Barbara Lawlor, Coal Creek Canyon.  It’s not a done deal, not by a long shot, says The Environmental Group’s president Chris Garre.

Although Denver Water speaks as though the Gross Reservoir expansion is going to happen, Garre told about 50 Coal Creek Canyon residents Sunday night that TEG and Save the Colorado are partnering along with other environmental groups to fight the progress of the expansion through litigation.

The biggest way to help locals fight DW is to donate funds to help pay the attorney and to tell anyone who wants to help to get Boulder County residents involved in calling and writing the county commissioners to deny the permit for expansion.

On Sunday night, TEG president Garre addressed the residents. Last week, DW representatives hosted two open houses explaining the need for more water and for the expansion of Gross Reservoir. Residents who visited the open house say that DW was trying once more to sell the project and that attendees were more adamant than ever to fight the process.

The first phases of construction, including offsite road improvements, could start as early as 2017, with dam construction expected to start in 2018 and finish in 2021, with the heaviest construction occurring between 2019 and 2020. All schedules are based upon the permitting schedule which Garre says is going to begin at the end of this year.

If the project is approved, the expansion would add 72,000 acre feet of storage to the southwestern Boulder County reservoir. Water would be pulled from the Fraser and Williams Fork Rivers through the Moffat Tunnel to fill the reservoir.

Garre says the project has been under consideration since 2003 and for the past 12 years has been working steadily to bring government agencies into the fold. “Before Denver Water can call it a done deal, they have to have federal, state and county permits. Our goal is to not have those permits issued.” The federal permits have to comply with the Clean Water Act, they have to be signed by the Army Corps of Engineers, the Colorado Energy dept and Boulder County. “ As of now, DW does not have any permits and is in the same place it was in 2003,” says Garre.

When the Environmental Impact Study was released in 2010, 2,000 negative comments made it seem as though the issue was dead. “But,” Garre says, “DW negotiated a way to end much of that opposition, offering money to entities to back off. Boulder County was not one of them. Even though they were offered $8.5 million, they held their ground and didn’t sign away any rights.”

When DW released a revised EIS, 14,000 pages long, a 45-day comment period was allowed. Now Garre says the Army Corps of Engineers is slated to sign the permit. “We have to convince a judge that that can’t happen,” says Garre. “Our best course of action is to hire scientists and an attorney.”

The attorney Michael Chiropolos is on board, intending to file the suit when the Corps signs in favor of the expansion. Chiropolos recently went to bat for the agencies and residents who opposed the Eldora Mountain Resort expansion, which resulted in mediation and an agreement that suited those against a major portion of the expansion proposal. Garre says that although Chiropolos offers his services at a huge discounted fee, about $25,000 is still needed, and that money will have to be raised at the ground roots level by local fundraisers and dinners.

Attorney Gary Wockner represented the law firm and spoke of the project and answered questions. He said he has worked to protect and restore the Colorado River with Save the Colorado and has access to bringing in other groups involved with water conservation. He said he will also have two other attorneys before the Record of Decision is made, which will happen before the end of this year. “I feel we have a strong case,” he says. “If the Corps signs, then we will file a suit to stop the project.”

Wockner says that now, 12 years later, the need for the expansion project is even more off base. When Boulder County was approached by DW for a permit, BC refrained from taking a stance, because in refusing to approve the project, they would lose their right to act as a quasi-judicial entity to make decisions. “The Boulder County Commissioners acted in line with representing their constituents,” says Wockner. “This would be one of the biggest BC projects and would bring no benefits.”

Now, he says, we need to let Boulder County know who we are, let them know approving the project would be out of line for them.

Wockner told the group that there were a few fatal flaws in the project: the number one being that DW does not really need the water. They can get water cheaper and easier from other sources without building dams.

Once the permits have been signed, there will be two years of planning and then, if there were no opposition, the project could begin construction. The plan is to file the suit after the Record of Decision is signed by the Army Corps of Engineers. If the suit is won, it would be at least three to four years before the district court would make a ruling.”But they have a pile of money, and we don’t,” said Wockner. “It all comes down to a court date and a judge.”

He told the attendees to show up at Boulder County Commissioner meetings and let them know how you feel. The expansion will also have an impact on Jefferson County and Gilpin County residents, and they should be involved.

Ultimately, the cost of fighting the expansion will probably be about $30,00-$40,00 a year, with $20,000 needed between now and the end of the year to maintain the attorney and keep the project active.

For more information or to make a donation to the effort, visit The Environmental Group website.