Colorado

Colorado water regulators consider change that would put more “nasty toxins” in urban rivers and streams

Published

1 year ago

December 14, 2024

Colorado water regulators consider change that would put more “nasty toxins” in urban rivers and streams

Colorado environmental regulators may eradicate rules that keep some polluted groundwater from being discharged into the state’s rivers and streams, alarming environmental advocates who fear the change could further harm already polluted urban waterways.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s Water Quality Control Division has proposed the elimination of a permitting system that regulates how owners of underground structures deal with contaminated groundwater. The change would allow building owners to send groundwater contaminated with PFAS chemicals, arsenic and other contaminants directly into stormwater systems without treatment.

Environmental advocates and former Water Quality Control Division staff fear the change could damage the water quality of the South Platte River and its tributary Cherry Creek as they flow through Denver, along with other Front Range waterways.

“We’re talking about some really nasty toxins,” said Josh Kuhn, the senior water campaign manager for Conservation Colorado.

The permits in question regulate subterranean dewatering: the process of removing groundwater that seeps into underground structures like parking garages and basements. CDPHE oversees 113 long-term dewatering permits that require building owners to measure how much water they are discharging, test the water for pollutants and treat the water if pollutant levels exceed contamination limits.

The policy changes, if approved, would remove all permitting, reporting and treatment requirements for dewatering systems. State water quality officials said the permitting system was burdensome for building owners and that undoing the regulations would not have a large impact on water health. The water quality division is accepting public comment on the proposed change through Saturday.

Most of the 113 permitted buildings are concentrated in downtown Denver, though some are in Boulder and other Front Range communities. The Colorado Convention Center, the nearby Hyatt Regency Denver hotel and many other large downtown buildings maintain permits for their dewatering systems.

The systems remove the groundwater and send it to stormwater systems. In Denver, all stormwater flows to the South Platte, which communities downstream use for drinking water. The river for decades has suffered from poor water quality.

Groundwater in urban areas is often contaminated by the chemicals used in modern life — like fertilizers, toxic PFAS known as “forever chemicals,” firefighting foam and gasoline — as well as naturally occurring metals, like arsenic and selenium.

Many of the facilities with dewatering systems are treating water that far exceeds water quality standards, according to CDPHE data compiled by Meg Parish, an attorney with the Environmental Integrity Project who previously worked for Colorado’s water quality division managing permitting. Without the permit system, the facilities wouldn’t be required to treat the water and could instead send the contaminated water to the stormwater system and, eventually, the river.

For example, among current permittees, an apartment building in Highland is discharging water to the stormwater system with 202 micrograms of arsenic per liter — more than 10,000 times the water quality standard of 0.02 micrograms per liter for aquatic and human life. A retirement home for priests in southeast Denver is treating water with nearly four times as much uranium as the water quality standard allows.

And a parking garage on Wewatta Street next to Cherry Creek is treating water with about 15 times the concentration of PFAS included in state guidelines, which are more lax than newly announced federal drinking water standards.

CDPHE official: “Very low risk” in change

The water quality division’s director, Nicole Rowan, said eliminating the permits would have a negligible impact on the South Platte’s water quality because the number of permitted buildings was low and they were not discharging that much water.

“We do think that this proposed policy change in dewatering permits represents a very low risk to overall water policy,” Rowan said.

The change would affect only a small number of the thousands of water-quality permits the division oversees, Rowan said. Also, she said, the groundwater will make its way to the river eventually, with or without the permits.

In Denver, buildings are typically discharging about 5 gallons a minute, Rowan said. That’s about 8 acre-feet a year per building going into the South Platte, which contains about 342,000 acre-feet of water. An acre-foot is the amount of water it takes to cover an acre — about the size of a football field — with a foot of water.

The water quality division has heard concerns over the last year about the affordability of complying with the permit requirements, especially when it comes to affordable housing projects, Rowan said.

But concerns about affordability should not cause the entire permitting process to be canceled, Parish said. The current system allows for developers and building owners to apply for exceptions to requirements, such as when the required treatment is exorbitantly expensive or technically impossible, she said.

“I think this is something that developers should be spending their money on,” Parish said. “But if the argument is that this treatment is too expensive, they can’t afford it — then there are legal ways to address that.”

“It prioritizes short-term convenience”

Advocates with Conservation Colorado are particularly concerned about the planned extensive redevelopments of Elitch Gardens Theme and Water Park and around Ball Arena — two large sites that sit in the crux of the confluence of the South Platte and Cherry Creek.

