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Environment , Energy and Sustainability 2011
EEandS_11
The environment as it affects life in La Plata County
To reference the LWV-LPC 2007-2010 environmental activities, click to the Environment Archive pages to the left.
Upcoming Events.
Legislative Alerts.
La Plata Actions.
Env & Energy Legislation.
US/CO Env and Energy Positions.
LWVLPC Positions.
LWVUS Reference Materials.
Colorado and US News.
World EES News.
Correspondance from our members.
Past Events.
References.
Upcoming Events
Legislative Alerts
*6/13/11 LWVUS Action Alert:
Take a deep breath. And another.
If you're lucky, the air that just filled your lungs was low in smog. According to the Clean Air Act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must set air quality standards to protect public health. Based on the science, the EPA is expected to set a new smog standard this July. The oil, coal and other polluting industries are pressuring the Obama administration to delay the standard or to issue a weak standard so that they can continue to pollute our air in order to meet their bottom line.
*Send a message to President Obama. Tell him to stand up against pollution and keep our air clean.
*3/15/11: Dear LWVLPC members:
This alert has just come in and we are being asked to respond. The House of Representatives is expected to consider legislation that would permanently block the EPA from regulating harmful carbon pollution, including carbon monoxide which is especially dangerous for small children and seniors. Click on the contact your representative link below to send a message to Rep. Tipton opposing such legislation. This is a very high priority for our League and the 4 Corners Area with its coal-fired power plants.
Thank you, Ellen Park, LWVLPC Legislative Chair
Subject: ACTION ALERT: Polluters Are At It Again
The House Energy and Commerce Committee is moving legislation that would permanently block the EPA from using the Clean Air Act to regulate harmful carbon pollution. A vote could come in the full House of Representatives very soon. This is not the first bill this year that would endanger America's most vulnerable groups, such as seniors and children, and we expect it will not be the last. So it is vitally important for you to raise your voice now.
Please contact your Representative now and tell him or her to oppose any legislation, including H.R. 910, that would block or prevent action to clean up our air and protect the most vulnerable Americans. You can also call your Representative at 202-225-3121.
League of Women Voters
1730 M Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
La Plata County Actions
*8/30/11 Durango Herald:Report: Air by school is safe Some question Sunnyside results By Emery Cowan Herald Staff Writer
The air around Sunnyside Elementary is safe to breathe, according to the results of an air-quality test commissioned by Durango School District 9-R.
The tests, conducted for 9-R by Walsh Environmental Scientists and Engineers, showed that levels of volatile organic compounds and other gasses in the air around the elementary were well below the levels considered safe by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
"What I'm hearing from the people that did test is there is no cause for concern at this point in time," said Laine Gibson, the district's chief financial officer. The district also will send the test results to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment for further verification, Gibson said.
Some, however, questioned Walsh's use of OSHA standards for children...
*8/11/11 Durango Herald:Flip switch on electric co-op? Some Durangoans say it's time to look beyond LPEA for renewables By Lynda Edwards Herald Staff Writer
La Plata Electric Association's 20-year franchise as Durango's electricity provider should not be renewed, some Durangoans say, because of the firm's lukewarm commitment to renewables...But at a recent City Council meeting, Durangoans wanted to know why the city has not attracted innovative energy providers, solar farms, wind turbines and biomass fuel refineries and the jobs that clean energy might generate.
LPEA's CEO Greg Munro tackled that question recently, citing formidable obstacles to getting alternative energy in Durango: flawed technology, a brutal recession and the city's geographical isolation. "Clean-energy companies do not want to spend money on relocations in this economy," Munro said. "It isn't easy for an energy firm to relocate here. Durango is not on an interstate highway, and we don't have an international airport. Solar and clean energy have become politicized, so it has been harder for solar farms and alternative-energy producers to get the government grants that might help them launch a new venture."...
*7/24/11 Durango Herald:LeBlanc: Our system failed City has no written emergency-response plan for sewage spill By Lynda Edwards Herald Staff Writer
After sewage spilled into the Animas River last weekend, Durango residents had a lot of questions, from why repair crews failed to notify the Public Works director immediately to why it took three days to warn the public about a health hazard.
