A coalition of six environmental advocacy groups filed lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Denver on Wednesday challenging the decision of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to issue a permit for the expansion of Gross Reservoir in southwest Boulder County.
The project, which is being pursued by Denver Water and would be the largest construction project in the history of Boulder County if it were to go through, is known officially as the Moffat Collection System Project.
Denver Water, which serves 1.4 million customers in the Denver metro area but very few in Boulder County, had hoped to start construction next year on the project, which would raise Gross Dam by 131 feet to a height of 471 feet, and increase the capacity of the reservoir by 77,000 acre feet. It has been estimated that construction would require the removal of as many as 650,000 trees from about 12.5 miles of shoreline, although some estimates have put that at a lower number.
The project was issued a permit by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on July 7, 2017, leaving only a license amendment needed from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in order to go forward. That is still pending, but could be ruled on at any time.
“We’re alleging they violated the National Environmental Protection Act and the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act,” said Gary Wockner, director of Save the Colorado, the lead plaintiff in the suit. “In layperson’s terms, one is that Denver Water doesn’t need the water. Two is that they failed to look at reasonable alternatives, and three is that they are causing so much damage that they have failed to address or adequately mitigate the damage the project would cause.”
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