MOVING AT THE SPEED OF GOVERNMENT: Appeals court drowns red tape, turns on tap for Gross Reservoir.

A federal appeals court has thrown out a lower-court ruling that left Denver Water’s newly raised Gross Dam standing over a reservoir it wasn’t allowed to fill, dealing a major blow to environmental groups that spent years trying to drown the project in legal red tape.

In a unanimous Sept. 15 opinion, a three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the district court, vacated its permanent injunction, and ordered judgment entered against the plaintiffs.

Judge Timothy Tymkovich wrote the opinion, joined by Chief Judge Jerome Holmes and Judge Nancy Moritz.

Denver Water said the ruling confirms the project “was lawfully permitted” and clears the way for the final stages of work.

Exit quote: “The ruling lets Denver Water move toward finally filling a reservoir it first proposed when many of its current customers were children.”