Opening another chapter in a six-year fight against the Thornton pipeline, environmental group Save The Poudre is suing the city of Thornton and the Larimer County commissioners.
The lawsuit, filed in Larimer County District Court, specifically names Commissioners John Kefalas, Jody Shadduck-McNally and Kristin Stephens.
It asks the court to find that the board exceeded its jurisdiction and/or abused its discretion in granting permission for a 10-mile water pipeline that would convey Poudre River water to Thornton.
The commissioners voted on May 9 to grant Thornton a 1041 permit for that project , acknowledging some vocal community opposition to it but saying they had no grounds to deny it.
The lawsuit said Save The Poudre was denied due process rights because it and members of the public weren't allowed to combine public comments into an extended group presentation exceeding three minutes, while the commissioners placed no time limits on Thornton’s presentations, "which lasted hours and allowed for group presentations."
It said the board erred in not requiring Thornton to present an alternative that would use the Poudre River itself to convey the water and not requiring presentations outlining alternative water diversion locations.
The lawsuit also cited several sections of the county's land use code that it believes Thornton's application did not meet. Save The Poudre alleges the project:
- does not, “to the greatest extent possible," mitigate impacts to the environment and natural resources.
- will “exacerbate or worsen climate change."
- does not “mitigate impacts on rivers, streams and wetlands to the greatest extent possible."
- “will have a significant impact on natural resources of statewide importance.”
- does not significantly mitigate and will have significantly adverse impacts on water quality and quantity in the Poudre River.
- does not “implement the vision and policies of the Larimer County Comprehensive Plan.”
- does not “regulate development in a manner consistent with legitimate environmental concerns."
- does not “reflect principles of resource stewardship and conservation."
- does not have "benefits, in terms of physical improvements, enhanced services, or environmental impacts, of the proposed project” that “outweigh the losses of any natural resources or reduction of productivity of agricultural lands."
The lawsuit also states the board exceeded its jurisdiction and/or abused its discretion by not requiring "complete co-location of the Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP) pipeline, a separate project also set to run through Larimer County.
And it says the board was wrong in its finding that water diversion and water right are beyond the scope of the 1041 review.
“We’re not thrilled to have to file this lawsuit, but we are happy to fight for the protection and restoration of every inch of the Cache la Poudre River and stand up for the vast majority of citizens of Larimer County who want Thornton to keep the water in the Poudre," Save The Poudre Executive Director Gary Wockner said in a statement.
The Coloradoan has contacted each commissioner for a response to the lawsuit, but Shadduck-McNally and Kefalas said due to the ongoing litigation, they had no comment.
Todd Barnes, communications director for the city of Thornton, said the city might have a response to the lawsuit after reviewing it, but that wouldn't come before Monday.
In presentations before the commissioners, Barnes said members of the public who spoke in opposition to Thornton's pipeline didn't demonstrate how the city is not meeting the criteria . He said the 1041 criteria doesn't require the city to provide an enhancement like running the water farther down the Poudre.
Thornton's representatives said the project doesn't affect the Poudre River at all because it wouldn't divert any additional water.
The lawsuit also asserts that two more phases of the project are also being contemplated. But Thornton has denied that it has plans for construction other than the one pipeline approved in its application.
More: Could there be 3 Thornton pipelines in Larimer County in the future? Here's what we know
It is the second time Save The Poudre has been involved in a legal case over the Thornton pipeline. It intervened in a 2019 lawsuit filed by Thornton after Larimer commissioners denied the city's first application, filed in 2018.
The nonprofit's mission, according to the lawsuit, is to protect and restore the Cache la Poudre River of Northern Colorado.
About the Thornton pipeline project
The pipeline would carry water through Larimer, Weld and Adams counties to a treatment plant in Thornton to support its growing population.
Thornton first applied for the 1041 permit for the Larimer County portion of its pipeline in 2018. That application was denied in 2019 by the commissioners, who said the project failed to meet more than half of the criteria. The city sued Larimer County, but a state appeals court upheld the decision in 2022.
Thornton’s permit application is for a water transmission line that's 10.4 miles long and 42 inches in diameter as well as its corresponding pumphouse. It would carry up to 14,000 acre-feet of water per year to Thornton’s treatment plant.
The entire pipeline project is 70 miles, and Thornton says 85% of it is either in place, under construction or in design.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Save The Poudre sues over Thornton pipeline, extending 6-year saga
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