Coyote Gulch

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Colorado a swing state?
We missed this from the Rocky Mountain News today: "Karl Rove came to town Monday to appear at a fundraiser for the state Republican Party, and President Bush's top political adviser made it clear that Colorado has become a crucial swing state in national politics. 'It's a swing state, no ifs, ands or buts about it,' Rove said in a meeting with the Rocky Mountain News editorial board. 'It's a competitive state. You can't take it for granted.'"
"2008 pres"
5:59:46 PM

HB1020 and HB1022
Rocky Mountain News: "Colorado voters will see two measures dealing with immigration on the ballot in November, but neither is likely to be the failed initiative that led to the past week's special legislative session...

"The two bills headed to the ballot, House Bill 1020 and House Bill 1022, are intended to placate those who wanted voters to have a voice in the discussion - even if the topic is different from Initiative 55. House Bill 1020 (pdf), if approved by voters, would prohibit any employer who cannot verify an employee is a legal U.S. resident from claiming that employee's wages as a deductible business expense. It would apply to employees hired on or after Jan. 1, 2008, and who were paid $600 or more in one year. House Bill 1022 (pdf) says the state attorney general will sue or join with other states in suing the federal government to demand that it enforce federal immigration laws. Both bills have passed the House and Senate. They do not need the governor's signature to be placed on the ballot."
"denver 2006"
6:25:57 AM

Don't eat (too much) Bass

From today's Denver Post, "Elevated levels of mercury found in largemouth bass have led Colorado Department of Public Health officials to issue consumption warnings at two Denver lakes. Rocky Mountain and Berkeley lakes will have advisory signs posted regarding safe amounts of fish to consume for all individuals. Further testing of Denver lakes will continue through 2007. 'If people follow the fish consumption advisory recommendations, there is little concern for health effects,' Nancy Severson, manager of the Denver Department of Environmental Health, said in a news release."
"colorado water"
6:10:49 AM

Veto in store for expanded stem cell research?
Karl Rove stated that President Bush will use the first veto of his presidency for a stem cell research bill should it pass the U.S. Senate (It has already passed the House), according to the Denver Post. From the article, "President Bush will likely cast the first veto of his presidency if the Senate, as expected, passes legislation to expand federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research, White House aide Karl Rove said Monday in Denver. 'The president is emphatic about this,' said Rove - Bush's top political adviser and architect of his 2000 and 2004 campaigns - in a meeting with The Denver Post editorial board."
"2008 pres"
6:01:37 AM

Oil and gas drilling

Summit Daily News: "Five Colorado environmental groups have asked to require oil and gas production companies to publicly identify all chemicals used during natural gas well drilling. In a letter sent to Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) on June 14, the San Juan Citizens Alliance, Western Colorado Congress, Western Slope Environmental Resource Council, the Grand Valley Citizens Alliance and the Oil and Gas Accountability Project said chemicals known to be toxic to humans are being used by the industry in Colorado. Of particular interest to the groups is the process of hydraulic fracturing which injects fluids into wells under high pressure to open natural fractures in gas-producing areas of rock strata to allow the gas to escape up the well. The groups contend that toxic chemicals are components of frac'ing fluid and could pose a threat to human health...

"Last year the Oil and Gas Accountability Project, an industry watchdog group, took issue with a report by the Environmental Protection Agency that said frac'ing does not need federal regulation because it poses no threat to drinking water safety. The process was also declared exempt from federal regulation in the 2005 Energy Policy Bill. Among the fluids used in frac'ing is diesel fuel, which contains volatile organic compounds such as benzene that are known to cause cancer. A bill proposed by U.S. Sen. Jim Jeffords last year that would have required the EPA to regulate frac'ing fluids under the Safe Drinking Water Act was defeated. It would have banned the use of diesel fuel and other hazardous chemicals and would have required individual states to regulate frac'ing."

Coyote Gulch welcomes the Summit Daily News from behind their registration wall. They cover water issues all the time and it's been a shame that they were not part of the conversation here.

Meanwhile Colorado Land Owners for Fairness are preparing a ballot issue to better protect split estates with regard to oil and gas operations, according to the Rocky Mountain News. From the article, "Expressing frustration with a lack of action at the legislature, activists launched a campaign Monday to ask voters to give landowners more say about how the energy boom affects them. Colorado Land Owners for Fairness, a group organized by Glenwood Springs real estate agent John Gorman, has started collecting signatures for a proposed constitutional amendment dealing with so-called 'split estates,' where one party owns the surface land and another owns the minerals underneath it. A bill aimed at giving more protections to landowners on split estates died in the legislature this year after a major rift developed between industry groups and a coalition that included small landowners and home builders...

"Companies that own or lease minerals have the legal right to 'reasonable use' of the surface to extract the minerals. State and federal officials have urged companies to negotiate agreements with surface owners, but companies can post a bond and drill if that fails. Landowners complain that being able to post bond and drill without an agreement gives companies all the leverage. They say the bonds are too low to do any good. The amendment proposed for the November ballot would require a mineral extractor to pay the fair value of damages created by mineral development, including oil and natural gas drilling. The group has four weeks to collect nearly 68,000 signatures of registered voters to qualify for the ballot. Gorman said core members of the group are from western Colorado, where gas drilling is increasing rapidly, but said that residents in gas fields in eastern Colorado are interested as well."
"colorado water"
5:53:37 AM

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