City manager Ron LeBlanc offered a brutally honest and painful answer. "Our system failed; our communications failed," LeBlanc said. "The city has no written emergency-response plan for a sewage spill. I was disappointed to find that out as a result of this spill. ... Sometimes we don't do a good job in an emergency response. This was one of those times. It's my job as a city manager to see that we do a good job in the future."...
*6/29/11 Durango Herald:Fires put on back burner Restrictions OK for part of La Plata County By Shane Benjamin Herald Staff Writer
La Plata County commissioners on Tuesday voted to enact fire restrictions for the southern half of the county. The restrictions, which prohibit open burning, burn barrels and agricultural burning, will take effect at 8 a.m. Thursday and apply to all private lands in the unincorporated areas of the county south of U.S. Highway 160.
Fireworks also are prohibited.
Federal and tribal land agencies are expected to enact similar restrictions within the next few days, said Butch Knowlton, director of the county's Office of Emergency Preparedness.
High temperatures, low humidity and persistent winds have elevated the fire danger this summer in southern La Plata County, said Rod Allen, a battalion chief with Durango Fire & Rescue Authority.
"We don't see any relief in moisture in the near future," he said...
*6/17/11 Durango Herald:EPA to release new ozone standard Southwest Colo. may not make the grade under agency's rules By Dale Rodebaugh Herald Staff Writer
Members of the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission, meeting in Durango this week, were briefed Thursday about the possibility that Southwest Colorado could be in violation of the new national ozone standard.
A decline in ozone readings in the Southwest Colorado airshed in recent years could be the result of reduced emissions, Mike Silverstein told board members.
But it could be a new ballgame when the Environmental Protection Agency publishes its new ozone standard at the end of July, Silverstein said.
Silverstein is the manager of planning and policy at the Air Pollution Control Division of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment...
*3/22/11 Durango Herald:City considers plan to boost green policies
Sustainability efforts shoot for stars, but feasibility may be troublesome
By Patrick Young Herald Staff Writer
Steps should be taken to minimize Durango's environmental footprint, but just how far the city should go and what results are realistic were up for debate during Monday's City Council study session.
For the first time, councilors were presented with a draft of the Durango Sustainability Action Plan, written by the city's Natural Lands, Trails and Stainability Department.
The ambitious 36-page document outlines the city's short-, mid- and long-term goals to increase efficiency, reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and minimize waste across the board, from offices to construction projects...
*3/17/11 Durango Herald:Plan recommends new water rules
Durango City Council may consider changes for residential users
By Melissa Castro Herald Staff Writer
If the Durango City Council adopts the recommendations of a new water plan, residential users would be subject to the same landscaping and watering ordinances that currently apply only to new commercial and multifamily construction.
With 20 percent of Durango's treated water unaccounted for each year, the city is looking for ways to "more efficiently use the water resources in the area, reduce water system operating costs, postpone the need for investments in city infrastructure, and reduce the need for water rate increases to its customers," according to a city news release.
The 58-page draft Water Efficiency Management Plan
was written by the city's consultant, the Great Western Institute, and funded by a grant from the Colorado Water Conservation Board.
The city's current system could serve as many as 49,279 residents + more than double the current population. But extreme drought years and occasional wildfires could prevent the city from meeting even current needs. As a result, the city is evaluating alternative supplies, additional storage and ways to promote water efficiency to balance out dry seasons and dry years...
Environment and Energy Legislation
*11/12/11 Durango Herald:Coal mine decision sounds alarm bells Environmentalists worried about ramifications for state's roadless areas By Joe Hanel Herald Staff Writer
Environmentalists say a decision this week to lease land for a coal mine expansion in a Colorado roadless area tips the Obama administration's hand on how it plans to manage the state's backcountry forests.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is expected to decide late this year about the Colorado Roadless Rule, which would forbid road-building on more than 4 million acres of remote forests while making exceptions for coal mines, ski areas and fire prevention.
With a decision looming, this week's approval of a lease sale for a coal mine expansion in a roadless area near Paonia had the blessings of top officials in Washington, D.C. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack's office gave local foresters the go-ahead to approve the lease, which would allow the West Elk coal mine to expand. The bigger mine would need methane vents to be drilled in the roadless area. They look similar to a coalbed methane well pad and would require about 6.5 miles of new roads.
"This is really tipping the hand as to what will be in the final Colorado Roadless Rule," said Ted Zukoski, a lawyer for Earthjustice who opposes the mine expansion...
