Judge greenlights Thornton’s pipeline through Larimer

FORT COLLINS — Larimer County properly approved Thornton’s bid to construct a portion of a key water pipeline across county land, a Larimer District Judge has ruled, rejecting environmental activists’ effort to overturn the permit.

According to the Colorado Sun, District Judge C. Michelle Brinegar ruled Thursday that the Board of Larimer County Commissioners evaluated the permit application and considered alternatives as part of a proper review in the “1041” process, named after a state law giving counties oversight of major public works construction projects. The nonprofit river defense group Save the Poudre only appealed the permit to state courts because it didn’t like the decision, not because the review was improper, the judge said.

Save the Poudre leader Gary Wockner said the group was considering an appeal, but Thornton welcomed the ruling and said it would continue construction work on the Larimer County portion of its $485 million pipeline project, which will eventually deliver water rights Thornton bought on the Cache la Poudre River to city treatment sites in Adams County.

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