Scott CondonAspen correspondent Post Independent Glenwood Springs, CO Colorado
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service requires water from Ruedi, among other sources, to try to improve habitat on the Colorado River for endangered fish species. The timing of the Fish & Wildlife Service's “call” for water last summer produced higher flows for a longer period than typical on the Fryingpan River. It affected fishing conditions, especially in August. Read more
Pace said Friday he plans to introduce a bill during the upcoming Legislative session that would require advanced mitigation of economic and ecological effects on originating communities when water is transferred. Read more
Pace said Friday he plans to introduce a bill during the upcoming Legislative session that would require advanced mitigation of economic and ecological effects on originating communities when water is transferred.
On the other side of the fight are the communities that would be the water's destination. And they've prevailed in the past.
Presently, a water judge can only consider senior water rights in determining whether to allow transfers. Pace said it's archaic that ecological damage is not a consideration in the process.
He pointed to Crowley County's meager average annual household income for a family of four - $18,000 - as an example of the aftermath of water transfers conducted without regard to economic or ecological impact on a region. Generally, he said, urban centers are sated at the expense of rural areas by benefiting from the transfers. Consequently, Pace's proposed legislation would require water divisions
seeking to receive transfers to reach economic and ecological mitigation
agreements with the originating communities before the transfers could be approved in Water Court.
If a mitigation agreement could not be reached, a judge would have to rule on one.
The existing law governing mitigation of water transfers - the Conservancy District Act - was adopted in 1937 and only requires mitigation when water transfers come from the Western Slope across the Continental Divide. Pace's bill would extend that mitigation requirement to all transfers between two water districts.
State Sen. Dan Gibbs, a Western Slope Democrat, is the bill's Senate sponsor. A similar bill was proposed in 2004, but it died in the House.
Pace expects opposition to the bill from water providers in populous parts of the state, such as Denver and Aurora. In the past, representatives of those water interests have argued that creation of mitigation requirements would duplicate the efforts of the Interbasin Water Committee, which oversees water transfers in the state.
Pace said he thinks both can exist to the benefit of the state as a whole.
“If this bill passes, it will be by a close margin,” Pace said. “I might have an even harder time passing it than they had when it was proposed in 2004. It will be a fight, but I'm ready for the fight.”
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From Denver Post Online By Charles Gauvin: President and CEO, Trout Unlimited
It’s with a deep sense of sadness that we at Trout Unlimited mourn the passing of Charlie Meyers, one of the most influential outdoor communicators of his time, and a tireless champion for fish and wildlife and their habitat.
Charlie will be sorely missed, largely because he was the conscience of the American sportsman – he spoke truth to power eloquently and unabashedly. We didn’t always see eye to eye on every issue, but we were able to communicate candidly and openly in a way I always appreciated. Charlie also represented an old school of outdoor journalists who understood that readers deserve more than knowing where the hatchery truck will stop next; that conservation is the cornerstone to enjoying fish and wildlife, now and in the future. Let’s hope the next generation of writers lives up to the standards Charlie and many of his peers have set.
One of Charlie’s last wishes was unexpected gift – he asked that donations in his name be given to Colorado Trout Unlimited. Even in death, Charlie Meyers still put conservation first.
Godspeed, Charlie, and many thanks for your countless contributions to the cause. The fight to protect wild rivers and wild fish will go on, but we’ve lost an important voice. We hope your words have instilled the needed courage in others who have a passion for the outdoors and the will to challenge those who might try to whittle away at our sporting heritage.
Taking aim at the Bush administration's approach to oil and gas leasing, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar unveiled a slate of reforms on Wednesday intended to better protect land, water and wildlife and reduce the number of protests filed by environmental groups and others at odds with leasing decisions.
"The previous administration's 'anywhere, anyhow' policy on oil and gas development ran afoul of communities, carved up the landscape, and fueled costly conflicts that created uncertainty for investors and industry," Salazar said on Wednesday.
The package of reforms arose in part from an examination of controversial gas leases in Utah, many of which were close to national parks and archeological resources. After studying those parcels last year, Salazar removed many from leasing and required further studies for others.
The reform package won praise from some environmental and sportsmen's groups but criticism from industry supporters who say the new rules will only bring further delays to companies already hit hard by falling fuel prices.
"Secretary Salazar's misguided proposal couldn't come at a worse time for this economy," said Colorado state Rep. Josh Penry, a Republican from Grand Junction, where gas jobs have vanished from what had been a once-booming gas patch. "These rules will destroy jobs and reduce domestic energy production at a time when Colorado and America need a lot more of both."
The reforms call for interdisciplinary reviews that look at site-specific considerations for individual leases, including in some cases, site visits to the individual parcels. They call for greater public involvement in individual lease sales and in developing area plans where intensive drilling is anticipated. While the rules will still allow industry to recommend lease areas, they will emphasize leasing in already-developed areas and call for careful planning in new areas.
The reforms also seek to limit the use of categorical exclusions, which fast-track leases on sometimes controversial sites.
"For too long, leasing has occurred with minimal thought given to the impacts on fish and wildlife, water resources, and hunting and fishing opportunity," said Chris Wood, Trout Unlimited's chief operating officer. His group called Salazar's reforms a "good start, but said Interior needs to do more to rein in industry's impacts on public lands.