*6/22/11 Durango Herald editorial:Cleaner air Downwind plants also must be improved
Federal regulators and environmentalists have arrived at an agreement to reduce visible pollution from older coal-fired power plants in four states, including Colorado.
Even though the Arizona and New Mexico plants that obscure local vistas are not included in the current agreement, this is a plan locals should support.
Regulation for those other plants will come (although not soon enough + despite a 2007 deadline for states to submit plans, not a single one has been fully adopted), and it is not fair to argue for expensive equipment for plants upwind without supporting similar restrictions for our own plants...
*5/15/11 Durango Herald:Environmentalists defend legislative gains
By Steven K. Paulson
Associated Press
DENVER + When Republicans took charge of the House of Representatives this year, environmentalists fretted they might lose some of the gains made over the previous four years when Democrats controlled state government.
They needn't have worried. Environmental advocates did much to maintain the progress they achieved when Democrats held the governor's office and both chambers of the legislature, including protecting rules requiring utilities to use more renewable energy and oil and natural-gas regulations that the industry says are onerous...
US/CO Environment and Energy Positions
*12/18/11 Durango Herald:EPA rules threaten coal plants San Juan plant among those on list likely to be affected By DINA CAPPIELLO Associated Press
WASHINGTON + More than 32 mostly coal-fired power plants in a dozen states will be forced to shut down and an additional 36 might have to close because of new federal air-pollution regulations, according to an Associated Press survey. Together, those plants + some of the oldest and dirtiest in the country + produce enough electricity for more than 22 million households, the AP survey found. But their demise probably won't cause homes to go dark.
The fallout will be most acute for the towns where power plant smokestacks long have cast a shadow. Tax revenues and jobs will be lost, and investments in new power plants and pollution controls probably will raise electric bills.
Among the plants the Associated Press includes in a list of those likely to shutter at least one electrical-generating unit is the 560 megawatt San Juan Generating Station, located 15 miles west of Farmington...
*11/10/11 Durango Herald:Forest Service chief sees Colo. as model for water funding Public-private collaborations help pay for project By CATHERINE TSAI
Associated Press
DENVER + Collaboration among Colorado water providers, private corporations and the federal government to pay for forest projects that preserve drinking-water supplies could provide a funding model for the rest of the country, the agriculture undersecretary who oversees the U.S. Forest Service said Wednesday.
"As state governments and the national government have budgetary problems, we have to be much more focused on how we spend our money," said U.S. Agriculture Undersecretary Harris Sherman. "We have to reach out and develop new partnerships and foster collaboration."
Wildfires have burned more than 8 million acres nationwide this year. That's a concern for drinking water, Forest Service officials say, because rainstorms pounding on burned, barren soil can cause erosion that pollutes rivers and reservoirs. The Forest Service and its partners in Colorado have been reseeding burned areas and thinning diseased trees that could be fuel for a catastrophic fire.
The agency has reached out to the recreation industry and private companies to contribute. Vail Resorts Inc. and MillerCoors have had employees work on restoration projects. More than 20 ski areas have asked customers to pay a lift-ticket surcharge that benefits the National Forest Foundation, the congressionally created nonprofit partner of the Forest Service.
In an era of tight budgets, Sherman said, the Forest Service also is talking with utilities and insurance companies, which have an interest in preventing devastating wildfires that could damage power lines or homes.
Sherman's comments came the same day the Forest Service launched interactive "Forests to Faucets" maps that show important water resources nationwide; how they overlap with forests; and threats to those resources from development, fire, disease and pests such as bark beetles. The idea is to provide data for cities to prioritize spending on water resources...
*10/11/11 Environment ColoradoAspen City Council Passes Plastic Bag Ban
(Aspen, CO) + Today the Aspen City Council voted 4-1 to pass an ordinance that bans plastic bags and places a $0.20 fee on paper bags at grocery stores in Aspen. The law will go into effect on May 1, 2012.
"Aspen is all too familiar with the negative effects of plastic pollution," said Julia Ritchie an Aspen native and member of Environment Colorado's national network who worked to help pass the bag ban in Aspen. "We know that plastic shopping bags constitute a major part of our urban waste stream. They cost local government millions of dollars in clean up and disposal expenses. They foul the environment and endanger wildlife. This ban is a crucial first step in solving the problem, and I'm very proud to support it.".
