Ritter Appoints Groundwater Task Force

Since last summer Front Range farmers who rely on ground water have been in the news. These farmers use ground water rather than surface water resources to irrigate their crops. Unfortunately, these sources are not always reliable, putting their crops and property values in jeopardy. Earlier this year Governor Ritter attended a public meeting in Wiggins, Colorado to hear from those who have been the hardest hit. Following that meeting, as many of you have likely heard, the governor appointed a 23 member task force to address the South Platte Groundwater issues.

The group will try to address the critical water shortage along the South Platte which was precipitated by many factors including the 2002 drought. The effects of the drought -- along with several technical and legal factors -- increased the scrutiny of water court cases and increased the tension among water holders, making it increasingly more difficult for some junior water right holders to pump ground water.The first meeting of the special South Platte River Basin Task Force, will be held on June 29th at the Union Colony Civic Center in Greeley. The public and the media are encouraged to attend. The Task Force will hear public testimony and comment between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. The June 29th meeting in Greeley will start at 9:30 a.m. with a briefing by attorneys Jim Lochhead and Anne Castle, and Assistant State Engineer Dick Wolfe. All three are non-voting members of the Task Force.

The public is invited to provide comment and information to the Task Force between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.  Because of time constraints, interested individuals and groups with shared concerns are encouraged to designate a representative to comment on their behalf.   This will hopefully allow each person who wishes to present to the Task Force more time to speak. A second Task Force meeting, which will be devoted entirely to public comment, will be held on July 16th, from 9 am to 5 pm, location TBA. The task force will make a final report to Gov. Ritter, legislative leaders and the chair of the legislature'a Interim Committee on Water Resources by Sept. 30 2007. To read more about the taskforce go to this article or this press release.

URGENT ACTION NEEDED BY WEDNESDAY: HELP PROTECT THE ROAN PLATEAU

Last Friday, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued a Record of Decision authorizing oil and gas leasing atop the Roan Plateau in western Colorado. CTU is reviewing the details of the final Record of Decision, but it is based upon the BLM's plan in its final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) - a plan that failed to include adequate protections for fish and wildlife. The BLM's decision effectively dismissed the concerns of hunters, anglers, and conservationists who were troubled by their proposed plan and final EIS. It came despite a request from Colorado Governor Bill Ritter for a 120-day delay, to allow his administration time to review the plan and coordinate with BLM on issues and concerns. The BLM appears committed to moving forward - and quickly - to issue leases atop the Roan.

This Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to take up the Interior Appropriations bill, and to consider an amendment proposed by Representatives John Salazar and Mark Udall, that would place a funding restriction on BLM that would prevent them from issuing leases atop the Roan Plateau in the next year. The amendment would provide a much-needed "time out" to allow Congress, the Ritter Administration, conservationists, and other stakeholders to work with BLM on a more appropriate long-term plan for the Roan. Please contact your Representative, let them know that you are an angler (also a hunter if you hunt), and urge them to vote "Yes" on the Salazar/Udall proposal for a one-year funding limitation for leasing on the Roan Plateau. If you live in Representative Salazar or Udall's district, please contact them and thank them for their leadership on this issue. It is okay to leave a message after hours. A list of Colorado's delegation and their contact information appears below. You can also email Governor Ritter to thank him for his support of conservation on the Roan.

BACKGROUND:

Within the Roan Plateau there are some of the singularly most remarkable and unique natural creations in Colorado. There is an abundance of deer and elk that spend summers on top of the Roan Plateau and for whom the cliff areas along the southern and eastern sides of the plateau provide essential winter range. The top is a mix of rolling grassland, aspen and spruce forests and unique hanging gardens. In three of the streams exists very rare conservation populations of Colorado River Cutthroat Trout - populations of high genetic integrity that are highly valuable in conservation and recovery of the species. On the western side, these same streams tumble from the Roan as two of the highest waterfalls in Colorado.

In the midst of the ongoing energy development boom, the Roan Plateau has been an island of refuge - until now. The Roan Plateau lies atop some of the most dramatic cliff scenery in Colorado. The Roan Plateau comprises a very small area by comparison to the rest of the public and private lands being opened for energy development. It should also be noted that 80 to 90% of the gas beneath the Roan Plateau can be reached by directional drilling from around the base with no need to drill from the top. There is simply no need to sacrifice sensitive habitats in order to secure energy resources.

