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Sunday, May 28, 2006
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Kempthorne confirmed
New West: "Dirk Kempthorne is in. In Washington, that is. He's out of Idaho officially now that the U.S. Senate has confirmed in a voice vote the Idaho Governor's nomination to U.S. Secretary of the Interior. As a former senator, Kempthorne is familiar with Washington, and will be sworn in to his D.C. post right away in a private ceremony (even with a broken foot). Kempthorne will be the forty-ninth person to hold the position, succeeding Gale Norton, as the steward of one-fifth of the nation's land, which includes national parks, wildlife refuges and other federal lands. President George W. Bush's selection of a pro-development Western Republican should come as no surprise considering the administration's policy to push for more oil and gas drilling from 3.6 million acres from the Gulf of Mexico to Alaska's North Slope. Kempthorne's approval was overwhelming, but he was not without opposition; Florida Senator Bill Nelson has from the first announcement decried the Bush administration's push. 'As part of my promise to Florida, I have said I could not support an Interior secretary who would advance this administration's willingness to acquiesce to the oil lobby and its ever increasing desire for greater profits,' Nelson said."
Coloradans should note that Mr. Kempthorne will have a key role in re-allocating the water from the Colorado River now that we know that the river is over-allocated and that we are in a period of serious drought. It was his predecessor, Gale Norton, that blocked the re-charging of Lake Powell ahead of Lake Mead. Lake Powell is the primary storage for satisfying downstream rights by the Upper Colorado River Basin states.
"colorado water"
8:50:01 AM 
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Californai Appeals Court: Bloggers are Journalists
Dave Winer: "A very simple editorial on yesterday's decision by the Sixth District Court of Appeals that bloggers are entitled to the same protection as print journalists; that a rich corporation can't control the bloggers that cover it...Again, thanks to the courts. We certainly can't depend on the executive and legislative branches of government, or the companies that profit from the Internet. The courts, and a free press are our last bastions of hope, such as they exist."
Brought to you by editor, publisher and journalist, Coyote Gulch. 
8:46:32 AM
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Fall ballot issues
Here's an article from today's Denver Post, dealing with the potential ballot proposals for the fall election. They write, "This year's 'blue book,' the little pamphlet that analyzes the pros and cons and content of ballot issues, probably won't be so little. It could well be thicker than a deep-dish pizza, and it won't be nearly as appetizing. Coloradans could face a daunting number of ballot issues next Nov. 7 - the most since 1992, when 13 proposals jammed the ballot. This year, as many as 18 statewide issues could be facing voters, an intimidating and confusing prospect. The list includes five ballot issues put there by the legislature and two citizen initiatives that already have qualified. Petitions for at least seven other statewide issues are circulating among us now, carried by eager signature-hunters who collect a buck or three for every plebiscite-loving small-d democrat they can persuade to put ink to paper.
"Secretary of State Gigi Dennis anticipates eight to 10 citizen initiatives will qualify for the statewide ballot. Three latecomers could be added, including term limits for judges and a couple of proposals to increase state tax refunds. And that doesn't include all the possibilities for local ballot issues that also will be crowding the ballot. Initiatives mean a lot of work for the secretary of state's office, especially the logjam of signature-checking after the Aug. 7 deadline for turning in petitions. Each ballot issue must have 68,000 valid signatures; to be safe, most circulators collect 90,000 or 100,000. A representative sample of 5 percent is checked. On top of that, there are 25 candidate petitions to be scrutinized. That isn't the only reason Dennis is less than enthusiastic about the petition thing. When she was in the legislature, as a Republican from Pueblo West, she favored several unsuccessful attempts to control the process, or at least to make it harder to amend the constitution than to amend state laws. It's not only that this rampant ballot access confuses voters, Dennis says; it's also that 'the voters are at risk of turning us into a true democracy when we are a republic. I don't think it's appropriate that you tie up things like tax policy in our constitution.'"
"denver 2006"
8:33:10 AM
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Immigration
Here's an article about former Denver mayor, Federico Peña, and his involvement with immigration issues, from the Denver Post. They write, "Federico Peña knows what hope, optimism and desperation look like. He has seen all three in the eyes of immigrants. Haitian refugees floating on handmade boats trying to reach a new shore. Cubans rescued from the ocean on a quest to get to the United States. Mexicans who crossed, many through miles of desert, to work illegally in kitchens or on lawns, in fields or on construction sites, trying to make a better life for their children. And German, Irish and Italian immigrants in vivid black-and-white photos at Ellis Island, which he visited for the first time three months ago. Those interactions and his youth in a border town, where Mexican neighbors crossed each day to work on the American side - and vice versa - gave him a unique view of the nation's most contentious issue. His childhood as a 'border kid,' his family's 250-year history in Laredo, Texas, his appreciation for the contributions of immigrants and his experiences as U.S. secretary of transportation - where he oversaw the treatment of Haitian and Cuban refugees - recently met his frustration over the current debate about illegal immigration. But it wasn't until he looked at the faces of children holding signs, worried about their undocumented parents being deported and their families shattered, and waves of workers and families in the streets taking a public stand against a congressional proposal to make them felons, that his experiences and expertise combined with his passion and sense of duty.
