Lawsuit to target Over the River

As Fremont County commissioners take testimony today on the temporary-use permit for Christo's Over the River project, University of Denver law students will be filing a suit in an attempt to block the grand scale art project. The New-York based artist Christo has gotten initial permission to suspend 5.9 miles of silvery, translucent fabric panels above the Arkansas River in eight different segments of a 42-mile stretch between Canon City and Salida in August 2014. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management gave the project a green light after a lengthy Environmental Impact Statement process. Christo still is required to obtain temporary use permits from both Fremont and Chaffee counties. Also on Wednesday, students in the Environmental Law Clinic at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law will file a lawsuit in federal court in an attempt to block Over the River. The suit will be filed on behalf of the grass roots, volunteer organization Rags Over the Arkansas River, which opposes the project...more