Judge rules against Springs pipeline plan

Pam Zubeck, The Gazette

Friday, November 9, 2007

COLORADO SPRINGS - A Pueblo District Court judge has ruled against Colorado Springs in its bid to sidestep local land-use regulations in Pueblo County to build a 46-mile water pipeline from Pueblo Reservoir.

"Obviously, we're disappointed in the decision," Colorado Springs Mayor Lionel Rivera said Thursday.

The ruling means that the city must take its chances with the Pueblo County Commission, which has been unfriendly to the pipeline project, or appeal Judge Dennis Mayes' decision to the Colorado Court of Appeals.

"I don't think the result in this case is anything other than what we expected, given the court we were in," said David Eason, Colorado Springs Utilities counsel.

Eason said that the defeat may not delay the Southern Delivery System project, which is needed within about five years to supply water to the northeast part of the city.

"I do not believe the court's determination will have any material effect on the project's timing, given the other regulatory processes the project is involved in," he said.

Eason was referring to the National Environmental Protection Act environmental impact study, for which a draft is due in early 2008. A decision from the Bureau of Reclamation, which will choose a preferred pathway for the pipeline from seven alternatives, is due after that.

Given that process spanning at least another year, there is time to appeal the decision, Eason said, although no decision on an appeal has been made.

The city also could seek permission to build the pipeline by filing an application with Pueblo County under House Bill 1041 rules, which allow local governments to make land-use decisions on projects that pass through their jurisdictions.

Colorado Springs filed suit in El Paso County District Court in November 2005, alleging that 1041 rules don't apply to the project. The city argued that the Pueblo County land was zoned for utility use in the 1970s, and because of that, the pipeline was exempt from 1041 rules.

In 2005, Pueblo County changed its 1041 regulations - some say in an effort to block the Southern Delivery System.

"It's the city's point of view that the 2005 revisions, amendments and new regulations would make it more expensive, time consuming and potentially far more difficult to plan and build the project," Eason said.

That's why the city sought to skirt the regulations, arguing the project should be allowed under an exemption allowed under 1041.

Eason said the city could file a 1041 application with Pueblo County and appeal Mayes' decision concurrently.

The city also could opt for a different path for the pipeline that avoids Pueblo County.

Regardless of the ruling, Eason said. "The city does want to continue on a collaborative path with everyone on the project, and that hasn't changed."

Jane Rawlings, daughter of Pueblo Chieftain publisher Bob Rawlings, who has vociferously opposed the pipeline, said the ruling "sounded positive" but that she hadn't read it.