EPA Chief May Veto Colorado Water Project

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator William K. Reilly has decided to veto construction of the Two Forks Dam, a draft of the decision says, killing a huge water project in Colorado that came to symbolize the struggle between environmental and development interests nationwide.

The decision, expected to be released in a few days, dashes longstanding plans for the largest non-federal water project in the West and ends a political journey as circuitous as the South Platte River, which the city of Denver wanted to block and pool 30 miles upstream to supply water for its burgeoning suburbs.

The billion-dollar dam would have flooded much of Cheesman Canyon, a picturesque stretch of wilderness between two forks of the river known to fishermen and conservationists as “the St. Peter’s Basilica of trout fishing” and a mecca for hiking and boating.

In rejecting the project, Reilly cited “unacceptable adverse effects” of the dam, including “significant loss and damage” to the area’s fisheries and recreational opportunities, the draft says. He said extensive measures suggested by the dam’s proponents to lessen the damage “fall short of adequately addressing the adverse impacts.”

Furthermore, he concluded, Denver has “practicable, less environmentally damaging alternatives” to provide water for its new settlements in the dry, front range of the Rocky Mountains.

The decision is certain to set off a firestorm of criticism by Denver’s political and business leaders, who began seeking federal approvals for the locally funded dam nearly a decade ago after federal funds for water diversion projects dried up. The Denver Water Board and 40 suburban water supply agencies called the project vital to sustaining residential and business growth in the region.