More than 80 national and local governments across the globe have taken official action to ban throw-away plastic bags or establish fees on such bags. Aspen is the second Colorado community + after Telluride + to pass a ban on plastic bags...
*9/2/11 Bloomberg News:Obama Sides With Republicans, Business in Abandoning Ozone Rule By Mark Drajem
President Barack Obama, siding with Republicans and business leaders, canceled tighter rules on ozone proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency to reduce regulation in a slowing economy.
The EPA will weigh new standards on ozone, which causes smog, in two years, Obama said. The president said his drive to roll back regulations led him to drop the air proposal.
"I have continued to underscore the importance of reducing regulatory burdens and regulatory uncertainty, particularly as our economy continues to recover," Obama said yesterday in a statement.
The EPA's proposed regulations for ground-level ozone would have revised rules issued during President George W. Bush's administration in 2008. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson has said those rules wouldn't stand up to legal scrutiny. The EPA's proposal would have cost $19 billion to $90 billion, according to the White House.
The EPA will revisit the ozone standard in 2013 as required by law, Jackson said yesterday in a statement. Business groups, which joined Republicans to protest that environmental and other U.S. rules under consideration would further weaken the economy, applauded Obama's decision, as health and environmental groups derided the decision...
*8/11/11 Colorado Energy News:Plug Wars: When Cities Take Back the Power
Boulder lives on the bleeding edge when it comes to green. The city's never been one to back down from what would be wildly unpopular in most places + stringent land-use rules, high-bar green building codes, a carbon tax and now a possible split from its $10.6 billion investor-owned energy provider, Xcel Energy...
*8/5/11: final San Juan Generating Station BART determination
The determination includes a NOx emission limit of 0.05 lb/MMBtu at each of the four units individually (which necessitates the installation of SCR) as well as an H2SO4 emission limit of 2.6 X 10-4 lb/MMBtu.
There are a few differences between the proposed and final BART for the plant, namely:
- the proposed averaging period for these emission limits was a straight 30 day calendar average, the final rule is calculated on the basis of a boiler operating day (BOD
- the proposal required a 3-year installation of pollution controls (SCR) at each unit, the final gives 5 years for installation
- the proposal had an ammonia limit, the final does not
Although it would have been better for the final to have included a 3-year installation as well as an ammonia limit, this decision is the best NOx BART determination to date.
*3/30/11 whitehouse.gov:Remarks by the President on America's Energy Security President Barack Obama,
Georgetown University,
Washington, D.C.
*2/6/11 Durango Herald: State probes use of diesel in fracking
By Karen Frantz Herald Staff Writer
WASHINGTON + A federal investigation into companies' use of diesel fuel in fracking fluids + a concern because of its potential to contaminate drinking water sources + has prompted state regulators to have their own look into the practice.
The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee recently reported that gas and oil companies used 32.2 million gallons of diesel in fracking fluids in several states between 2005 and 2009, including 1.3 million gallons in Colorado...
*1/16/11 Durango Herald Democratic lawmakers call for fracking disclosure
By Joe Hanel Herald Staff Writer
Democrats in Congress moved last week to back up Interior Secretary Ken Salazar's desire to require drillers to disclose what chemicals they use to extract natural gas.
The fight over hydraulic fracturing fell into Salazar's hands late last year after Republicans took control of the U.S. House of Representatives in November. The GOP victory effectively ended Colorado Rep. Diana DeGette's bid to regulate fracking fluids...
Salazar hinted late last year that the Interior Department might order gas drillers to disclose the content of their fracking fluids...
*1/12/11 Report to the President on the DEEPWATER Oil Spill Deepwater
The commission's 380-page report is the most exhaustive accounting so far of what happened on the Deepwater Horizon. As it forecast in a preliminary summary, the commission blames the accident largely on poor decisions and other "management failures" by three companies involved: BP, Transocean and Halliburton.
It also strongly reinforces its earlier indictments of industry for failing to prepare adequate response plans and of government regulators for allowing themselves to be captured by an industry they were meant to oversee.
The commission recommended much tougher rules governing basic drilling issues like well design and vital equipment like blowout preventers. Some of these have already been put in place by the Interior Department. More broadly, it urged Congress to create an independent safety agency within the department free of any political influence and with enforcement authority to oversee all aspects of offshore drilling...
