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TEG-Colorado Blasts Moffat Project, Asks Boulder County Commissioners To Stop Tallest Dam in History of Colorado

June 21, 2017
Press Release
Contact: Gary Wockner, Save The Colorado, 970-218-8310

TEG-Colorado Blasts Moffat Project, Asks Boulder County Commissioners To “Oppose and Work to Stop” the proposed Tallest Dam in the History of Colorado

Boulder County, USA: Today, TEG-Colorado — the homeowners group surrounding Gross Dam and Reservoir in Boulder County, Colorado — sent a letter to the Boulder County Commissioners asking the Commissioners to “oppose and work to stop” the proposed expansion of Gross Dam and Reservoir which would be the biggest construction project in County history and create the tallest dam in the history of Colorado. The letter comes as the permitting process for the expansion (formally known as the “Moffat Collection System Project”) is winding down. The Army Corps is expected to issue a “Record of Decision” at any time, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has initiated their permitting process. (The letter is posted here.)

The TEG letter outlines the extreme problems with the Project and then pointedly states: “No proposed mitigation measures would address our deep-rooted concerns.” The letter further states:

  • We request that Boulder County oppose this unjustified and unlawful project during the FERC
    permitting process and the Army Corps 404 permitting process. Boulder County should also
    exercise its authority pursuant to 1041 regulations – which very clearly applies to the Gross
    Dam expansion – to prevent the project from going forward at great cost to Boulder County
    citizens and to the environment of one of the greenest counties in Colorado and the nation.

The letter comes amidst heightened tensions in the Colorado River basin — climate change scientists have very directly called on agencies to plan for lower flows in the river, and the states throughout the basin have been unable to reach agreements around managing the river. The Moffat Collection System Project would drain yet another ~4.5 billion gallons of water out of the Colorado River every year and would create the tallest dam in the history of Colorado. The Project is proposed by Denver Water at the same time that the CEO of Denver Water has said that their water use continues to go down, not up (see tweet at left).

“Denver Water doesn’t need the water, the Colorado River is already extremely threatened, and the Boulder County residents don’t want the project,” said Gary Wockner of Save The Colorado which is working with  TEG to stop the project. “We greatly respect the Boulder County Commissioners and we also call on them to oppose and work to stop this disastrous project.”

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