The $464-million expansion of a Colorado dam near Boulder moved a step closer to construction when a federal judge dismissed environmental groups' legal claim that three federal agencies that approved the project violated federal law. Judge Christine Arguello said March 31 that the US district court in Colorado did not have jurisdiction to hear the case because of the project's order to proceed from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
扩张的总值水库大坝博得附近,Colo., will raise its height by 131 ft to 471 ft, allowing it to nearly triple in size. When complete, the reservoir will be capable of holding about 119,000 acre-ft of water. The structure was built in 1954. Utility Denver Water is expanding the reservoir to address a known imbalance in the city’s drinking water system, which supplies 1.4 million people, one-quarter of the state population.
The project design by a Stantec/AECOM joint venture is about 90% complete. Construction is set to begin by July 2022 and must be finished by July 2027, as mandated by FERC.
Denver's Board of Water commissioners approved last July a two-year, $4.5-million contract to a Kiewit-Barnard joint venture for planning and preconstruction during the final design phase
大坝将设置记录
Denver Water also awarded the team the construction management and general contracting contract, an agency spokesman told ENR. It will begin negotiations with the joint venture for the construction phase to start later this year.
该项目呼吁在现有的结构中添加900,000立方英尺的混凝土，并在美国建造第一个辊式混凝土拱形大坝
When complete, the Gross Reservoir will be the tallest in Colorado and the tallest roller-compacted concrete dam in the U.S.
Denver Water must still obtain a permit from Boulder County, which said it would accept public comments during the entire review process. The agency has not set a date to complete its review or issue the permit.
FERC于2020年7月命令丹佛水根据其联邦Power Act许可进行设计和建设。美国陆军工程兵团于2017年发布了第404条《清水法》，科罗拉多州公共卫生与环境部于2016年颁发了许可证。
Permitting began in 2003.
塞拉俱乐部和其他环保组织的反对者对军团允许进程提出质疑，但没有提出FERC命令。
“这案件涉及一个adequately examined and poorly executed permitting process,” the complaint says of the Corps’ review. The groups note “extensive” environmental damage and agency failure to consider a “reasonable range of viable alternatives.”
这些团体还表示，美国鱼类和野生动物局违反了《濒危物种法》，通过对项目的环境影响发出“致命缺陷”的生物学意见，这导致了军团批准。反对者在诉讼中还命名了美国内部部门。
美国地方法院裁定，尽管环境组织没有向该项目挑战该项目，但只有联邦上诉法院对FERC命令具有管辖权。
When challenging another agency directive that is "inextricably linked" to the FERC order, the Federal Power Act’s exclusive jurisdiction provision "precludes this court from exercising jurisdiction,” judges said.
The environmental groups and their attorneys did not respond to ENR’s request for comment on whether they will appeal the district court decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals in Denver.
