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…
Poudre River Update:
Hello Poudre River Lovers! Thank you for your support!
We are pushing hard on every single lever to protect and restore the Cache la Poudre River.
First, NISP DOES NOT HAVE A PERMIT TO BEGIN CONSTRUCTION!
Many of you have reached out to see what’s going on with the apparent construction in the valley where Glade Reservoir might be built. Please know that we are paying close attention and consulting with our legal team constantly.
The digging at the proposed site for Glade Reservoir is deemed by the Army Corps of Engineers to be “pre-construction” and “test hole drilling” that does not require a permit from the Corps. NISP is doing this work on land that NISP owns, and while it is very concerning to everyone, including all the neighbors, we talked at length with our legal team and there’s no way we can stop it.
Northern Water, which is building the Chimney Hollow Reservoir west of Loveland right now, did similar pre-construction work at that site. After we filed the lawsuit against Northern and the Corps’ after the permit came out, all of the construction at Chimney Hollow stopped.
We are very vigilant about everything that’s going on at the Glade site, and we are in constant communication with our legal team. We are nearly 100% likely to file a lawsuit against the Corps and Northern when the NISP permit is released. We expect the Corps to release the permit any day, and our legal team is poised with pens ready to fight and file.
Second, recall that we sued the former Larimer County Commissioners for giving a permit for NISP, and that lawsuit is still playing out in state court in
Larimer County. We believe we have a strong case and our legal team is fighting hard to get the best outcome.
So far, the judge has not acted on any motions, and hasn’t issued any kind of rulings. It could take a year or more for this lawsuit to play out.
Third, our intervention in the lawsuit to stop the proposed Thornton Pipeline recently had a hearing in front of the state court of appeals in Denver. We are expecting a ruling in the coming weeks or months. Recall, the Larimer County Commissioners denied a permit to Thornton, then Thornton sued the County. Thornton lost in state district court and has now appealed to the state court of appeals.
Fourth, we continue to be engaged in the preparation of the City of Fort Collins’ new “1041 regulations” that will apply to NISP. We’ve provided many 
comments to the Council and the staff, and we are waiting for a final draft that will be on the City Council agenda in October or November. These regs are very important to protect the Poudre River as well as the Natural Areas all the way through Fort Collins.
PLEASE KNOW – Your past support has made all of the difference in our ability to engage in these battles, and your current and future support is what will keep us fighting hard. We’ve been girding for this legal action for 19 years.
Every $25 or $50 makes a real difference. If you can afford $100 or $250 or more, that’s great too! All donations are tax deductible
Please donate on our website at:
http://www.savethepoudre.org/take-action/donate/
Thank you for your support!
Mark Easter and Gary Wockner, Save The Poudre
