Coyote Gulch

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

2006 Legislative session and water

Greeley Tribune: "Water legislation will be the main focus for the state's two largest farm organizations when the 2006 Colorado General Assembly convenes. John Stencel, president of the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, and Troy Bredenkamp, executive vice president of the Colorado Farm Bureau, said they will watch with interest a 'fallowing' bill that will be introduced again by State Rep. Mary Hodge, D-Brighton. The bill, introduced by Hodge late during the 2005 session then withdrawn, would allow farmers to idle certain amounts of land and lease the water they would use to irrigate that land to municipalities or other water users. Both groups also will be working with legislation aimed at surface damage pertaining to oil and gas exploration and renewable energy bills."

Category: Colorado Water

6:09:47 AM

Colorado River compromise?

Salt Lake Tribune: "A small group of water officials from seven Western states will gather in a meeting room at a Las Vegas hotel next month to thrash out the details of what could be a precedent-setting agreement determining how Colorado River water will be shared during times of drought. Whether they will actually pull it off, though, remains to be seen. Water officials from the seven Colorado River Basin states - Wyoming, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico in the upper basin; Nevada, Arizona and California in the lower - were publicly hopeful, even optimistic that they would strike a deal following the recent Colorado River Water Users conference, also held in Las Vegas."

6:05:53 AM

Avon to file for whitewater park water right

From today's Rocky Mountain News: "The Avon Town Council has directed its staff to try to secure a water right for a 1,000-foot stretch of the Eagle River for a kayak water park, which they say will lure more visitors to the town. The town does not need the right before building the park, but it would ensure that water flows through that section of the river. 'We're just asking for the right to use it,' town engineer Norm Wood said. 'The water right would just give us some protection for the future.' Town officials are also seeking permission from up to four property owners to use their half of the river. In many cases, Avon owns the north side of the river and bank, while others own the south side."

Category: Colorado Water

6:03:19 AM

Potable water from oil and gas wells?

Water produced from oil and gas wells is the subject of this article from today's Rocky Mountain News [December 28, 2005, "Oil, gas well byproduct: water"]. From the article, "Statewide, estimates vary on the volume of groundwater pumped to the surface by oil and gas operations, but there's enough to generate interest. 'Most oil and gas wells in the state produce more water than oil or gas,' said Geoffrey Thyne, an associate geological engineering professor at the Colorado School of Mines. Thyne said Denver Water distributes about a third of the state's treated water - about 76 billion gallons a year to more than a million customers. All the oil and gas wells in the Denver area, north to Fort Collins and east on the Plains produce about 1 billion gallons a year - enough for about 13,000 customers, said Thyne. Statewide, oil and gas operators produce about 10 billion gallons of water a year - enough for 130,000 households, he said. However, most of the water from energy development isn't near cities or towns, so pipeline costs and treatment expenses haven't made it an attractive water source, said Thyne."

Meanwhile, as reported on Coyote Gulch earlier this month, the Rocky Mountain News has a story about a lawsuit by ranchers over gas wells depleting ground water [December 28, 2005, "Bayfield ranchers' suit seeks protection for water supply"]. They write, "Two southwestern Colorado ranchers want to stop energy companies from wasting the water that gushes out of methane gas wells and to protect their own water wells. Jim Fitzgerald and Bill Vance, both from Bayfield, filed suit in Durango last month to force energy companies to get water well permits. Fitzgerald and Vance also want to force energy companies to have a plan for replacing the water that pours out of coal-bed methane production wells. 'There have been lots of personal water wells in this area depleted, but the gas companies always tell us it's not connected to their operations,' said Jim Fitzgerald. 'We're not suing for punitive damages, we just want to make the gas companies accountable for water losses,' said Bill Vance. The suit, filed in water court, asked that the Colorado state engineer and the regional water resources engineer protect established water well users, said attorney Amy Beatie...The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission issues drilling permits, but doesn't have authority over water, she said. The state engineer and the division of water resources issues permits for water wells, but has no jurisdiction over water produced by energy development, she said."

Category: Colorado Water

5:45:43 AM

Healthcare crisis?
Here's an opinion piece dealing with healthcare from the New York Times via the Denver Post [December 28, 2005, "Medicine: Who decides?"]. Paul Krugman writes, "Health care seems to be heading back to the top of the political agenda, and not a moment too soon. Employer-based health insurance is unraveling, Medicaid is under severe pressure, and vast Medicare costs loom on the horizon. Something must be done. But to get health reform right, we'll have to overcome wrongheaded ideas as well as powerful special interests. For decades we've been lectured on the evils of big government and the glories of the private sector. Yet health reform is a job for the public sector, which already pays most of the bills directly or indirectly and sooner or later will have to make key decisions about medical treatment."

Category: 2008 Presidential Election

5:32:59 AM

Legal Pot?
Fresh from a victory in Denver the group SAFER is planning a statewide initiative to legalize marijuana next fall, according to the Denver Post [December 28, 2005, "Pro-pot group seeks state vote"]. From the article, "Mason Tvert, SAFER's campaign director, declined Tuesday to give specifics of the campaign. The group would have to gather 67,829 signatures from registered voters to get the issue on the ballot. The effort drew sharp criticism from Colorado Attorney General John Suthers, who said it would have a drastic impact on law-enforcement efforts in the state. While federal authorities could still pursue large-scale marijuana trafficking, local and state law-enforcement authorities would be forced to change their practices if the measure passed, Suthers said...John Straayer, a professor of political science at Colorado State University, said he suspects supporters of legalizing possession of marijuana will have a harder time passing a statewide measure because many areas of the state are more culturally conservative than Denver. Still, he said, a libertarian strain among some conservatives could help draw support."

Here's the coverage from the Rocky Mountain News [December 28, 2005, "Pro-pot group aims at state law in '06"]. From the article, "Tvert said the statewide campaign is largely driven by frustration that Denver authorities, rejecting voter passage of local Initiative 100, continue to cite small-time marijuana violators under a state law that imposes a $200 fine for possession of an ounce or less. The initiative gives adults in Denver the right to privately possess that amount. 'Elected officials in Denver have been true to their word and completely ignored the will of the voters,' Tvert told the Rocky Mountain News on Tuesday. 'We only have one option left and that's to change state law.' Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said he welcomed a 'head-on, outright debate about legalization.' He expressed frustration with the state medical marijuana initiative passed by voters in 2000, saying: 'It was obviously advocated by legalization advocates, but they didn't want to take the issue on head-on.'"

Category: Denver November 2006 Election

5:18:40 AM

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