Boulder County commissioners held a Gross Reservoir Community Meeting at the Coal Creek Canyon Community Improvement Association (CCCIA) center at 1pm April 29th to take questions from residents regarding the Gross Reservoir construction project and report on the status of the Gross Reservoir Community Impact Mitigation Fund. All three Boulder County Commissioners (Claire Levy, Marta Loachamin and Ashley Stolzmann) were in attendance.

Chair Levy started the meeting by addressing the status of the impact mitigation fund which will ultimately distribute $5 million dollars to area residents to mitigate noise, light and air impacts from the construction. The fund was part of the settlement of Denver Water’s lawsuit against the county. The county hired Pinyon Environmental Consulting to evaluate these impacts and they have submitted a report with maps that show there are 404 properties that are or will be impacted. The report and maps are on the Boulder County website (boco.org/grossreservoir) and rates the different impacts on a numeric scale from 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

The commissioners will take into consideration the report, input regarding the report, input from the advisory group and other factors before deciding how and when to distribute the funds. They won’t disburse all the funds at this time because the impacts will change over time, and they want a reserve available to deal with them. Chair Levy recognizing the limitations of financial help said: “Money can’t put the ecosystem back together again and money can’t give you back your peace of mind that blasting and trucks have taken from you.”

Commissioner Stolzmann highlighted efforts by the Boulder County Office of Climate and Sustainability to run a pilot program at the Nederland Sort Yard to make biochar from trees. Biochar is a residue made of carbon and ashes remaining after the pyrolysis of biomass. It can be sold as a soil supplement and has carbon sequestration benefits. The disposal of a quarter to a half a million trees is going to have a high fossil fuel and environmental cost but producing biochar from some of these trees would reduce a portion of that impact. The timeline for removing these trees is around 2025 to 2026. Denver Water won’t decide how to dispose of the trees until they select a contractor.

During the question-and-answer portion of the meeting, residents expressed concern for the trucks delivering materials to the job site using Flagstaff Road. More than one truck has gotten stuck on the curves which creates problems for commuters and emergency services. The commissioners are working to put signs at the bottom at Baseline Road to warn against using Flagstaff, beef up enforcement and fines by the sheriff’s department and get Google to put a warning in their map app.

Residents also asked about the distribution of impact funds for renters as well as owners. The payouts will be scaled based on severity but aren’t going to be tracked like grants with accountability chains. The most frequent request for funds according to Special Projects Coordinator Barbara Halpin is for central air conditioning so that residents can close their windows and reduce the noise and dust. Other uses for the funds would be for blackout draperies and fences along the roads.

A persistent question and concern were the speeds of construction trucks on the roads. Residents using those roads are dealing with speeding trucks on narrow roads. The commissioners are seeking ways to increase deputy patrols on the Gross Dam and Lazy Z roads, add more speed limit signs on the roads and get Denver Water to impose fines on the contractor for speeding trucks. One resident asked about the fire danger of construction flaggers smoking and throwing their cigarettes in the grass along the road. Denver Water has been made aware of the issue and it is against company policy, but it is their responsibility to police it.

There was a question about getting Denver Water to make some of the trees that are cut available for firewood. There was a discussion about who would get access to the trees and how permitting would be managed.

There were questions about the Pinyon report and whether there were flaws in the model or if there should be a second study. The commissioners reiterated that the study can be tweaked and is just one data point in their decision-making but the input of the residents who are adversely impacted by this project are just as important in determining how the impact funds will be distributed.

The Gross Reservoir Community Advisory Working Group will hold their next meeting at the CCIA center on Tuesday May 16, from 5:30 - 8:30 p.m. Members of the public are welcome to attend the working group meetings and a virtual Zoom option will also be available.

To find out more about the advisory group, check out https://bouldercounty. gov/ property- and- land/ land- use/ planning/gross-reservoir-mitigationfund/