The chair of Pueblo County’s commissioners says U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn needs to stay out against Colorado Springs, calling for other members of Colorado’s congressional delegation to ensure the legal process plays out.
“It’s frustrating to us,” said Terry Hart, who leads the Board of Pueblo County Commissioners. “Personally, I think that Congressman Lamborn needs to stay out of the conversation completely. We have worked very hard to develop a very good working relationship between Pueblo County and Colorado Springs. That wasn’t easy to do — we have some pretty contentious issues.”
Hart said Lamborn’s efforts only threatens to weaken those ties.
Lamborn, R-Colorado Springs, last week told The Denver Post that to drop the lawsuit targeting Colorado Springs’ yearslong problems with stormwater, calling the litigation “punitive.” Lamborn sent an April 10 letter to Pruitt and has spoken twice in person with him about the issue.
Lamborn, who cited Colorado Springs’ commitment to invest $460 million over the next two decades on storm-water management, also told The Post that he hopes to meet with Pruitt and Colorado Springs officials in the coming weeks.
Last month, Hart and Pueblo County’s two other commissioners — Sal Pace and Garrison Ortiz — sent letters to Colorado’s congressional delegation asking them to fight against Colorado Springs.
“Please don’t let that happen,” the commissioners wrote in April 19 letters to U.S. Sens. Cory Gardner and Michael Bennet, as well as U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton, whose district includes Pueblo County.
In his comments to The Post, Lamborn said Pruitt has directed his staff to looking “closely” at the lawsuit.
“(Pruitt) doesn’t know all the details because he has so much on his plate,” Lamborn said. “He seemed to agree with the premise that if Colorado Springs has committed such a huge amount of money to address stormwater drainage, that going through the expense of a lawsuit and the expense of fines to do what the city has already agreed to do is just piling on.”
I enjoyed speaking w/ @EPAScottPruitt once again, I reiterated the importance of the EPA dropping its stormwater lawsuit against CO Springs
— Rep. Doug Lamborn (@RepDLamborn)
The letter from Pueblo County’s commissioners said: “Water is critical to Pueblo County. … Protecting our water is an obligation of utmost importance to the Pueblo County Board of County Commissioners. And so should it be for the EPA.”
Stormwater in Colorado Springs flows into the Fountain Creek watershed and down toward Pueblo, where it meets the Arkansas River — a vital waterway for drinking water and agriculture in southeast Colorado. Pueblo has been battling with Colorado Springs for years over water quality and concerns about flooding.The EPA and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment sued Colorado Springs in November 2016 over alleged water quality violations stemming from its mismanagement of runoff, including silt and other debris. Pueblo County later joined the lawsuit.
Colorado Springs responded by calling the lawsuit a waste of money, noting the city has committed hundreds of millions of dollars to address the problems in coming years. Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers has said he appreciates Lamborn’s support.
