Corps clears major milestone for massive water project

BERTHOUD — A final verdict on whether a massive Poudre River water-storage project will be built in Northern Colorado could come next year, now that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has released its long-awaited final environmental impact statement.

The voluminous document released today assesses impacts of the proposed Northern Integrated Supply Project, which has been studied for more than 15 years. The report weighs in at 2,272 pages — and the public has just 45 days to review and comment on it, unless opponents succeed in winning an extension.

Proponents said they were pleased that…