If the permitting system is nixed, some of the progress made by state lawmakers and federal regulators to limit the spread of PFAS will be undone, Kuhn said.

“It prioritizes short-term convenience and cutting costs over long-term health and environmental protections,” he said.

The change also would violate state and federal clean water law, Kuhn and Parish said. It could open the division up to litigation and create legal uncertainty in the regulatory process, Kuhn said.

The Water Quality Control Division’s own policy states that the Colorado Water Quality Control Act mandates that all point source discharges of pollutants to state waters — such as from dewatering systems — are subject to discharge permit requirements. The division then states it will not use permits to regulate dewatering discharges, however.

Rowan said the division is using its enforcement discretion to no longer implement regulations on dewatering. The division administers thousands of permits and must triage which pollutant sources they use resources on, she said.

“I think our decision here was to propose exercising enforcement discretion based on weighing the high cost of treatment and resources with what we think are relatively low environmental benefits from the permits,” Roman said.

The water quality division does not have an implementation date for the proposed policy change, if enacted. Public comment can be sent to Rowan via email at nicole.rowan@state.co.us.

“I think we’re going to let the feedback inform next steps on this policy,” Rowan said.

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Colorado

Colorado mom, 6-year-old son found dead in Canyonlands National Park in apparent murder-suicide

Published

3 minutes ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Colorado mom, 6-year-old son found dead in Canyonlands National Park in apparent murder-suicide

A Colorado woman and her 6-year-old son were found dead in Canyonlands National Park near Moab, Utah, this week in what appears to be a murder-suicide, law enforcement officials said.

Park rangers responded to a suspicious vehicle parked in a no-camping area near Shafer Trail in the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands at 8:15 a.m. Thursday, the San Juan County, Utah, Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Park rangers found an unresponsive 6-year-old boy in the vehicle and started life-saving measures, but the boy was pronounced dead when he arrived at the hospital.

The woman was found dead outside of the vehicle.

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Battle with the Blue Jackets | Colorado Avalanche

Published

12 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Battle with the Blue Jackets | Colorado Avalanche

Columbus Blue Jackets (18-18-7) @ Colorado Avalanche (32-4-7)

2 p.m. MT | Ball Arena | Watch: Altitude, Altitude+ | Listen: Altitude Sports Radio (92.5 FM)

After a homestand-opening win on Thursday, the Avalanche hosts the Columbus Blue Jackets for Next Gen Night on Saturday. This is the second and final regular-season matchup between the teams in 2025-26, as the Avalanche defeated the Blue Jackets 4-1 in Columbus on October 16th.

A Big Night at Ball

Josh Manson recorded the first two-goal and four-point game of his career, along with a Gordie Howe hat trick, as the Avalanche defeated the Ottawa Senators 8-2 at Ball Arena on Thursday. Manson was one of five Avs to post at least three points on Thursday, alongside Nathan MacKinnon (1g/3a), Ross Colton (3a), Brock Nelson (2g/1a) and Cale Makar (1g/2a). Additionally, Brent Burns added a goal for Colorado while Scott Wedgewood stopped 29 of the 31 shots he faced in net for the Avs. With the victory, the Avalanche extended its home win streak to 16 games.

At 10:11 of the first period, Manson opened the scoring with his third goal of the season via a shot from the point through traffic. MacKinnon doubled Colorado’s lead at 17:14 of the first period with his 36th goal of the season via a shot from the slot set up by Necas. The Avs took a 3-0 lead at 2:35 of the second period when Makar scored his 13th tally of the season via a left-circle shot after receiving a drop pass from MacKinnon. At 5:08 of the middle frame, Shane Pinto put the Senators on the board. The Senators momentarily made it 3-2 with 13:41 remaining in the second period, but the goal was disallowed after the Avs successfully challenged for offside. After the disallowed tally, the clock was reset to 13:48.

Necas gave the Avs a 4-1 lead on the power play at 11:46 of the second period with his 20th goal of the season via a sharp-angle one-timer from the bottom of the left circle set up by MacKinnon. At 12:03 of the middle frame, Burns made it 5-1 with his sixth goal of the season via a right-point shot through traffic. Nelson gave the Avs a 6-1 lead on a five-on-three power play at 14:23 of the second period with his 20th goal of the season via a right-circle one-timer set up by MacKinnon’s cross-ice feed. The Avalanche took a 7-1 lead at 16:48 of the middle frame when Manson scored his second goal of the game and fourth of the season via a one-timer from the point set up by Jack Drury’s feed. At 18:04 of the middle frame, Nelson scored his second tally of the game and 21st of the season via a right-circle one-timer set up by Ilya Solovyov’s feed from the left point. Brady Tkachuk made it 8-2 with a shorthanded goal from the doorstep at 7:03 of the third period.

