Colorado Springs Submits Permit to Fremont County

A Special Review Use Permit application was submitted to Fremont County on Sept. 10 for the Southern Delivery System project. The permit outlines Fremont County’s requirements as it relates to construction, technical issues and mitigation of impacts for projects built in their county.

While our preferred alignment for SDS is a 43-mile underground pipeline originating at Pueblo Dam, Colorado Springs is concurrently pursuing a viable alternative in Fremont County.

“It is our preference to use the valuable storage capacity of Pueblo Reservoir, since our residents have made significant investments in that facility,” said John Fredell, SDS Project Director. “A pipeline from Pueblo Dam is the most direct and least expensive alternative for our customers. However, we also want to have the proper permitting in place for the Highway 115 Alternative in Fremont County.”

The Highway 115 Alternative is a pipeline through Fremont County with an intake on the Arkansas River in Florence. One of the key goals of the SDS project is to ensure that the required permitting is in place once the Bureau of Reclamation issues its Record of Decision based on the Environmental Impact Statement it is preparing for the project.

"It is in the best interest of our customers that we complete permitting for both Pueblo and Fremont counties at this time," said Fredell.

Colorado Springs submitted a 1041 land-use permit application to Pueblo County on Aug. 20.