Unfortunately, the BLM issued a proposed management plan for the Roan that calls for drilling along the top. The plan's habitat protections are woefully inadequate. For example, while "no surface occupancy" sounds like a high level of protection for sensitive watersheds, in areas to be protected by "no surface occupancy" restrictions the BLM plan would actually allow surface occupancy for oil and gas development for two years or more! Publicly-touted limitations on the extent of surface disturbance at any given time actually refer to active construction - far more of the Plateau will actually be occupied at any given time. And most troubling: the BLM's own analysis indicates that loss of the cutthroat trout populations is a likely result of their proposal.

Please contact your U.S. Representative and Senators today and urge them to support the Salazar/Udall amendment to protect the Roan Plateau now, before BLM sells leases and sets the Roan on an irreversible course for habitat degradation and fishery loss. The BLM recently issued its Record of Decision for the Roan, so the need for Congressional action is urgent - otherwise, leasing could begin as soon as this fall!

To learn more about the Roan Plateau and CTU's concerns with BLM's plan, visit our Roan Plateau web page. A copy of Governor Ritter's letter to the Secretary of the Interior also appears below.

CONTACTS:

House of Representatives

1st District: The Honorable Diana DeGette (303) 844-4988 (Denver) or (202) 225-4431 (Washington); or comment online

2nd District: The Honorable Mark Udall (303) 650-7820 (Westminster), (970) 827-4154 (Minturn), or (202) 225-2161 (Washington); or comment online

3rd District: The Honorable John Salazar 970-245-7107 (Grand Junction), 970-259-1012 (Durango), 719-587-5105 (Alamosa), 719-543-8200 (Pueblo) or 202-225-4761 (Washington); or comment online

4th District: The Honorable Marilyn Musgrave (970) 663-3536 (Loveland), (720) 494-4336 (Longmont), (970) 352-4037 (Greeley), (970) 522-1788 (Sterling), (719) 456-0925 (Las Animas), (970) 867-4414 (Ft Morgan), or (202) 225-4676 (Washington); or comment online

5th District: The Honorable Doug Lamborn (719) 520-0055 (Colorado Springs), (202) 225-4422 (Washington), or comment online

6th District: The Honorable Tom Tancredo 720.283.9772 (Centennial), 303-688-3430 (Castle Rock), 720-283-7575 (Littleton), or 202.225.7882 (Washington), or comment online

7th District: The Honorable Ed Perlmutter (303) 274-7944 (Lakewood), or (202) 225-2645 (Washington), or comment online

Governor Bill Ritter:

email to: Governor.ritter@state.co.us

Governor Ritter's letter to the Interior Department:

June 11, 2007

U.S. Department of the Interior

Secretary Dirk Kempthorne

1849 C Street, N.W. Washington DC 20240

Dear Secretary Kempthorne:

I am writing today to express my extreme disappointment with your decision to deny the State of Colorado’s request for a 120-day period to review the Roan Plateau Resources Management Plan prior to your issuing the Record of Decision. I am equally disappointed by your decision to lease the Roan for oil and gas development at this time.

As a new state Administration, we requested the limited additional review time to have the opportunity to recommend approval or modification of the plan, particularly with the enormous public concern over future leasing decisions. As you know, the Roan is a place of exceptional environmental and recreational qualities, and is of great importance to local communities. The 75,000 comments received by the Bureau of Land Management during the public review process reflected a 98% desire to refrain from leasing the top of the Roan. Your decision to ignore these public comments and limit my Administration’s participation in the process undermines efforts to build what should be a cooperative federal/state relationship.

Equally concerning is your immediate push to lease the Roan at this time. The Plateau is surrounded by other BLM land where the agency has already committed to extensive drilling. For example, your White River Management Plan adjacent to the Roan calls for 22,000 new wells over the next 15 years. The nearby Glenwood/Kremmling Management Plan calls for an additional 15,000 new wells. The Little Snake and Hiawatha Management Plans call for 6,000 additional wells. These projections are additive to tens of thousands of wells projected on nearby private lands. With approximately 120 rigs currently available in Colorado, it will be many years before the Roan would be needed to meet additional demand. There is absolutely no reason why certain special places, like the Roan, cannot be deferred for leasing while these other projects go forward.

BLM Director James Hughes’ reliance on the Naval Shale Oil Reserve statute as the reason for expedited leasing of the Roan is clearly a misstatement of the law. Nothing in the statute prevents deferring leasing decisions during the near term. In fact, BLM’s original set of alternatives for the Roan included “no-drill” options.