"It's a good start toward reining in what can only be described as unchecked oil and gas extraction that has already taken a toll on the important places for hunters and anglers in the West," said Brad Powell, energy director for TU's Sportsmen's Conservation Project, but he said they fall short of more comprehensive reforms that are needed.
Salazar said the new rules will bring order and certainty to the leasing process. Industry groups have complained that leasing has become too bureaucratic and unpredictable, but Salazar said past practices too often left leases tied up in litigation for months.
In 1998, he said, just over 1 percent of gas leases on public land were protested. Ten years later, that number grew to 40 percent.
Salazar shrugged off criticism that the reforms would bog down industry. Of 43.6 million acres of federal land that have been leased, Salazar said, only 12 million acres are in production. Last year, the administration offered 9 million acres for leasing.
Follow David Frey on his Web site, www.davidfrey.me, and on Twitter, @davidmfrey.
"In the prior administration, the oil and gas industry essentially were the kings of the world," he said. "Whatever they wanted to happen essentially happened. This department was essentially a handmaiden of the oil and gas industry. We brought that to an end because the resources the department oversees are resources that belong to the American taxpayer."
The Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States blasted what it called additional red tape that would slow down drilling.
IPAMS Director of Government Affairs Kathleen Sgamma called it a "bureaucratic command-and-control system in which government bureaucrats – rather than scientists with expertise in natural gas and oil development – dictate where energy development should occur."
Telluride Daily Plantet: By BEN FORNELL Staff Writer
Whitehead: ‘Conservation is important to Colorado’ As a man whose resume over the past 25 years is almost exclusively focused on water issues, the state senator from Southwest Colorado has several conservation measures on his mind. One bill he has agreed to sponsor will increase reporting requirements for water conservation measures, creating a system that will make the data more accessible to the public. Read more
Attorney Mely Whiting of Trout Unlimited stressed along with county officials that any allowance for Denver to take more water from the river should be tied to a “reopener clause,” in which stakeholders would revisit the project if degradation of the river reached beyond what was predicted in the NEPA process.
“Our resource is at a critical tipping point,” said Manager Underbrink Curran. “We should all argue that if the predictions that are made in the EIS are not good, and are not solid and do not work out like is being predicted, people have to come back and re-look at it. And we, and Denver and the Corps and everyone needs to sit down and say: How are we going to fix this resource? This is critical, not only to Grand County, but to the state of Colorado.”
“This is a grave situation,” said County Commissioner Nancy Stuart. “In my opinion, it's the life and death of our rivers. So we really need to think about the statements that we make, and I'm putting faith in the Corps that they will listen.”
By JUDITH KOHLER Associated Press WriterDENVER December 31, 2009 (AP)
Industry officials note that there are already several wells in the area. Environmentalists, though, say most of the drilling has been on the western flank of the mountains and beyond. They say the HD Mountains are one of the last pockets of undisturbed backcountry in western Colorado.
by Abrahm Lustgarten, ProPublica - December 15, 2009 4:08 pm EST
The result is a 60-page Watershed Plan [5] (PDF) that dictates that Genesis will only use "green" hydraulic fracturing fluids, will reveal the chemical makeup of those fluids and will inject a tracer along with those fluids so any alleged contamination in the area can be quickly linked to its source.
Re: “Front Range trims water use,” Dec. 21 news story.
The Colorado Water Conservation Board agrees that conservation is critical to meeting the needs of a growing population, and we appreciate The Denver Post’s close attention to the serious issues facing the state’s future water needs.
However, it’s important to remember that the State of Colorado 2050 Municipal and Industrial Water Use Projections is a draft report. It includes data that we believe needs refinement, and we are working with local entities throughout the state to refine the data. Therefore it is premature to attempt to draw conclusions about differences in water use rates between the Front Range and elsewhere in Colorado.
The draft report relied on data that was supplied to the CWCB. We believe the Pitkin County water use data, which was cited in your story, may be overstated. Pitkin County water providers are in the process of providing us with a more accurate reflection of their service area population and overall water use. This updated data appears to indicate that Pitkin County’s per capita water use rates are similar to those from the rest of the state.
CWCB will be incorporating this and other public feedback on the draft report, and release a final report in 2010. In addition, reports on agricultural water needs, and those for environmental and recreational needs, will be provided during the same time frame.
In the meantime, we want to continue to encourage The Denver Post to help provide Coloradans with information we all need to make responsible decisions about our water future.
Jennifer Gimbel, Denver
From Denver Post Opinion The impacts of Moffat/Gross Reservoir expansion are hardly “minimal.” Between the existing Moffat project and the expanded Gross Reservoir project, Denver Water will take nearly 80 percent of the Fraser River to the Front Range. This is a major, not minimal, impact.
The Denver Post editorial board’s trust that Denver Water and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will take care of the streams is, so far, misguided. The Corps’ environmental analysis doesn’t look at the impacts from reducing the river to 20 percent of its native flows. Denver Water has made no commitment of funds for mitigation of these impacts. Even if funds are finally committed, they would do little to save the river. The river needs water, not dollars.
Denverites have done a good job in reducing use, but much of Denver’s water supply goes to thirsty lawns. Other cities have drastically cut outdoor water waste and Denver should follow their lead. There is too much at stake.
Ken Neubecker, Carbondale
The writer is president of Colorado Trout Unlimited.
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