| |
|
Thursday, October 19, 2006
|
|
Who has their hands on the faucet?
Summit Daily News: "For decades, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has governed operation of Green Mountain Reservoir. But recent talks between that federal agency and the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District have sent waves of concern rippling along the West Slope. Those talks concern a tentative plan to turn over some aspects of the reservoir's operation to the Front Range water provider. And that doesn't sit well with West Slope interests, who want to be sure that a non-biased party is in charge, as required by federal documents governing operation of Green Mountain and the rest of the Colorado-Big Thompson project. When push comes to shove in a dry year, the West Slope simply doesn't want the Front Range to have its hand on the faucet, an attitude that is rooted in part on a decades-long history of suspicion and mistrust between the two sides.
"Green Mountain Reservoir is a crucial link in the complex system of pipelines and buckets that distributes Colorado River water to both sides of the Divide. impoundment enables West Slope interests to use water out of priority, and provides basin-of-origin mitigation for transbasin diversions associated with the Colorado-Big Thompson project. For example, when the senior Shoshone power plant call is on downstream, stored water in Green Mountain enables ranchers, municipalities and subdivisions in Summit County to continue diverting water even though their rights are junior to Shoshone. 'We rely on the Bureau of Reclamation (BuRec) to be an honest broker,' said Grand County manager Lurline Underbrink Curran. 'We're just not that excited about losing control of Green Mountain,' Underbrink Curran said. The Bureau of Reclamation holds some balance as to when Green Mountain Reservoir fills. West Slope interests want to be sure those decisions are made equitably by an unprejudiced agency, she said. Her concerns are understandable. Grand County's water supply is already under pressure from an unrelated Denver Water proposal to increase diversions to the Front Range. And Summit County also relies on Green Mountain storage for a variety of reasons. Giving a Front Range utility the keys to the reservoir could be something like letting the fox guard the henhouse, Underbrink Curran said...
"But those fears may be unfounded, said BuRec area manager Fred Ore. At this point, the discussions are still in the early stages, and more importantly, the federal agency has no intention of relinquishing its overall authority over the project. 'In no scenario would they (the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy) take over responsibility for water management,' Ore said. 'That responsibility will remain with the Secretary of the Interior, through the Bureau of Reclamation, because they understand the sensitivity of it,' Ore said. The current talks are rooted in a long-running effort by the Bureau of Reclamation to streamline its operations. The Northern Colorado Water Conservancy has already taken over operations and maintenance of some significant West Slope water facilities, including Lake Granby and Shadow Mountain Reservoir, as well as some of the associated pumping facilities, Ore said. The idea is to cut costs and deliver water more efficiently...
"colorado water"
6:33:29 AM 
|
|
Southern Delivery System
Colorado Springs' lawsuit over Pueblo County's 1041 authority will be heard in Pueblo County, according to the Pueblo Chieftain. From the article, "Pueblo Count's land use regulations apply to permits issued by the county and any legal challenge against them properly belongs in Pueblo, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled this week. The high court unanimously upheld Pueblo Chief District Judge Dennis Maes' May 12 decision that Pueblo District Court is the proper venue for hearing a lawsuit filed by Colorado Springs. Colorado Springs lawyers essentially went judge-shopping, hoping to have their lawsuit tried in El Paso County. They were looking for a sympathetic judge who ultimately might exempt Colorado Springs' proposed Southern Delivery System pipeline from Pueblo County's 1041 land use regulations. The Springs argued that since most of the SDS water pipeline would be in El Paso County, that's where the lawsuit should be heard. The arguments rang hollow from the beginning."
"colorado water"
6:24:58 AM
|
|
Salazar questions Aurora's water exchange program
U.S. Representative John Salazar thinks that the Bureau of Reclamation is on shaky ground with their 40 year agreement with Aurora to store and exchange Fry-Ark water, according to the Pueblo Chieftain. From the article, "U.S. Rep. John Salazar claims the Bureau of Reclamation has 'questionable legal basis' for granting a 40-year storage and exchange contract that would allow Aurora to use federal water storage to export water from the Arkansas River basin. Salazar released his letter to the Bureau of Reclamation Wednesday detailing his objections to the Aurora contract. Aurora is requesting 10,000 acre-feet of space in Lake Pueblo and a contract exchange to move 10,000 acre-feet of its water in Lake Pueblo to Twin Lakes in a paper trade. Reclamation is accepting comments on its draft environmental statement through Nov. 9 and will begin contract negotiations Oct. 25. 'I have serious concern that the Bureau proposes to grant such rights to Aurora and question the Bureau's authority to do so,' Salazar said. Aurora's authority to store water in Fry-Ark facilities has been questioned twice by the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District...
