On October 16th, US Federal District Judge Kane issued a 10 day Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) ceasing road construction and other activities related to the proposed Village at Wolf Creek. After negotiating with the other parties, we reached an agreement this week converting this Order into a Preliminary Injunction (PI) prohibiting construction and permitting activities from going forward until at least June 15th, 2007. Unable to reach a voluntary agreement to extend the injunction until the Court issues a decision, we filed a motion on May 11, 2007 asking the court to extend the injunction beyond the June expiration.
The PI is a huge victory for our efforts, ensuring that the Village is essentially held at a standstill until our concerns are heard by the court. As a result, we’ll all enjoy another winter at Wolf Creek without any Village activities.
Specifically, the agreement bars road construction, application for highway access permits from CDOT, or any other ground disturbing activities. The Forest Service had refused to delay road construction for even a few days, so we were forced to seek the court’s intervention. Thankfully, you and I can now rest assured that the developer and the Forest Service can’t continue to rush this project forward.
Once the court takes a close look at the Forest Service’s flawed decision, we believe that the agency will have to go back and consider all of the impacts associated with its decision to allow access from US Highway 160 to the proposed Village site, not just those arising from the footprint of the access roads themselves.
As 2006 draws to a close, McCombs still needs permits from CDOT, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment, Mineral County, and others before he can legally begin construction of the Village. Ongoing FOWC efforts will scrutinize and, if necessary, challenge every one of these processes to ensure that the project remains at a standstill until all of the government agencies involved take a hard look at the project and its thus far unregulated impacts.
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