A state court judge has ruled Larimer County properly approved Thornton’s bid to construct a portion of a key water pipeline across county land, rejecting environmental activists’ effort to overturn the permit.
The judge in Larimer County’s district court said 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.
Save the Poudre, a nonprofit river defense organization, only appealed the permit to state courts because it didn’t like the decision, not because the review was improper, the judge said in a July 3 ruling. “Mere disagreement with the conclusions reached does not render a board’s judgment an abuse of discretion,” District Court Judge C. Michelle Brinegar ruled.
Save the Poudre leader Gary Wockner, who has challenged permits for multiple water diversion projects in Colorado, said the group was considering an appeal, and that Thornton is wrong in “pounding this pipeline down the throats of neighborhoods.”
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.
“With this court proceeding complete and the court’s findings finalized, Thornton will keep its focus on constructing the Thornton Water Project in order to deliver the high-quality water that the community owns to ensure safe and clean drinking water for its customers,” Thornton city spokesman Todd Barnes said in an email statement. “It is unfortunate that governments are forced to use substantial amounts of public funds to defend thoughtful, well-reasoned decisions, which include extensive public input, against lawsuits based on argument and not evidence, as the court stated.”
Thornton received the 1041 permit in a unanimous vote by Larimer County commissioners in May 2024.
It was Thornton’s second try at 1041 approval from Larimer County, decades after the city that has grown to 147,000 residents started buying up farm water in Larimer and Weld counties as insurance for continued development. Thornton has said it needs a way to deliver the water from Ted’s Place on the Poudre northwest of Fort Collins, across Larimer County farms and gravel roads, on to a southern turn for the pipeline in Weld County.
Thornton has already begun construction on some miles of the line in places like Weld County that previously consented. To win approval from Larimer County the second time around, Thornton shortened the segment through the county from 27 miles, moved key points farther from homes, and made assurances on emergency road access and other concerns.
Save the Poudre and some neighbors of the pipeline route in Larimer County had argued Thornton should use the Poudre itself to deliver its water downstream closer to Adams County, instead of building a disruptive new pipeline. The nonprofit said leaving the water in the river for those miles would promote wildlife habitat and more consistent flows for the river.
Thornton has responded that it can’t afford to let the water in the Poudre be contaminated by runoff from Fort Collins, industrial uses and farmland along the way to an eastern pipeline connection. The city argued cleaning up the water to drinkable standards after running it through the riverbed would require hundreds of millions of dollars in additional treatment systems.
About 21 miles, or nearly one-third, of the overall pipeline are now complete, Barnes said. For the 10 miles in Larimer County, “design is underway and right-of-way acquisition has begun with the property owners along the alignment,” with additional design work and preparation for a new pump station.
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