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Friday, December 14, 2007
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Healthcare
The Moderate Voice: "For the second time, President Bush has vetoed a major expansion of the S-CHIP children's health insurance program despite Democratic efforts to rewrite the bill to meet his objections. The new bill had firmer caps on income eligibility and banned children of illegal immigrants from qualifying. In vetoing the bill, Bush said that "our nation's goal should be to move children who have no health insurance to private coverage, not to move children who already have private health insurance to government coverage.'"
"2008 pres"
7:07:10 AM 
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? for President?
Political Wire: "A new CNN/Opinion Research poll in South Carolina finds Mike Huckabee surging to the top among the Republican presidential candidates, while Sen. Barack Obama has cut into Sen. Hillary Clinton's lead among Democrats. Huckabee leads the GOP race with 24%, followed by Fred Thompson at 17%, Rudy Giuliani at 16%, Mitt Romney at 16% Sen. John McCain at 13%, and Rep. Ron Paul at 11%. Clinton still leads the Democratic race wtih 42%, followed by Obama at 34% and John Edwards at 16%."
Political Wire: "Sen. Barack Obama 'has come from behind to turn the Democratic presidential race in New Hampshire into a toss-up,' according to a new Concord Monitor poll. Obama leads with 32%, followed by Sen. Hillary Clinton at 31%, John Edwards at 18% and Gov. Bill Richardson at 8%...On the Republican side, Mitt Romney leads with 31%, followed by Rudy Giuliani at 18%, Sen. John McCain at 17% and Mike Huckabee at just 9%."
"2008 pres"
6:53:04 AM
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2008 Democratic National Convention
Mayor Hickenlooper claims that the funding for the 2008 Democratic National Convention is on target, according to The Denver Post. From the article:
Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper says a $15 million fundraising goal for the 2008 Democratic National Convention should be met by the deadline today. "We have every expectation we'll be there," he said Thursday. "It's pretty exciting." As the city hosting the convention, Denver is required by its contract with the Democratic National Committee to meet a series of fundraising deadlines. The benchmarks ensure the committee will have enough cash in hand to prepare for the party's presidential convention Aug. 25-28. Denver's host committee missed the first deadline in June, when it was supposed to have $7.5 million in hand. Despite $1 million checks from Union Pacific and Xcel Energy and large donations from several other corporate donors, the committee fell about $2 million short. Host committee spokesman Chris Lopez concurred with Hickenlooper that Denver will hit the second milestone today. "By the end of the day (Friday), we fully expect to make the goal. We're very much on target," he said. "Checks are coming in hourly. We have the commitments from different sponsors that they will wire the money. It looks really good. We're not sweating it." Fundraising efforts have been so successful in recent weeks, Lopez said, that "we're already setting our sights on 2008."
"2008 pres"
6:36:27 AM
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Sterling: Trihalomethanes
Officials in Sterling are struggling with developing a plan to address levels of trihalomethanes in their drinking water, according to The Sterling Journal Advocate. From the article:
Sterling City Manager Joe Kiolbasa said Tuesday afternoon that the city's violation was recorded at 89 ppb, less than 10 ppb above the maximum. "These are federal regulations, not state, even though the state is charged with enforcing it," Kiolbasa said. City officials met with officials with the Colorado Department of Health and Environment Monday. Kiolbasa said that the city is still in violation. The question that city officials did not get answered by the state is exactly what impact this level of contamination has on the human body. In the release issued in November, the city said there is not an immediate health risk. The release did add that "some people who drink water containing total trihalomethanes in excess of the maximum contaminant level over many years may experience problems with their liver, kidneys or central nervous system, and may have an increased risk of getting cancer." Kiolbasa said it is difficult to define exact benchmarks to say that consuming a given amount of water will result in a specific health issue because of the individual health variables with each individual...One of the solutions the city has reviewed is to flush the water system. City officials are also considering other options that they are hopeful will eliminate or minimize the issue.