*The EPA has requested public comments on the following actions:
1-EPA Proposed Settlement Agreement for Clean Air Act Citizen Suit. The EPA is seeking public comment on a proposed settlement agreement providing for an EPA rulemaking to establish national greenhouse gas emissions performance standards for new and existing power plans. The proposed settlement is between EPA and the following groups of petitioners (1) the States of New York, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington, and (2) NRDC, Sierra Club and Environment Defense Fund.
Public comments due January 31, 2011
*2-San Juan Generating Station Regional Haze Best Available Retrofit Technology (BART). The EPA is proposing a Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) to prevent emissions from the San Juan Generating Station from interfering with other states' measure to protect visibility, and to implement NOx and SO2 emissions limits.
Public comments due March 7, 2011
*3-Four Corners Power Plant Regional Haze BART. The EPA proposed requiring an 80% reduction in emissions of NOx to achieve cleaner, healthier air while improving visibility at 16 national parks and wilderness. Arizona Public Service entered into an agreement to purchase SoCalEd's ownership in two units of the power plant and proposed closing three other units in November 2010. As a result, EPA's scheduled public hearings and comment periods were postponed.
Public comments due March 18, 2011
Public hearings not scheduled
4-Navajo Generating Station Regional Haze BART.
Public comments anticipated Summer 2011
*5-EPA Proposed Rule for mercury Maximum Achieveable Control Technology (MACT). The EPA is developing emissions standards for power plants under the Clean Air Act regarding the Clean Air Mercury Rule.
Issue March 16, 2011
Final rule November 16, 2011
LWVLPC Positions
*8/5/11 LWVUS: The Clean Air Promise Gains Momentum (NEW)
Last week, the League and its partner organizations launched a citizen's campaign to protect our public health. The Clean Air Promise offers everyone in our community + the public, business leaders and elected officials + a means to come together to do something for real people and real communities. The promise has received some great news coverage, and The Hill published a poignant op-ed by Ms. Allred. Please visit http://www.peoplenotpolluters.org to share your story, make the promise and send a message asking your elected officials to make the promise as well.You can also make the promise on our Facebook page.
*6/15/11: Public Comments for the
Colorado Air Quality Control Commission Meeting
June 15, 2011 - LWV of La Plata County
LWVUS Reference Materials
- 8/11/11: Dear League Leaders,
LWVUS has recently teamed up with American Towns and they are currently supporting local Leagues and will be doing more in the months to come. Check them out to see how your League can benefit from this partnership. Celebrating the good that people are doing is the core American Towns mission to build stronger communities, so they would like to promote the League members' green "good works" as examples for other communities to emulate, through their partner GreenTowns.
Also, check out Green Towns, a new online network that celebrates local and national green initiatives in 15,000 towns across the country and connects people around green efforts. It's an initiative of the parent company, American Towns, a hyper-local website used by 2.5 million people every month to find local events, news, blogs/tweets, community groups, local resources and business services.
Here are some suggestions on how to use GreenTowns to spread the word:
- Become a member of your local GreenTowns community page and share your interest in green in a personalized profile.
- Answer a few questions on The "How Green is Your Town" Snapshot, increasing awareness of your town's eco-friendliness.
- Add a local, green initiative you like, to be shared on your GreenTowns town page and in other communities.
- Click on other local initiatives you like, to celebrate them or share them with friends. And invite friends to join you on your community page.
If you have any questions email Daphne Dixon, the Director of GreenTowns at daphne@greentowns.com.
Mary Klenz
Director and Membership Chair
LWVUS
Colorado and US News
*12/4/11 Durango Herald:Utility: Halt power plant emissions upgrade The Associated Press
FARMINGTON + Public Service Co. of New Mexico wants a federal appeals court to set aside a decision requiring it to upgrade pollution controls at its coal-fired plant outside Farmington. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has ordered PNM to begin installing expensive equipment to cut emissions at San Juan Generating Station. PNM officials said it will cost $750 million to install the new haze-cutting equipment, but the EPA countered with its own estimate that it will cost closer to $229 million to install the selective catalytic reduction technology it is requiring.
