Latest Status on Gross Dam Expansion Fight Hi TEG Friends! We have a big opportunity to defeat the proposed Gross Dam project — we provide an update below and will stay in touch in the near future!
Section 401 Certification for the project was issued by the State of Colorado Water Quality Control Division. Although Denver Water and Governor Hickenlooper proclaim this as a huge step forward for the project, the state actually lacked any legal authority to deny a permit that would infringe on state water rights “in any way” even if the diversion sucked the rivers completely dry. So the state issued a conditional certification that identifies many concerns including:
Significant impacts to water quality in the Upper Colorado River on the West Slope, in Gross Reservoir and in South Boulder Creek downstream from the dam
Lack of confidence in the efficacy of the proposed mitigation – states that mitigation was “untested in a real-life situation”:
The serious conditions attached to the approval support the legal case to stop this project. Obtaining this certificate is a check mark for Denver Water – but it has little significance other than to actually bolster our case.
Recent Activities Representatives of the Gross Reservoir communities, accompanied by Gary Wockner of Save the Colorado, met with Boulder City Council members to raise their awareness of our concerns. Although the City of Boulder doesn’t have a lot of input to this process, we did feel it important that they understand the ramifications of the 401 Certification for South Boulder Creek which impacts City of Boulder Open Space.
What’s next? We are awaiting a Record of Decision from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the request for a Section 404 Permit. This decision is expected this fall and if the permit is issued, which we expect, we will need YOUR HELP!
We feel very strongly that we have a good case against this project! The fight to protect the area around Gross Reservoir is a GRASS ROOTS EFFORT! Stay tuned for a newsletter in September outlining how YOU can help. Interested in learning more right now? Come to the CCC Environmental Community Picnic on Thursday, August 25th @ 6:00pm at the BMFSI Barn (8856 Blue Mountain Drive, Golden) to mingle with residents. RSVP by Evite: http//evite.me/aVajAXejau or call 303-586-1491. Free Food from Smokey J’s BBQ and an Outdoor Movie to boot!