Larimer to begin review of Thornton pipeline permit

FORT COLLINS — Larimer County will begin to schedule public hearings on the pipeline permit application that Thornton has filed to gain access to water it owns in Northern Colorado.

The county received Thornton’s 1041 permit application in December. The county had 60 days to determine if all the required materials were in order, and on Feb. 1, the county verified that the application was complete.

Hearings with the county Planning Commission and Board of County Commissioners will be scheduled, with the dates to be determined no later than March 2, according to a press statement from the county. The board of commissioners will make the final decision on the application.

This is Thornton’s second attempt to receive 1041 permit approval from Larimer County, a process in which one government can weigh in on the plans of another government when there are local impacts. The county denied an earlier attempt and a district judge upheld the county’s decision. 

Thornton purchased thousands of acres of farmland in Northern Colorado decades ago in anticipation of needing the water rights attached to that land. In order to get that water from north of Fort Collins to the Denver suburb, it developed a plan to pipe the water through Larimer, Weld and Adams counties in order to treat it for consumer use.

Information about the next steps in the permit process, as well as the documents submitted so far, can be viewed here.

on Facebook on LinkedIn