Leading the Way

Nate the Great

MacKinnon leads the NHL in goals (36) and points (78) while ranking tied for third in assists (42).

All Hail Cale

Makar leads NHL defensemen in points (51) and assists (38) while ranking third in goals by blueliners (13). Among all NHL skaters, he’s seventh in assists.

Marty Party

Necas is seventh in the NHL in points (55) and tied for ninth in assists (35).

Series History

In 70 previous regular-season games against the Blue Jackets, the Avalanche has a record of 45-19-1-5.

Defeat on the Road

The Blue Jackets lost 5-3 to the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday. In the first period, Columbus took a 2-0 lead after goals from Boone Jenner at 8:24 and Kent Johnson at 10:41 before Reilly Smith put Vegas on the board at 12:20. The Golden Knights took a 4-2 lead after second-period goals from Smith at 5:19, Jack Eichel at 13:07 and Mark Stone on the power play at 18:44. Kirill Marchenko scored for the Blue Jackets to make it 4-3 at 14:28 of the third period before Brett Howden gave the Golden Knights a 5-3 lead at 16:14 of the final frame.

Contributors Against Columbus

MacKinnon has posted 26 points (7g/19a) in 22 games against the Blue Jackets.

In nine contests against Columbus, Makar has registered 17 points (6g/11a).

Necas has recorded 21 points (4g/17a) in 26 games against the Blue Jackets.

Producing Offense for Ohio’s Team

Zach Werenski leads the Blue Jackets in points (46) and assists (30) while ranking tied for first in goals (16).

Marchenko is tied for the team lead in goals (16) while ranking second in points (35) and tied for second in assists (19).

Dmitri Voronkov is third on the Blue Jackets in points (28) and goals (15).

A Numbers Game

30

Colorado’s 30 five-on-five goals since December 19th (10 games) are the most in the NHL during that span.

63

The Avalanche’s 63 second-period goals lead the NHL.

3.94

Colorado’s 3.94 goals per game since December 1st lead the NHL during that span.

Quote That Left a Mark

“It was fun. I don’t think he’s ever seen that before. He’s seen me fight. He’s maybe seen me score. But I don’t think he’s ever seen—actually, nobody’s ever seen that before out of me in the NHL. So, it was a first for everybody, including myself.”

— Josh Manson on recording a Gordie Howe hat trick with his father, former NHLer Dave Manson, in attendance

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Colorado man heads to Washington, D.C., to gain support for Marshall Fire survivors

Published

1 day ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Colorado man heads to Washington, D.C., to gain support for Marshall Fire survivors

Four years after the fire, recovery is still incomplete for some Marshall Fire victims. A Colorado man is joining wildfire survivors from across the country to push lawmakers to make changes and provide support for survivors still rebuilding.

Recently, a historic $640 million settlement was reached with Xcel Energy, but the Coloradans who lost everything in the Marshall Fire might not be receiving all the money that they’re owed. Some settlements could be taxed, while others were paid in full.

Benjamin Carter

“I was the fourth responding fire engine to the Marshall Fire. By the end of the night, I was triaging homes in the neighborhood that I grew up in,” said former firefighter Benjamin Carter. “I’ve seen how much the community’s hurting, and I just wanted to do whatever I could to help.”

Carter is now fighting for those who lost their homes, including his mother. He’s working with an organization called After the Fire, joining up with wildfire survivors in Oregon, Hawaii and California. This week, Carter flew to Washington, D.C., to speak with lawmakers about how they can help survivors rebuild.

In 2024, lawmakers passed the Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act, which exempted wildfire survivors from taxes on related settlements, among other tax relief. But the bill expired last week, shortly after Xcel agreed to settle over the Marshall Fire.

“If the people don’t have to pay taxes on the damages, then it helps them rebuild,” Carter explained. “Some of the smaller attorneys still haven’t received payment, so all those people will be subject to those taxes; all the attorney fees, and what the actual settlements end up being. And, of what they’re actually getting at the end of the day, that’s been a huge challenge.”

Congress has already proposed extension options. But Carter hopes that by sharing their stories, legislators will act before survivors lose anything else.

“With a lot going on in Washington and everything, the representatives don’t always know about all the issues. And so, we want to educate them on this issue and hopefully gain their support,” Carter said.

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