Similarly, Director Hughes’ reference to an earlier Colorado Department of Natural Resources plan for the Roan omits the fact that an election was held in Colorado, and that I lead a new Administration. The citizens of this State are concerned about the management of our public lands, the scale and pace of energy development, and the ability of our local communities to plan for and manage the extraordinary impacts that inevitably come with increased leasing and extraction. I am intent on finding the balance between protecting our environment, traditional economies, and special places with allowing and planning for responsible future oil and gas development.

Your decision has led me to take a more active role in working with Congressmen John Salazar and Mark Udall, as well as other members of Colorado’s Congressional delegation, to support funding limitations on the Department of Interior’s Appropriations Bill, or other legislation that will restrict BLM from going forward with leasing of the Roan during the coming year.

Finally, I share Director Hughes’ concern about the impact of his decision on the cooperating agency relationship between Colorado and the Department of Interior. This relationship must be based on a mutual respect for our respective values and missions. In the past, this relationship has worked to overcome initial disagreements and to find mutually acceptable land management plans. Unfortunately, the Department of Interior’s actions on the Roan undermine this past spirit of cooperation.

Sincerely,

Bill Ritter, Jr.

Governor

The Denver Post - Roan drilling sets up a fight

Reps. Salazar, Udall will seek one-year delay

By Nick Martin Denver Post Staff Writer

Article Last Updated: 06/11/2007 12:32:08 AM MDT

var requestedWidth = 0; Some of Colorado's top elected officials are preparing to battle a federal agency over its plan to allow drilling on vast amounts of the Roan Plateau.

if(requestedWidth > 0){ document.getElementById('articleViewerGroup').style.width = requestedWidth + "px"; document.getElementById('articleViewerGroup').style.margin = "0px 0px 10px 10px"; } U.S. Reps. Mark Udall and John Salazar will try this week in Congress to put a one-year hold on the plan, their staff members said Sunday.

Meantime, Gov. Bill Ritter said he will back the congressmen's efforts. He criticized the Bureau of Land Management, which announced Friday that it would lease 70 percent of the plateau for drilling without giving state officials time they sought to review the plan.

"No harm would have come from (the extra time)," Ritter said by phone Sunday from South Dakota, where he is attending the annual Western Governors' Association meeting. He added, "We're hoping that Reps. Salazar and Udall would be able to delay that funding."

The delay would come from an amendment the congressmen will try to add to a bill giving the BLM more than $1 billion. The bill is expected to reach the House floor this week.

The political wrangling began last week, when the bureau told Ritter it would not give his administration an extra four months to review its plan, seven years in the making, that allows companies to lease land in the Roan wilderness area and drill for gas.

Some of Colorado's officials felt the way the announcement came down was brash.

"I thought it was pretty arrogant, frankly, to release the plan when they did," said Alan Sala zar, Udall's chief of staff.

But on Sunday, a spokesman for the BLM's Glenwood Springs office, which oversees the Roan Plateau area, said the agency was just doing what Congress had ordered it to do.

"Right now, we're under direction from Congress to lease it," said spokesman David Boyd. "But should we get new direction, then we'll follow it."

Boyd said there is a 60-day period during which anybody can comment on the plan. At the end of the period, the bureau will review all comments and act accordingly, he said.

Residents who live near the plateau have long been concerned about added drilling in the area.

"This is just a very pristine piece of land that people are concerned about because it does generate money for the local economy," said Salazar spokeswoman Tara Trujillo.

But Boyd emphasized that the plan was the result of years of meetings and talks with residents and local officials in and around Rifle, Glenwood Springs and Parachute, and the counties of Garfield and Rio Blanco.

Neither Ritter, nor the staffers for Udall and Salazar, would say explicitly what should be done with the Roan Plateau. But none ruled out drilling.

As Ritter said: "That's the whole reason that we wanted the extra time."

Good Samaritans could be answer to old mines

By ROBERT E. ROBERTS

Something big happened in Washington, D.C., this week - something with the potential to move the earth - actually to move contaminated dirt and rock, and a lot of it, in communities throughout the Rocky Mountain West.

You may not have noticed, but on Wednesday the Environmental Protection Agency released a “Model Good Samaritan Agreement” for its regional offices to use to encourage volunteer efforts to clean up contaminated mine sites. This action is a long-awaited policy tool that will help accelerate the pace of environmental progress in watersheds across the West.

There are an estimated 500,000 abandoned mines nationwide, mostly hardrock sites, and most in Western states. These sites - piles of crushed rock and barren areas tinted with telltale shades of orange, yellow and red - litter the mountainsides in historic mining districts. They often contain harmful metals such as lead, arsenic, cadmium or zinc. When it rains, and when snow melts, the acid runoff they produce can render local rivers and streams lifeless.

