Judge Rules Boulder Can Require Local Permitting Process For Gross Reservoir Expansion

A judge ruled Friday that Boulder County has the right to review Denver Water’s proposed expansion of Gross Reservoir.

The ruling came as part of a lawsuit brought by Denver Water against the County. Denver Water had said it was exempt from Boulder County’s local permitting process, and that the commissioners had exceeded their authority back in March. At that time the commissioners decided unanimously that they must be able to review the project which – if approved – would be the largest construction project in the county’s history.

Gary Wockner with Save the Colorado, a group that had been granted intervenor status on the side of the defense, says that they have been fighting the expansion of Gross Reservoir for more than a decade and will continue to do so.

“Boulder County has very, very strict permitting laws around this kind of project and so it’s going to be very interesting to see how it plays out… The [Boulder] County Commissioners have an extraordinary amount of power in deciding what happens with this dam project.” – Gary Wockner