"colorado water"
6:29:58 AM
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Colorado State Legislature to revamp conservation easements
Here's a look at the potential legislative overhaul of conservation easement rules with respect to abuses that have recently come to light, from The Rocky Mountain News. From the article:
Colorado lawmakers are planning a major overhaul of a high-profile state law that grants lucrative tax credits to landowners who donate land for conservation easements. Among the ideas being considered are licensing the nonprofit land trusts that agree to accept the conservation easements and maintain them, early filing of appraisals with the state Division of Real Estate, and more sharing of information between state agencies such as the Department of Revenue and the Real Estate Division. "This is going to be an omnibus reform bill," said Rep. Alice Madden, D-Boulder. "I think it's clear there is no silver bullet. We need to look at this from a lot of different angles." The easements are popular among conservationists because they allow open space programs and environmental groups to protect private land without having to purchase it outright, a process that saves them millions of dollars...
Still, land trust advocates worry that too much scrutiny of deals will deter owners from offering their land for protection and that they will choose to sell them for development instead, which typically puts more money in their pocket.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
"colorado water"
6:22:10 AM
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Gunnison Basin snowpack
From The Gunnison Country Times, "The storm easily brought the Gunnison Basin's snow water equivalent count from below average to above average. On Wednesday, Dec. 5 the basin was at 78 percent of average. By Monday, that number had jumped to 124 percent, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service's SNOTEL sites throughout the basin. On Nov. 30, the snow water equivalent for the basin was at 23 percent of average."
"colorado water"
6:10:07 AM
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Interior Secretary Kempthorne signs Colorado River drought management plan
As we reported yesterday the big news this morning is Dirk Kempthorne's signature on the drought management plan [pdf] cooked up by the seven Colorado River Compact states. Here's an article from The Pueblo Chieftain. They write:
Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne and representatives from the states signed the agreement at the Colorado River Water Users Association meeting in Las Vegas. Kempthorne praised the seven states for navigating "the shoals of history" in reaching the agreement...
Kempthorne said the plan, negotiated for the past three years, includes the following elements: Shortages - Rules specify who will take reductions and when they take them during drought; Storage - Lake Powell and Lake Mead will rise and fall in tandem to share the risk of drought; Surpluses - Rules will be in place to distribute extra water; Conservation - Rules will address the ongoing drought by encouraging new initiatives for water conservation.
Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter and other top state officials applauded the agreement. "With climate change looming and added water development pressure because of unprecedented population growth in the southwestern United States, we need to develop creative solutions such as this," Ritter said.
The agreement benefits Colorado because it avoids litigation and promotes cooperation between the seven basin states, said Scott Balcomb, Colorado's representative to the interstate negotiations. The agreement is important to Colorado because it reduces the likelihood of a call on the Colorado River by the lower basin states. The Arkansas Valley imports more than 125,000 acre-feet annually from the Colorado River Basin, while users in the South Platte bring in about 350,000 acre-feet a year...
The agreement does not address how shortages within states will be shared. The Colorado Water Conservation Board is studying how much water is still available for use in Colorado. State Sen. Jim Isgar, D-Hesperus, is considering introducing legislation that would protect senior water rights in the state from future claims, making compact deliveries the first priority of the state...
The lower basin states use more than their entitlement under the compact, while upper basin states use only about 3.5 million acre-feet annually. In 2003, then-Secretary of Interior Gale Norton approved guidelines that would cut back California's use from 5.3 million acre-feet to 4.4 million acre-feet.
Here's the Wyoming point of view from The Casper Star Tribune. They write:
In a brief telephone interview from Las Vegas Thursday afternoon, Wyoming State Engineer Patrick Tyrrell said the agreement is a good deal for Wyoming. "It preserves all our rights under existing law," Tyrrell said. For the first time the states have an agreement that focuses on the management of the Lake Powell and Lake Mead reservoirs to deal with shortages in the Colorado River. The reservoirs will be allowed carry water over for use in the next year. The reservoirs have been operating under a "use it or lose it" principle, Tyrrell said.
More coverage from The Rocky Mountain News. From the article:
More than 750 water officials packed the convention hall at Caesar's Palace for the signing ceremony and gave Kempthorne a standing ovation. "It means our water future is a little more secure," said Ted Kowalski, a member of the Colorado team negotiating the pact. "It's also a huge step forward in managing water more efficiently." The Front Range relies on the Colorado River for roughly half of its drinking water. Without the plan, Colorado cities risked having to give up water so that cities such as Las Vegas, Phoenix and Los Angeles would have enough, as was required under the 1922 compact...