The utility expected to spend $21 million in 2012 to comply with the EPA order. It filed for a stay of the EPA decision with the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver on Nov. 25. "What we are asking is for the court to place EPA's new visibility decision for the plant on hold while it decides whether that decision is consistent (with) federal law and EPA's own rules," Pat Vincent-Collawn, president and CEO of PNM Resources, said in a statement...
*11/6/11 Durango Herald:Navajo leader weighs in on emissions debate Tribe concerned about EPA ruling to require emission-cutting technology By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE + Federal regulators' decision to require more pollution controls at a coal-fired power plant that serves customers throughout the Southwest amounts to a "burdensome" mandate that could affect the Navajo Nation, the tribe's president said in a letter released Friday. Navajo President Ben Shelly used the letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to outline the tribe's concerns about the agency's recent decision to require the San Juan Generating Station to install top-of-the-line emission-cutting technology.
In making the decision, the EPA rejected the state of New Mexico's plan for curbing haze-causing pollutants at the plant. The state and the plant's operator, Public Service Co. of New Mexico, are appealing the decision. They argue that the agency overlooked the state's plan and that the federal plan would result in similar improvements but at a much higher cost.
Shelly said the tribe, whose reservation spans parts of New Mexico, Arizona and Utah, supports the state and PNM's efforts to seek a stay in the case. The Navajo Nation also disagrees with the EPA that its plan would not have an adverse effect on the tribe...
*11/1/11 Durango Herald:Review team approves state's frack rules By Joe Hanel Herald Staff Writer
DENVER + Colorado won high marks for its rules on hydraulic fracturing of natural-gas wells from an independent review team, even as state regulators are getting ready to adopt a new rule for public disclosure of the content of frack fluids.
The report from STRONGER + which stands for State Review of Oil and Natural Gas Environmental Rules + concludes a six-month study of Colorado's rules by a panel of gas and oil experts, watchdogs and industry representatives. Nearly all the active wells in Colorado use fracking, a process that sends chemicals and large quantities of water down a well bore to break rock formations and free up natural gas or oil.
The report praised the disclosure rule that Colorado adopted in 2008, requiring companies to tell regulators the makeup of their frack fluids in the event of an emergency. The same summer Colorado adopted the rule, a nurse at Mercy Regional Medical Center became gravely ill after treating a worker who had spilled frack fluid on the ground. The report had little to say about Colorado's regulations for surface spills of frack fluids...
*8/18/11 Durango Telegraph:Cleaning up the gas patch Department of Energy calls for fracking disclosure by Will Sands
A handful of lucky souls have taken Shirley McNall's "Toxic Tour of Hell." The Four Corners woman has lived in the heart of oil and gas country in Aztec since 1976, and the tour begins just a few hundred feet from her home. The first stop is a gas well that has leaked, spilled and off-gassed ever since McNall and her husband moved onto the property on the edge of town limits.
"We've got 20 wells within three-quarters of a mile of our property," McNall said. "Five of them have tested positive for hydrogen sulfide gas; most of them have leaked; and only a few have never had problems." When she says "problems," McNall is referring to a variety of leaks, mishaps and spills quite literally in her back yard. She has seen tanks leaking gas from rusted-out holes and into the Aztec Irrigation Ditch. She's seen split pit liners and "foul-smelling, dark-colored fluid" running off a well pad, down a gully and into an Aztec subdivision.
Last July, she awoke to a "nauseating, rotten egg odor" spilling into her bedroom window. The smell + which McNall believed to be a combination of hydrogen sulfide and benzene gas + continued to waft through her front door for six months, finally disappearing in late January of this year. In each of these cases, McNall has contacted industry representatives and gotten a predictable response. "They'll smile at you and tell you they're out there working hard to do the right thing," she said. "But my experience is that they've never done anything about the problems we've had until we scream and raise hell."...
*8/5/11 Durango Herald:EPA to coal-fired plant: Clean up $750M in pollution controls ordered for station in New Mexico By Heather Scofield Herald Staff Writer
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency put its foot down Friday with an announcement that the coal-fired San Juan Generating Station near Farmington will have to invest in an estimated $750 million worth of pollution controls.
"We feel like the decision is a very important one for the people of the Four Corners region," said Mike Eisenfeld, New Mexico energy issues coordinator for the San Juan Citizens Alliance. "I think it's a clear affirmation of the importance of the Clean Air Act and the steps needed to address the dirty legacies of coal plants."
