| |
|
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
|
|
Middle East policy
Captain's Quarters: "Despite suffering a landslide loss in parliamentary elections, Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf has no intention to resign from office. After the successful and fair elections produced a lopsided coalition between Benazir Bhutto's PPP and Nawaz Sharif's PML-N, Sharif called for Musharraf to leave office. Sharif could make it impossible for Musharraf to stay."
"2008 pres"
6:56:12 PM 
|
|
Lake Pueblo: Zebra mussels update
Here's an update on the zebra mussel infestation in Lake Pueblo from The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:
State and federal officials are trying to get a handle on zebra mussels at Lake Pueblo before they get out of hand. A remotely operated underwater camera will be used this week to determine the scope of an infestation of the mussels discovered in November. Divers have been lined up to get samples if large areas of mussels are found...
Testing is necessary now because the mussels will begin breeding when water temperatures warm, Sherman said. The Bureau of Reclamation will bring a remote operated vehicle with camera to survey underwater sites this week, said Peter Soeth, Reclamation spokesman. The camera is able to cover more ground than divers and will be used to look at underwater structures and the lake bottom. Divers will also be on hand to retrieve samples if anything is found through video imaging. Next week, Reclamation has scheduled up to eight divers to check out any problem spots that are found.
Two mussels were discovered in November attached to a piece of plastic pipe attached to a rope at Lake Pueblo, said Rob Billerbeck, head of biological programs for Colorado State Parks, which was testing at about 10 likely sites where mussels might turn up at Lake Pueblo. DNA testing confirmed they were zebra mussels, and further sampling by the Colorado Division of Wildlife showed there were also larvae in the water. It was the first sighting of zebra mussels in the state.
It's not known if zebra mussels will thrive in Colorado. They survive in even colder climates, and altitude is apparently not a limiting factor, he added.
Thanks to the Water Information Program for the link. More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
"colorado water"
6:47:17 PM
|
|
Dick Wolfe: You know what is going to work best for you to sustain the economy here and keep the aquifer in balance
Newly appointed State Engineer Dick Wolfe was hanging out in the San Luis Valley on Tuesday, according to The Valley Courier. From the article:
Meeting with San Luis Valley residents in Monte Vista on Tuesday new Colorado Division of Water Resources State Engineer Dick Wolfe reinforced the message his predecessor Hal Simpson had been giving the Valley for some time - Make your own rules before the state has to...
The Rio Grande Water Users Association hosted the initial Valley meeting with Wolfe on Tuesday. Several of the approximately 60 residents who attended the meeting asked Wolfe about his views and plans for future water regulation in the Rio Grande Basin. Wolfe said Valley water users have a great opportunity to create water management sub-district plans that work for them. "I would highly encourage those well users to participate in one of those plans," he said. He added, "I see a lot of positives about what is already in place and what has already been developed." He said this basin is fortunate to have as highly developed a tool as the Rio Grande Decision Support System model for example. Wolfe said well users will either have to group together under sub-district management plans or develop their own augmentation plans, and he believed well users would be better off to be part of a larger group than spend the time and money to develop their own individual plans. "To the extent you guys develop answers to these things locally is going to be the best," he said. "You know what is going to work best for you to sustain the economy here and keep the aquifer in balance." He said he was optimistic the Valley could bring its aquifers back into balance...
Wolfe said the process of developing well regulations and rules could take up to a year and would probably take another year before the process was complete. "We really need to get these sub-district plans in place," Wolfe said, "and from there I will be moving forward to promulgate regulations in the basin, and it will happen soon ... It's not going to be a long time out. It will be very soon."
Thanks to SLV Dweller for the link.
"colorado water"
6:15:52 PM
|
|
Amendment 31?
Colorado Confidential: "Every day at the light rail stop at Auraria campus in downtown Denver, Chloe Johnson encounters a handful of petitioners gathering signatures. 'Would you like to end all discrimination in Colorado?' she is asked. She certainly does. A month ago she signed the petition, and subsequently was shocked to learn that the measure is designed to obliterate all affirmative action programs in the state. Johnson, 18, is a political science major at the University of Colorado at Denver. She is also interning with state Rep. Morgan Carroll, a Democrat from Aurora. When Johnson discovered the petition that she signed is not what she was sold, she decided to petition the Secretary of State to have her name removed from the petition pushing the proposed Amendment 31. In addition to being misled, Johnson maintains she was flat-out lied to by the petitioner."
