Save The Poudre and co-plaintiffs No Pipe Dream and Save Rural NoCo served Larimer County with a lawsuit last week over the county’s decision to approve the Northern Integrated Supply Project 1041 permit.
Larimer County Commissioner John Kefalas who was appointed to be Chair of the Commission the following day after Save The Poudre served the lawsuit, voted against the permit. The new Commission consisting of Commissioner Kefalas and newly elected Commissioners Kristin Stephens and Jody Shadduck-McNally will now manage the County’s response to the lawsuit.
“We are suing Larimer County because Donnelly and Johnson should not have participated in, or voted on, the NISP permit, as well as their final illegal ruling to approve the NISP 1041 permit,” said Gary Wockner of Save The Poudre.
The lawsuit alleges the following:
- Commissioners Donnelly and Johnson had publicly advocated for NISP for a decade, and thus they were biased and should not have participated in, or voted on, the NISP 1041 permit. That bias violates both the Larimer County land-use code and the Colorado Constitution, which requires “unbiased” decision-making on 1041 permits.
- The decision by the two-member majority of the Commission (Donnelly and Johnson) to give NISP a permit violated the Larimer County land-use code’s multiple criteria.
The new Larimer County Commission has many options for how it can handle the illegal actions and decisions of the previous Commissioners and lawsuits against the County.
“We call on this new Larimer County Commission to reconsider the illegal actions and decisions of the previous Commission,” said Gary. “NISP would be the biggest and most environmentally damaging project in Larimer County history, and throughout the County permitting process, over 90% of public comments opposed NISP,” Gary said.
For more information regarding the lawsuit, visit: http://www.savethepoudre.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/First-Amended-Complaint-FINAL-01112021.pdf