In a news release Friday, Public Service Company of New Mexico, the utility that owns the plant, said it will appeal the decision.
8/2/11 Durango Herald:Governor announces frack fluid disclosure plans By Joe Hanel Herald Staff Writer
DENVER - Gov. John Hickenlooper announced plans Tuesday for rules and voluntary programs to deal with public fears over hydraulic fracturing. Hickenlooper's administration has struck an agreement with the Colorado Oil and Gas Association to have gas companies pay for water well sampling both before and after the drilling of nearby gas wells.
The governor thinks the sampling will prove that fracking fluids, which are injected deep underground, do not contaminate the shallower pool of drinking water. Big companies have already signed on, and 90 percent of the gas and oil wells to be drilled in Colorado this year will be monitored for water quality, Hickenlooper told the audience at COGA's annual convention...
*6/24/11 Durango Herald:Fracking rules go under review Commission invited independent critique By Joe Hanel Herald Staff Writer
DENVER + State gas and oil regulators put their rules for hydraulic fracturing to the test Thursday by inviting an independent review board to offer criticisms.
A panel from STRONGER + which stands for State Review of Oil and Natural Gas Environmental Regulations + spent the day quizzing Colorado regulators about the rules they passed in 2008. Colorado requires companies to disclose the content of their fluids upon demand by state regulators, but the information is not public.
The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission invited the review, both to improve its rules and to increase public knowledge, said David Neslin, executive director of the COGCC. "There's a need for state agencies to educate the public about energy realities. How is energy produced, and how is it regulated?" Neslin said. The STRONGER board will issue a report in two to three months...
*5/31/11 NYTimes:Shale Boom in Texas Could Increase U.S. Oil OutputBy CLIFFORD KRAUSS
CATARINA, Tex. -- Until last year, the 17-mile stretch of road between this forsaken South Texas village and the county seat of Carrizo Springs was a patchwork of derelict gasoline stations and rusting warehouses.
Now the region is in the hottest new oil play in the country, with giant oil terminals and sprawling RV parks replacing fields of mesquite. More than a dozen companies plan to drill up to 3,000 wells around here in the next 12 months.
The Texas field, known as the Eagle Ford, is just one of about 20 new onshore oil fields that advocates say could collectively increase the nation's oil output by 25 percent within a decade -- without the dangers of drilling in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico or the delicate coastal areas off Alaska.
There is only one catch: the oil from the Eagle Ford and similar fields of tightly packed rock can be extracted only by using hydraulic fracturing, a method that uses a high-pressure mix of water, sand and hazardous chemicals to blast through the rocks to release the oil inside...
*5/13/11 Durango Herald:Study: Fracking health impacts underestimated
Garfield County assessment examined for local application
By Heather Scofield Herald Staff Writer
A large-scale study done in Garfield County investigating the potential health and environmental impacts of a proposed fracking facility near a residential development is raising eyebrows around Colorado.
Some regional environment and conservation advocates say the Health Impacts Assessment study conducted by the University of Colorado School of Public Health may hold answers to questions La Plata County residents have been facing for decades.
"Any study that's this comprehensive is extremely informational for policymakers and citizens," said Mike Meschke, environmental health director for the San Juan Basin Health Department. "It gives us a good example of the kinds of things we should be reviewing, what we should be sensitive to and what our discourse should revolve around."...
*5/10/11 Science Daily:Methane Levels 17 Times Higher in Water Wells Near Hydrofracking Sites, Study Finds
A study by Duke University researchers has found high levels of leaked methane in well water collected near shale-gas drilling and hydrofracking sites. The scientists collected and analyzed water samples from 68 private groundwater wells across five counties in northeastern Pennsylvania and New York...
*2/13/11 Durango Herald Opinion Climate change Manufactured doubt and denial are not science Root Routledge is president of Alpine Analytics, a Durango environmental statistics consulting firm.
Do you care about your children? Your children's children? Of course you do. The well-being of all children transcends the present. And their future well-being depends like never before on what you do for them now.
Empathy for others is the moral basis of democracy. It summons individual and social responsibility to act on that empathy by engaging our future, starting with an enlightened understanding about what's in store for our children. In the bigger context, that encompasses shifting educational opportunities and the economic conditions our descendants will face, do you know what kind of environment they will inherit? Ask yourself: What will I do now on their behalf to improve their prospects for a long and healthy life of happiness and stability?...