EPA and its partners have worked on this problem for decades, and we have been able to clean up many of the biggest and worst mine sites by making the companies responsible for pollution pay for cleanup actions. But for most of these sites - called “orphan sites” - the company that operated the mine is long gone. There is no responsible party to fund the cleanup.

An unintended consequence of the Superfund law is that volunteers who want to clean up such sites face the possibility of taking on responsibility for all the past and future pollution. These Good Samaritans have nothing to do with the pollution that has already occurred or will occur. And they certainly have no interest in contributing to further pollution. But the size of the potential liability they may take on by working on the site makes most of them unwilling to take on such projects.

EPA's release of the Model Good Samaritan Agreement is a big step toward eliminating that obstacle. This tool will allow Good Samaritans who want to work on orphan mines to enter into agreements with EPA that minimize the Superfund law liability concerns. Beneficial cleanup projects, many with blueprints that have been sitting on shelves for years, now have the green light to proceed.

As one watershed group leader from Colorado exclaimed upon hearing the news, “It feels like someone has taken my handcuffs off.”

President Bush and the EPA are clearing legal roadblocks to help protect America's watersheds. While additional obstacles for Good Samaritans remain, legislation that will provide further relief for mine cleanup projects is now pending in Congress. Our continued progress on this issue is good news for everyone who cares about clean water.

Robert E. Roberts is regional administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 8, which includes Montana.

70% of Roan to drillers

The ruling allows immediate drilling on the Western Slope plateau for a likely mother lode of natural gas. Foes consider lawsuits.

By Nancy Lofholm Denver Post Staff Writer

Article Last Updated: 06/09/2007 12:25:16 AM MDT

From the halls of Congress to living rooms in Garfield County, criticism is being heaped on the Bureau of Land Management for its decision to allow immediate drilling on nearly 70 percent of the Roan Plateau.

The controversial plan, announced Friday after a more than seven-year battle, places restrictions on drilling and puts some areas of the plateau along Interstate 70 west of Rifle off-limits. But critics charge the decision was made without proper comment and ignores requests from Gov. Bill Ritter's office and some of Colorado's congressional delegation to hold off on drilling.

"BLM's decision contradicts years of public involvement and should not stand," said Duke Cox of the Grand Valley Citizens Alliance, one of the groups considering a lawsuit to block implementation of the decision.

The decision pertains to more than 50,000 acres of the 73,602 acres included in the Roan planning area. The other 21,000 acres are being set aside for two more months of public comment.

The plan allows only 350 acres of the plateau to be drilled at one time. Drilling will take place in stages and will be done directionally to minimize surface disturbance.

Evan Dreyer, a spokesman for Ritter, expressed strong disappointment that the BLM issued the decision without giving the governor time for review as he had requested last week.

"This is one of the most important public-policy questions facing the state of Colorado right now. There was no imminent crisis. There was no reason for the BLM to rush a decision on this," Dreyer said.

"We are now reviewing all of our options."

Sen. Ken Salazar, who had joined Ritter in asking for a four-month review of the Roan Plateau Management Resource Plan, said he will look at options to stop the imminent drilling.

"The BLM has failed to establish a pressing need for such a rushed process and immediate development," Salazar said.

The Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States, the only group publicly applauding the decision Friday, issued a statement saying the plan provides "limited and balanced energy development" of what the group considers probably the richest unleased reserve of natural gas in the Lower 48 states, holding enough natural gas to heat 4 million homes for up to 20 years.

The Roan has been a flash point in oil and gas development in the Piceance Basin because the plateau soars to 9,000 feet in places and is home to rare fish and plant species. It is one of the few nearly untouched places in an area dotted with 20,000 gas wells. The Roan has long been used for hunting and recreation. Some drilling has taken place on private land on the plateau.

The plan approved Friday was crafted nearly a year ago after more than five years of public-comment gathering. Of the 75,000 comments submitted, 98 percent opposed drilling on the top of the plateau.

None of the plans the public reviewed were chosen.

Instead, a group of cooperating agencies, including the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, issued a plan in 2006.

The public did not have a chance to comment on that plan.

In releasing the record of the decision Friday, the BLM called the plan "the result of a highly collaborative public-planning process."

