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EPA leery about two reservoirs

Concern voiced over building Glade, Galeton

By Jerd Smith, Rocky Mountain News

Published November 19, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is raising red flags over the proposed construction of Glade and Galeton reservoirs northwest of Fort Collins, saying they are likely to have serious effects on water quality and wetlands.

The agency, in comments provided to the U.S. Corps of Engineers this fall, gave the project a ranking of 3, the second-lowest possible.

The reservoirs would be built by the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District and would serve small, fast-growing communities in northern Colorado, such as Erie, Dacono, Frederick, Lafayette and Fort Morgan, which face looming water shortages.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has raised similar concerns.

Deborah Lebow Aal, an EPA project manager who analyzed the corps' draft environmental impact statement, said more study needs to occur to understand how the projects, which draw from the Poudre and South Platte rivers, will affect streams and what is needed to protect the waterways.

"In the draft they say the temperature is going to increase, but they don't give you any information on how or why or what's going to happen," she said. "They're going to take 71 percent of high flows in the spring. That's a pretty significant impact that was not well addressed."

Northern spokesman Brian Werner said his agency has met with the EPA twice in recent weeks to determine what else needs to be done in the environmental analysis.

"These are obviously not the kind of comments you want to hear from the EPA," Werner said. "But we believe these are all issues that can be addressed."

Larry Svoboda, director of the EPA's National Environmental Policy Act program in Denver, said the EPA ultimately could have the authority to stop the project.

"Right now we're not on a path to exercise that authority," Svoboda said. "But we want to convey to them the gravity of this situation."

Comments

  • November 19, 2008

    5:39 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    oldbogus writes:

    I can't believe this is happening. I thought W emasculated the EPA. Obviously "rogue agents".

    Good for them.