World EES News
Correspondance from our members
*4/12/11 The Clean Air Act and the EPA by Marilyn Brown, LWVLPC., will appear in the Sunday Durango Herald 4/17/11
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is under siege both ideologically and
financially and we in the Four Corners area stand to lose as much as any region in the
country from the proposed budget cuts. As Earth Day, April 22, approaches let's remind
ourselves of how we here in La Plata County have benefited and will benefit in the future
from an active and adequately funded EPA...
Past Events
*24 Hours of Reality a worldwide live, online update that can be found at climaterealityproject.org and will be going on from Sept. 14-15, over 24 hours, with contributors from 24 time zones.
*10/7/11 Water 101 Seminar
The Water Information Program's Annual Water 101 Seminar will be conducted Friday, October 7th from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm at the Pagosa Springs Community Center (451 Hot Springs Blvd). The Seminar qualifies for 7 continuing education credits (CECs) for lawyers and 8 CECs for realtors. This is a great opportunity to learn more about water law and issues in our basin. Please consider attending and/or pass the information along to any whom you feel would be interested.
The Seminar features a line-up of qualified speakers, including the keynote-Colorado Supreme Court Justice Gregory Hobbs. In addition, representatives from federal, state, and local water agencies will provide a basic understanding of water and related issues in the area.
The fee is $35 if registered before the seminar or $40 at the door (includes lunch, snack, and information packet). For more information and/or to register contact Denise Rue-Pastin at the Water Information Program at (970) 247-1302, denise@waterinfo.org.
*Wednesday, 3/30/11: Climate and Energy Action Plan (CEAP) discussion You are invited to hear and discuss the community-developed Climate and Energy Action Plan (CEAP) for La Plata County on Wednesday March 30 from 10AM to 11:30am in Program Room 2 of the Durango Public Library. This discussion features Amanda Saunders, CEAP Program Coordinator for the Four Corners Office of Energy Efficiency (4CORE). This Program is jointly sponsored by the LWV of La Plata County and 4CORE.
*Friday, April 22, 2011: Earth Day 2011: A Billion Acts of Green
In recognition of the power of millions of individual actions, Earth Day 2011 will be organized around A Billion Acts of Green®: Personal, organizational and corporate pledges to live and act sustainably. At over 45 million actions to date, A Billion Acts of Green® campaign + the largest environmental service campaign in the world + is steadily building commitments by individuals, corporations, and governments in honor of Earth Day. A Billion Acts of Green® inspires and rewards both simple individual acts and larger organizational initiatives that further the goal of measurably reducing carbon emissions and supporting sustainability. The goal is to register one billion actions in advance of the Earth Summit in Rio in 2012. A Billion Acts of Green® website quantifies acts of green through an easy-to-use online registration tool. A Billion Acts of Green® demonstrates the kind of environmental impact that can be made when millions of people, corporations and organizations make commitments, both small and large, to better their environment.
Elements of the 2011 Earth Day campaign include:
- Athletes for the Earth: Bringing the voices of Olympic and professional athletes to the environmental movement
- The Canopy Project: Supporting global reforestation
- Green Schools: Greening America's Schools within a Generation
- Women and Green Economy (WAGE)™: Engaging women leaders in the creation and development of a global green economy
- Creating Climate Wealth: Convening 200 of the world's entrepreneurs to solve climate change and create a new green economy
- Arts for the Earth: Celebrating the work of environmental artists in all media, and partnering with the American Association of Museums to bring sustainability to museums nationwide
References
*11/10/11 USDA Forest Service: Forests to Faucets
*6/8/11 Colorado River Basin Water Supply and Demand Study
The Bureau of Reclamation today released a report titled "Colorado River Basin Water Supply and Demand Study Interim Report No. 1." The reports and analysis prepared as components of the Study will better define options for future water management of the Colorado River Basin where climate change, record drought, population increases and environmental needs have heightened competition for scarce water supplies. The Colorado River Basin (Basin) was selected as one of the first three basin studies approved by the Bureau of Reclamation in September 2009...
*Colorado Environmental Coalition Colorado's Voice for Conservation since 1965
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Last revised: February 3, 2012 11:27 PST.
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