2023 Overview
The first six months of 2023 will be dedicated to determining the amount and distribution of the first round of funding from the $5 million Denver Water Settlement Agreement. An estimated timeline is provided below and available in PDF format here. (For most recent updates, please read the January 2023 e-newsletter.)
Brief Background Summary
In July 2020, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an Order amending Denver Wa ter’s hydropower license that permitted Denver Water to proceed with the Gross Reservoir Expansion Project. With this Order, Denver Water was able to claim that FERC has “complete authority” over the project and was able to avoid County review of the largest construction project in Boulder County history. In addition, Denver Water sued Boulder County to make sure the County’s local land use (1041) authority was preempted (denied) by federal regulation.
In November 2021, Boulder County reached an agreement with Denver Water to resolve the federal lawsuit by Denver Water v. Boulder County. The settlement directed Denver Water to pay more than $12.5 million to Boulder County to mitigate the impacts of the dam expansion project, including $5 million for a fund to be distributed to area residents to help mitigate noise, light, and air impacts to households near the Gross Reservoir Dam Expansion project. Read more about the settlement agreement…
For More Information:
- Denver Water’s project website: www.GrossReservoir.org.
- Boulder County’s policy and planning response (full history): Gross Reservoir County Planning History page