Larimer County commissioners approve NISP water project, opponents threaten to sue

FORT COLLINS — The Northern Integrated Supply Project won the second-to-last approval it needs from governmental bodies on Wednesday after the Larimer County Board of Commissioners approved the controversial reservoir project.

In a 2-1 vote, the commissioners approved the issuance of a 1041 permit to the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District after final arguments from the district capped weeks of public comment.

If built, NISP would store 215,000 acre-feet of water between the Glade Reservoir north of Fort Collins and the Galeton Reservoir northeast of Ault and transfer it to 15 cities along the Front Range. The $1.1 billion, eight-year project would also shift several miles of U.S. Highway 287 to make way for the Glade Reservoir, which would serve as an open space park similar to Horsetooth Reservoir.

Supporters say the water is critical for the region’s expected population growth over the next several decades, but its opponents have claimed it would decimate the flow of the Cache la Poudre River and cause severe ecological damage.

Commissioners Tom Donnelly and Steve Johnson both voted for the project, saying it had met the county’s criteria for such projects under its land use code.

Johnson said the project is a viable alternative to purchasing and drying agricultural land in the area to quench demand from a growing population that isn’t going to stop coming to the northern Front Range.

He also said the reservoirs would serve as a backup water source in case  the Poudre’s water was made undrinkable due to runoff resulting from extinguished wildfires.

“I wonder what the residents of Fort Collins would have done if they couldn’t drink their tap water for 90 days,” he said.

Commissioner John Kefalas voted against the project, saying there were still outstanding questions about how the project would affect the peak flow days for the river, the potential for ecological damage and the rights of landowners whose properties are in the path of the pipeline.

He also said the 1041 permitting process is flawed because it allows for almost unlimited rebuttal time from applicants and less time dedicated to public comment. While he said the county’s planning commission did its best to give the public more time, he doesn’t believe the process is totally fair.

“It is my opinion that the process does not allow for a level playing field,” he said.

Save The Poudre, the main advocacy group against the project, said in a statement after the vote that it will sue and ask a court to rule the permit invalid, claiming that prior support voiced by Commissioners Donnelly and Johnson for the project requires them to recuse themselves from the vote.

The group also claims opponents showed ample evidence that the project violates the county’s land use code.

“The Poudre River will be irrevocably damaged if NISP is built,” Save The Poudre leader Gary Wockner said in the statement. “In addition, the commissioners were given clear evidence that the NISP application violates the land use code, including several of the 12 criteria, and as such this application absolutely should have been denied.”

The project now requires only final approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers before it can finalize design and begin construction. A decision from the corps is expected by the end of the year.

The Fort Collins City Council voted to oppose it this week, and hundreds of local residents have voiced their opposition in live hearings and emails over the past several weeks.

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