"He had finally had enough. A rousing speech at the 'We Are America' march May 1, and his recent move to lead Keep Colorado Safe, a campaign to defeat a proposed state constitutional amendment that would curtail services for undocumented immigrants, have now put the former Denver mayor squarely in the public eye. He had kept a low profile for years, focusing on his family, privately advising and quietly supporting educational efforts. But the courage of the undocumented immigrants tugged at his Catholic morality and his border-town roots. 'There just comes a point in your life when you have to do what is right and not be worried about the naysayers or the critics or how it will be perceived,' he said. 'I have to look at myself in the mirror every day, and I don't think I would have been very comfortable had I not gotten involved'".
"2008 pres"
8:25:01 AM
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Progressive 15 Summit
Here's a recap the Progressive 15 Summit, held last Thursday, at Northeastern Junior College. From the Sterling Journal Advocate, "Colorado's water, or the lack of it, brought 65 people to the Progressive 15 Water Summit here Thursday. John Metli, Progressive 15 board member from Elbert County, said by the year 2030 the South Platte River Basin is predicted to be 410,000 acre feet short of water. Studies conducted under the Statewide Water Supply Initiative demonstrate that pressure from Colorado's increasing population will create water shortages in five of the state's seven river basins by 2030. The South Platte Basin, with the fastest-growing population and a river that is over appropriated, will bear the brunt of this pressure. Thousands of irrigation wells have been drilled across eastern Colorado in the past 50 or so years. And repercussions from this massive drilling can be felt now, years earlier than 2030."
"colorado water"
8:19:33 AM
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Fountain Creek management
Residents along and agencies involved with managing Fountain Creek are trying to look into the future and gauge the impacts of more development and more treatment plants planned by Colorado Springs, according to the Pueblo Chieftain. From the article, "Colorado Springs is planning a 10 million gallon per day treatment plant at Clear Springs Ranch by 2012 to serve the first round of new development on the Banning-Lewis Ranch, a 24,000-acre development on the eastern edge of Colorado Springs several miles north. Eventually, about 55,000 homes are planned for Banning-Lewis and the capacity of the wastewater plant will be increased to 30 mgd, said Colorado Springs Utilities spokesman Steve Berry. Colorado Springs now is building a 20 mgd wastewater treatment plant at Garden of the Gods, to handle sewer discharge in the northern part of the city. Plans call for eventually increasing it to 30 mgd as well. Colorado Springs's current plant is licensed by the state for discharges of up to 75 mgd, but averages about 47 mpg. By comparison, Pueblo's permit is for 19 mgd, with an average discharge of 11 mgd...
"The Colorado Department of Health and Public Environment looks at overall water quality on any stream it monitors, and says the everyday discharges of plants along Fountain Creek are in compliance. But the Colorado Water Quality Commission earlier this year listed the portion of Fountain Creek in El Paso County as impaired for E. coli bacteria. Without DNA testing, it is not certain of the source of the bacteria, although some say it may be washing from the stream banks as flows increase. On many days, there might be no flows in Fountain Creek without sewer releases, making it more difficult to evaluate what the natural conditions of the stream might be...
"Critics downstream from the development say the state already may be behind in dealing with year-round flows on what used to be an intermittent creek, saying the state needs to require action on the overloaded system. 'My initial reaction is that unless something significant is done, the chances of getting any of those new permits are slim to nil,' said Ross Vincent, senior consultant for the Sierra Club in Pueblo. The Sierra Club is suing Colorado Springs in federal court for past sewage spills, which have averaged more than 10 per year and dumped more than 73 million gallons of untreated effluent into Fountain Creek since 1998. Part of the remedy sought by the Sierra Club is to restructure the way discharges are made into Fountain Creek or to change the way the Fountain channels handle water, Vincent said. 'They're not going to get away with ignoring the flood risk and property damage. At some point the feds, either the Corps of Engineers or the Environmental Protection Agency, would have to step in if nothing is done,' Vincent said. The increased flows would also aggravate water quality - levels of sediment and selenium - in Fountain Creek, Vincent said...
"In fact, there are already federal concerns about the situation on Fountain Creek. The Bureau of Reclamation added components to its environmental impact statement review of the Southern Delivery System last year, since much of the water that may be flowing in Fountain Creek in years to come would be delivered by a proposed pipeline from Pueblo Dam. Colorado Springs, Security and Fountain would benefit from an additional 68 million to 78 million gallons of water daily through SDS, a figure that closely matches the 67 million gallons of additional effluent that could be coming down Fountain Creek in 40 years' time. Solutions ranging from building a return flow pipeline to the Arkansas River - either down Fountain Creek or along Colorado Highway 115 - to requiring Colorado Springs to recycle its water and contain flood flows have been suggested during the SDS environmental review. Recycling return flows for potable drinking water is part of the Colorado Springs 1996 Water Resources Plan, and was put on the back burner as planning for SDS progressed. Officials have repeatedly said the recycling plan is too costly and does not meet their criteria for pipeline redundancy and water rights development...
"In lieu of SDS, [Consultant Ray] Petros has suggested a flood control reservoir and wetlands along Fountain Creek to filter water in order to alleviate the worst of sewage and flood impacts downstream. The reservoir could tie into a water recycling system. Colorado Springs has resisted that plan, sticking to its pipeline plan as its preferred alternative. The city is constructing an inflatable dam to corral sewage spills, but it will not be used to reduce base flows or to capture flood waters. Colorado Springs also is developing a stormwater enterprise to correct existing problems that cause erosion or sedimentation and to plan for drainage from future development. Meanwhile, the Fountain Creek Watershed Study has identified many of the problems caused by increased flows, but no projects to cope with the damage."
"colorado water"
7:58:18 AM
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© Copyright 2009 John Orr.
Last update: 3/14/09; 8:14:57 PM.
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