"Aurora has a 50-year contract signed in 1965 to lease 15,000 acre-feet in Turquoise Lake, in order to accommodate imports from the Homestake Project. It entered a second 50-year contract for 5,000 acre-feet in Turquoise Lake in 1983. Aurora also owns 5 percent of Twin Lakes shares, or 2,700 acre-feet of its own storage independent of Fry-Ark storage. Salazar's objections are the strongest to be raised by a congressman. 'Such action by the Bureau is completely contrary to the statutory scheme that gave birth to the Fryingpan Arkansas Project,' Salazar said. 'The Fry-Ark Project, signed into law by President Kennedy in 1962, is a project that is intended for the use of the Arkansas Basin, not Aurora.' Salazar also questions the need for a 40-year contract...
"Salazar also asks Reclamation: To investigate past policy regarding out-of-basin transfers; To look at a full environmental impact study, rather than an environmental assessment; To look at cumulative efforts of the Aurora lease with PSOP, the Southern Delivery System and the Arkansas Valley Conduit."
Meanwhile the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District is putting on the gloves against Aurora and the Bureau of Reclamation, according to the Pueblo Chieftain. From the article, "A federal policy of conducting water storage contract negotiations before an environmental assessment is complete has raised the hackles of a valley water watchdog. The Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District Wednesday unanimously voted to ask the Bureau of Reclamation to delay contract negotiations with Aurora until it reviews comments on a draft environmental statement. 'I am personally chagrined about the Bureau claiming it has authority for the contract,' Lower Ark President John Singletary said. 'We only have a short time to act.' The comment period for the draft environmental assessment ends Nov. 9, but contract negotiations are scheduled to start at 9 a.m. Oct. 25 at the Occhiato Ballroom of the Student Center at Colorado State University-Pueblo."
"colorado water"
6:14:43 AM
|
|
Suthers for Attorney General?
The Denver Post editorial staff has endorsed John Suthers for Attorney General. They write, "Colorado's attorney general is charged with enforcing the state's consumer protection and antitrust laws, prosecuting white-collar crimes and taking on certain natural resource and environmental matters. The AG represents the state's interests in criminal appeals and must manage an office of 360 employees, including 230 lawyers. Among them, they handle an estimated 10,000 legal issues a year. It is demanding duty, with public-policy challenges that run a wide gamut. Voters chose Ken Salazar for the position in 2002, and on his election to the U.S. Senate, the governor appointed then-U.S. Attorney John Suthers to succeed him. Suthers is a first-class prosecutor who is now seeking election to a full term in his own right. We urge Coloradans to give him their vote. Suthers isn't what you'd call a flashy guy. The Colorado Springs Republican takes a sensible approach to his work and seems drawn to dense and complicated issues, such as water rights. (A good thing, since the AG will have to defend Colorado's interests in nine interstate river compacts.) He is pushing to finalize hazardous waste cleanup projects that have lingered for as long as 20 years. And he has taken on mortgage fraud in a state that has the highest foreclosure rate in the nation."
"denver 2006"
6:03:08 AM
|
|
National energy policy: Pedal to the metal, right off the cliff?
