Stormwater trial pits Colorado Springs against EPA, Pueblo County
A Denver federal judge heard opening arguments Wednesday in a stormwater lawsuit by the Environmental Protection Agency against Colorado Springs.
The state and Pueblo County are co-plaintiffs in the suit, filed by the EPA in November 2016.
The suit accuses Colorado Springs of violating the federal Clean Water Act by failing to adequately control stormwater that lowered the water quality of Fountain Creek as it flowed through Pueblo County.
Stormwater issues caused erosion, sewage spills and flooding in the creek, according to the suit.
“It’s been an issue since 1999,” said Pueblo County Commissioner Terry Hart. “At least the current administration is trying to do something about it. We got nowhere with previous administrations. We just want to do what we can to ensure that the water quality is as good here as it is in Colorado Springs. Wouldn’t they feel the same if they were downstream from us?”
Hart says Pueblo County and the EPA previously won a similar lawsuit against Colorado Springs.
“They had to a pay a fine,” he said. “I think it was between $30,000 and $50,000.”
In recent years, Pueblo County threatened several times to sue Colorado Springs over stormwater issues, but the relationship between the two municipalities began to improve when former state attorney general John Suthers was elected the city’s mayor in 2015.
Under Suthers, the city committed to spending $460 million over 20 years on stormwater projects, and last fall voters passed a fee to pay for the work — several years after a similar fee was so unpopular that it was rescinded.
“We were pleased but not completely satisfied,” Hart said. “The money wasn’t even half of what the city needed for stormwater projects.”
Suthers said the agreement was necessary to ensure Pueblo County wouldn’t oppose the federal permit to build and operate a new water pipeline — the Southern Delivery System — through the county.
“This case should have been settled a long time ago,” he said. “We admit that we haven’t devoted enough resources in the past on stormwater projects, and we’re ready to remedy that now. It doesn’t help for the EPA to sue us after we’ve committed more resources.”
Hart said the county didn’t know the EPA planned to sue the city, and the county was forced to join the suit to protect its own interests.
“We want to make sure we have a seat at the table,” he said. “The law doesn’t allow us to be in the same room when the city and the EPA are negotiating. The mayor and I agree that shouldn’t be the case.”
Suthers said he expects the presiding judge to fine the city, but he and Hart agree that a large fine would be money that could go toward stormwater projects.
The bench trial is expected to end late next week, and the judge will issue a ruling or take the matter under advisement.
