they are investigating creating “1041 powers” for NISP. At this time, Save The Poudre is still in strong opposition to the City’s approach.
Third, the Thornton Pipeline continues to suffer serious setbacks, which is good! Last week, the Weld County Commissioners voted unanimously to “deny” Thornton’s 1041 application for their pipeline. Where this will all end, we don’t know, but we continue to intervene in the court case against the Thornton Pipeline, and we continue to work to require Thornton to send their water down the Poudre River through Fort Collins.
Thank you for your support. Again you can donate online by clicking here.
Stay tuned for all the action!
Gary Wockner
Director, Save The Poudre