Aspen Daily News: "Two nearby natural areas are among 17 across the West dubbed 'too wild to drill' in a report released on Wednesday by the environmental group The Wilderness Society. The Roan Plateau and another area that includes part of the White River National Forest called Clear Fork Divide were included in the report, which also lists well-known natural spots considered for oil and gas drilling, including Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and Wyoming's Red Desert. Five of the 17 places identified in the report are in Colorado. The 'Too Wild to Drill' report warns that city watersheds, wildlife habitat, roadless lands and potential wilderness areas are being threatened as the region experiences a surge in energy production. It criticizes the Bush administration for the pace and scale of energy development and its impacts on remote areas. 'Our national energy policy is like 'Thelma and Louise.' It's pedal to the metal right off the cliff, and it's dragging our sustainable quality of life with it," said Sloan Shoemaker, of the Carbondale-based Wilderness Workshop. "Folks around here are saying, 'Enough.' We want something left after the boom goes bust and won't stand by watching as these last best places, like the Clear Fork Divide, are plundered for a few hours of energy.'[...]
"The Colorado places the report says are threatened by drilling are: The Roan Plateau - A vast mesa rising northwest of Rifle, home to wildlife, rare plants and native cutthroat trout, which sits on top of what is believed to be a rich supply of natural gas. The BLM has released a plan that would allow gas drilling in phases in an effort to reduce the impact, but environmentalists say the plan doesn't go far enough; The Clear Fork Divide - A roadless area on the fringe of the White River National Forest that connects the Crystal and Colorado River valleys, an area environmentalists say is a key migration corridor that hosts a vast aspen grove and old-growth spruce; Grand Mesa Slopes - Flanks of the Grand Mesa that make up the watershed for Grand Junction and Palisade; Vermillion Basin - A proposed northwest Colorado wilderness area, with rare plants and petroglyphs, ringed by oil and gas leasing; HD Mountains - A roadless area near Durango with what environmentalists say are the largest remaining stands of old-growth ponderosa pine in the Southern Rockies."
Meanwhile, here's an article about the report from the Rocky Mountain News. They write, "Drilling rigs that dot the Rocky Mountain landscape could fill in even more dramatically based on the number of approvals by the federal government. The Bush administration has nearly 119,000 new oil and gas wells on the books for public lands in Colorado, Utah, Montana, Wyoming and New Mexico over the next two decades. That's nearly double the current 63,000 producing wells on public lands in those five states. Colorado alone could see nearly 23,000 new wells in the next 10 to 20 years, more than five times the current 4,200 producing wells on public lands in the state, according to a report released Wednesday."
"2008 pres"
6:01:00 AM
|
|
Water spies
Here's a report about the ugly side of the shut down of irrigation wells in the South Platte alluvial aquifer this spring. Some farmers didn't (apparently) and private investigators were hired to monitor compliance, according to the Rocky Mountain News.
From the article, "Private investigators for some of Colorado's fastest-growing communities spent weeks spying on farmers this summer to see if they were illegally pumping water for their crops, The Associated Press has learned. The investigators put together an elaborate database on 50 plots of land in eastern Colorado, noting things like 'puddles around sprinkler perimeter' and 'lush corn,' and turned it over to state engineer Hal Simpson, who is investigating the claims. Exact details of the spying program, including how many acres were studied and how much was spent to gather the information, were not disclosed. Word of the investigation stunned farmers in northeastern Colorado who say they are struggling to get by because the state shut down their wells this spring after complaints from those holding more senior rights to the water. According to a complaint filed in Weld County water court, one well owner threatened to shoot state inspectors if they tried to come on his property. Others recalled seeing men sitting in cars watching their property, beginning in July...
"Water attorney Tim Buchanan, who represents farmers, said he ordered the spying campaign because he suspected well owners were continuing to pump water. 'We started hearing rumors and people in the area where the wells are located called us and said people were pumping contrary to the state's order,' he said. 'We looked only at properties that had wells as their sole source of water. Not only were they wet, they were growing crops.' Buchanan said water users, including communities and farmers, hired a private investigator to go out during daylight hours to survey 50 plots of land. They then paid engineers to verify the information. Water attorney Veronica Sperling, who represents Boulder and Highlands Ranch, said her clients were concerned after hearing reports of illegal pumping. Carol Ellinghouse, the water resources coordinator for Boulder, said she and others hired the investigator after she got a tip from a turf farm worker who said his neighbors were running their wells."
"colorado water"
5:51:06 AM
|
|
|
© Copyright 2009 John Orr.
Last update: 3/14/09; 8:41:02 PM.
|
|
|