BLM opening Roan Plateau to drilling

By Nancy LofholmDenver Post Staff Writer

Article Last Updated: 06/08/2007 02:43:52 PM MDT

var requestedWidth = 0;

if(requestedWidth > 0){ document.getElementById('articleViewerGroup').style.width = requestedWidth + "px"; document.getElementById('articleViewerGroup').style.margin = "0px 0px 10px 10px"; } The Bureau of Land Management will open up the Western Slope's Roan Plateau to gas drilling under a decision released today.

Drilling at the plateau, west of Rifle and north of Parachute, will be restricted and done in stages.

Under the decision, only 350 acres of the plateau can be disturbed at one time. No drilling will be allowed on steep slopes, and most of it will be done directionally, which causes less surface disturbance.

The BLM also said no drilling will be allowed now in 21,034 acres of critical habitat. Those acres are being set aside for more consideration.

The Record of Decision was released after several years of tussling between the Bureau of Land Management, the oil and gas industry, and environmental and conservation groups, as well as local municipalities and state and federal representatives.

There has been heavy opposition to drilling on top of the plateau, which holds some critical habitat and unique fish and plant species.

Environmental coalition honors water activist

http://www.aspendailynews.com/archive_20037

Carbondale water has a friend in Ken Neubecker. The 55-year-old Carbondale resident was named Conservation Activist 2007 last week by the Colorado Environmental Coalition (CEC).

The award was presented in Denver at the group's annual Rebel with a Cause gala dinner. Three hundred people were in attendance, including Gov. Bill Ritter, U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, and U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter. The eponymous Rebel with a Cause award went to Denver-based nature photographer and author John Fielder.

"Ken has been a tenacious voice for Colorado's rivers and wild places for more than 20 years," said T.J. Brown, the Front Range field director for the CEC. Neubecker was picked over 30 other nominees from the CEC's 90 member organizations.

The current vice president of Colorado Trout Unlimited, Neubecker founded the Eagle River Watershed and Trout Unlimited chapters in Eagle and Granby. Recently he has worked to protect the Roan Plateau as the environmental representative on the Colorado River Basin Round Table, a state-appointed planning group that advises state agencies on matters pertaining to the river basin. Set up by House Bill 1177 (the Colorado Water for the 21st Century act), nine such round tables exist in river basins throughout the state, operating on a total annual budget of $40 million.

"I helped draft the environmental impact statement for the oil and gas development on the Roan Plateau, along with about 75,000 other people," quipped Neubecker on Tuesday. "When the BLM turned in a management proposal that was completely different from what we expected, I wrote the protest letters."

When he's not fighting to keep Colorado waters clean, Neubecker works as a land surveyor for an engineering firm in Glenwood Springs. He holds 1870s surveyor Ferdinand Hayden as one of his mentor/heroes and even named the Roaring Fork and Eagle Valley chapter of Trout Unlimited after "that other surveyor-not (John Wesley) Powell."

"Hayden was the first to survey this entire area, between here and Yellowstone, in a scientific way at least," said Neubecker. "He was also the first to locate and document and the Mount of the Holy Cross in the Holy Cross Wilderness. Spanish conquistadors looking for gold had mentioned seeing a mountain with a crucifix shaped by couloirs, but no one knew for sure if it was a myth until Hayden."

"Ken is a thoughtful advocate for non-consumptive needs and advises the other (Colorado River Basin Round Table) councils. He informs and educates so they learn to work within the system. It's invaluable work," said Becky Long, water caucus coordinator for the CEC.

Session hailed for being "green"

A survey supports claims it was Colorado lawmakers' top pro-environment gathering ever, led by renewable energy.

“Environmental groups, including Colorado Trout Unlimited and the Sierra Club, judged lawmakers' votes on nine bills - such as renewable energy, greener building codes and protecting wildlife habitat.”

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_6078948

Environmental groups are calling the past legislative session Colorado's greenest ever - and a survey released Wednesday offered some proof.

State lawmakers, on average, voted for pro-environment bills 77 percent of the time, according to an analysis by Colorado Conservation Voters. That was up 12 percentage points from 2006.

Environmental groups, including Colorado Trout Unlimited and the Sierra Club, judged lawmakers' votes on nine bills - such as renewable energy, greener building codes and protecting wildlife habitat.

Republicans, who often fared poorly in earlier conservation rankings, had their second-highest rating in the 11-year history of the scorecard. Among Republicans in the House, votes in favor of the environmental agenda increased by 14 percentage points compared with last year.

"The story that this scorecard tells is that conservation values are not Democrat or Republican; They are Colorado values," said Carrie Doyle, executive director of Colorado Conservation Voters. "The voters spoke pretty clearly in the elections that they think Colorado should be a renewable energy leader," Doyle said. "Lawmakers got that message."