The plan also calls for farm lands to be fallowed in Arizona and California so cities can buy the saved water from farmers in dry years. And it lays the groundwork for improving water delivery systems in the Lower Basin to make them more efficient. "This is a huge step forward in terms of resolving outstanding conflicts between water users," said Mike Cohen, a senior associate at the Pacific Institute who monitors and researches Colorado River issues. "It gives us a lot of ways to wring more water out of the system."[...]
Upper Basin states (Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada): Will now be able to store more water in Lake Powell during droughts, protecting recreation and power generation. There will be less chance that fast-growing cities, such as Las Vegas, will come after this region's share of the Colorado River.
Lower Basin states (Nevada, Arizona, California): Will be forced to take less water from Lake Mead during drought, but will be allowed to store any extra water they can save to help combat drought, something they haven't been able to do under the 1922 Colorado River Compact. Will also have more flexibility to share water and to do large-scale water-sharing deals between farmers and cities.
More coverage from The Arizona Republic. They write:
Thursday's agreement is important for Arizona because it contains the flexibility and stability we need to plan for growth. There are clear rules for declaring a shortage, who would take reductions and when they would occur - hugely important to Arizona, which is first in line to have its allocations cut (a tradeoff for getting approval of the Central Arizona Project canal). The system's two giant reservoirs will be managed together, rather than separately, so the risk of drought is spread evenly. When Lake Powell is high, water will be released to Lake Mead, the source of Arizona's supply. There are innovative ways of cooperating among states, including a water-banking deal between Arizona and Nevada, a new reservoir in California funded with help from neighboring states.
Here's another article from The Environmental News Network. From the article:
The seven Colorado River Basin states and the federal government today signed an agreement to peacefully meet the challenges of the current nine year drought in the basin as well as future low water conditions. The new rules, which take effect immediately, will be in place through 2026...
"This decision memorializes a remarkable consensus not only to solve current problems but also to prepare ahead of time for future droughts or surpluses rather than resorting to disruptive litigation, [Kempthorne] said. Signed at the Colorado River Water Users Association's annual meeting in Las Vegas, the Record of Decision activates a legal agreement among the basin states in which they commit to address future controversies on the river through consultation and negotiation before beginning any litigation. "As the Colorado River navigates a 1,500 mile journey down mountains through canyons and across desert landscapes, you have navigated the shoals of history," Kempthorne told the meeting. "You have steered around the cataracts and sharp boulders of litigation and acrimony. You have found the serene waters of partnership and cooperation."[...]
"I am particularly impressed by the innovative approaches you have taken to conserve water, especially the construction project known as Drop 2," the Kempthorne told state leaders. The Drop 2 project will be located in California, but it is being paid for by Nevada. It will create a reservoir to conserve additional water for Nevada's use over the next two decades. After that, the additional water will benefit all water users in the lower basin states...
Urban use of the Colorado River is primarily on Southern California's coastal plain from Ventura County to the Mexican border and inland as far as Riverside and San Bernardino counties. In addition to the large cities of Los Angeles, San Diego and Riverside, some 135 other urban areas, including Las Vegas, depend on the Colorado for at least part of their water supply. The agreement sets up a framework to allow cities to contract with willing farmers to allow their fields to lie fallow in dry years so they would not need to irrigate them and the cities could use that water. Specifics in the guidelines include the elevations in Lake Mead at which the secretary of the interior would declare shortages in the Lower Basin, as well as what those shortages would be.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
"colorado water"
5:41:43 AM
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Arkansas River: Winter flows through Pueblo
From The Pueblo Chieftain, "A new plan should keep a minimum flow in the Arkansas River this winter to avoid low flows that have raised concerns of fishermen and water users in recent years. The agreement is possible thanks to an analysis of past practices related to the winter water storage program, assurances by Colorado Springs that it would curtail some exchanges as outlined in a 2004 intergovernmental agreement and an offer to prop up flow with releases by the Pueblo Board of Water Works, said Water Division 2 Engineer Steve Witte...The goal of the program will be to keep 100 cubic feet per second of flows in the Arkansas River through Pueblo, as measured at the Moffat Street gauge, Witte said. The flows are optimal for the winter fishery in Pueblo and allow the St. Charles Mesa Water District sufficient water quality to take water from the river near Moffat Street."
"colorado water"
5:28:05 AM
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© Copyright 2009 John Orr.
Last update: 3/14/09; 9:55:43 PM.
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