Most Democrats scored 100 percent, voting for all nine bills that made up the core of the environmental agenda. Republican legislators topped out with 80 percent or 90 percent, though a few scored the equivalent of D's and F's. Republicans' average score was 47 percent.

Rep. Rob Witwer, a Republican from Golden who scored a 90 percent, said improved Republican marks point to a return "to the principles that have always been there in our party."

"Democrats don't love the environment more than Republicans," he said. "It's a matter of what kinds of policies do you support to get there."

Republicans are more likely to favor tax incentives to encourage people to conserve - not mandates, especially ones that infringe on private property rights, Witwer said. GOP lawmakers are more cognizant of costs, said Luke Shilts, chairman of the Colorado Federation of Young Republicans, a statewide 40-and-younger group.

The hallmark of the legislative session, which ended a month ago, was renewable energy. One new law says investor-owned utilities must produce 20 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2020. Lawmakers passed a water-quality measure that environmental groups pushed for seven years. The bill lets water courts consider water quality before deciding on large transfers. The state also has new laws to ensure more protection of wildlife habitat during oil and gas drilling and secure a spot for an environmentalist on the state oil and gas commission.

Western Slope lawmakers spearhead conservation reform

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2007/06/07/6_7_enviro_scorecard.html

Thursday, June 07, 2007

Western Slope lawmakers helped spearhead “the most pro-conservation legislative session in our state’s history,” according to a Colorado Conservation Voters report released Wednesday.

The “2007 Conservation Scorecard,” which tracks House and Senate votes on environmental, energy, water and wildlife reforms, shows that more than half of the region’s 11 lawmakers were strong supporters of conservation values throughout the legislative session.

“I think Western Slope lawmakers have showed real leadership on conservation issues,” said Carrie Doyle, executive director of Colorado Conservation Voters. “That leadership happened for a reason: Western Slope districts were on the front lines of many of the conservation issues being debated this year.”

The report card highlights the roles Western Slope lawmakers played in pushing conservation measures, including Reps. Ellen Roberts, R-Durango, Bernie Buescher, D-Grand Junction, Kathleen Curry, D-Gunnison, Dan Gibbs, D-Silverthorne, Al White, R-Winter Park, and Sens. Jim Isgar, D-Hesperus, and Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass Village. Each lawmaker, according to the report, had conservation scores of 70 or more on a 100-point scale. Buescher, Curry, Gibbs and Schwartz recorded perfect scores.

The report says they played crucial roles in pushing surface-rights legislation, open-space protections, oil and gas drilling reforms, and water-quality protections this year.

“In 2007 we saw … what happens when strong policy is aligned with bold political leadership,” the report said. “We believe that 2007 marks the beginning of a new conversation about how we work together to protect what is most precious about Colorado.”

Duke Cox, president of the Grand Valley Citizens Alliance, attributed the session’s conservation credentials to the leadership of Gov. Bill Ritter in pushing energy reform as a priority and the Legislature’s willingness to work with him.

“The big difference is Bill Ritter,” Cox said. “And the Democratic Legislature weas not afraid to take on the oil and gas lobby because they knew they had the people behind them.”

Cox said the session was a victory for Colorado “grass-roots” who pushed, particularly on the Western Slope, for more energy-industry oversight.

“The government, oddly enough, listened to the will of the voters and changed things,” he said.

The report is not so glowing for every Western Slope lawmaker.

The report singles out an amendment Sen. Josh Penry, R-Fruita, offered during an April 23 debate on House Bill 1037, which directs the Public Utilities Commission to develop rules for a program promoting energy efficiency for natural gas distributors.

Penry’s amendment, which failed in a 17-18 vote, would have capped the amount of energy efficiency that the bill could achieve, according to the report.

Based on this and other floor votes, the report ranks Reps. Steve King, R-Grand Junction, and Ray Rose, R-Montrose, with scores of 50.

Penry and Sen. Jack Taylor, R-Steamboat Springs, received scores of 60, according to the report.

Penry, however, discounted the report.

“Colorado Conservation Voters are very nice people, but they are a blatantly partisan organization focused on electing Democrats, so I don’t put a lot of stock in their report,” Penry said. “I think my values on the environment are probably a lot more in line with Western Slope voters than the Colorado Conservation Voters.”

CTU 2007 Legislative Report

Attached is Jen's Final Legislative Report, as presented in the CTU ExComm meeting tonight.CTU 2007 Legislative Report