"denver 2008"
6:02:11 PM
|
|
? for President?
Political Wire: "The latest Evans-Novak Political Report notes that 'the complex, murky art of delegate counting, this much is clear: Obama has a slim lead but will need super-delegate help to win the nomination.'"
TalkLeft: "ABC News has a pretty thorough analysis of the status of things in Texas, and which way different demographics are breaking. There's three problems for Hillary in Texas, and they don't sound small: 1/3 of the delegates will be awarded based on a caucus held at the conclusion of the primary; Delegates are apportioned partially by Democratic voter turnout in prior elections; The primary is open to Independents."
Captain's Quarters: "It didn't take long for the Democratic Party establishment to react to Hillary Clinton's stunning loss in Wisconsin yesterday. A new 527 will raise money for a messaging onslaught in Texas and Ohio, funded by political strategists and deep-pocket donors who have ridden to Hillary's rescue."
Gene Kinsey in praise of Hillary Clinton: "Hillary won't quit. She can no more surrender than can a Borg. She'll keep coming with all the grace of a Terminator. And just like in the movies, Barack would do well to remember that even when it seems the machine is finished - it's not."
Daily Kos: "Tightening Race in Ohio: SurveyUSA. 2/17-18 (2/10-11). 733 likely voters. MoE 3.7%, Clinton 52% (56), Obama 43% (39). More bad news for Clinton, with her lead in this must-win state being cut in half in the past week, with two weeks to go to the primary. Obama gained the most ground among men and voters 18-34."
Political Wire: Sen. Barack Obama has opened a big national lead over Sen. Hillary Clinton in the Democratic presidential race, according to a new Reuters/Zogby poll. 'Obama also leads Republican front-runner John McCain in a potential November election match-up while Clinton trails McCain, enhancing Obama's argument he is the Democrat with the best shot at capturing the White House.'"
"2008 pres"
5:48:46 PM
|
|
Initiative 57
Denver Business Journal: "A state board gave preliminary approval Wednesday to a proposed November ballot initiative that would hold top executives accountable for corporate fraud. Backers can go ahead and begin collecting the 76,000 signatures needed to get the measure on the ballot, the state Initiative Title Setting Review Board decided. An initial draft of proposed initiative No. 57, 'Criminal and Civil Liability of Businesses and Individuals for Business Activities,' indicates that it would make heads of companies personally liable if they commit fraud, and guilty of a crime if they don't report fraud occurring at their companies."
"denver 2008"
5:42:15 PM
|
|
? for President?
Andy Borowitz: "Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama responded today to Sen. Hillary Clinton's charge that he plagiarized a speech, saying of the controversy, 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.'"
Thanks to NewMexiKen for the link.
"2008 pres"
7:29:32 AM
|
|
Wisconsin primary
The Moderate Voice "And so voters in yet another primary state that Hillary Clinton never took seriously enough in her march to inevitability have added more fuel to Barack Obama's improbable quest, putting her a step closer to possible electoral oblivion. Another chapter was writ large in the extraordinary saga of the firestorm versus the firewall last night as Obama beat Clinton by a 58 to 41 percent margin in Wisconsin for his ninth straight win. To put Clinton's loss in stark relief, there was nothing positive in her showing and she did almost as poorly as Mike Huckabee in his lopsided loss to John McCain in a state that she had been expected to win...But with every negative ad and negative comment from Clinton and her surrogates, every effort to rig the nominating process to give her an edge, every murky statement that the campaign will be clear about its intentions, she widens the perceptual gulf that Obama represents the fresh and new while she represents the tired and old."
"2008 pres"
7:13:42 AM
|
|
Hawaii caucuses
Political Wire: "Sen. Barack Obama 'won a landslide victory in the state of his birth last night as an unprecedented turnout at the Hawaii Democratic caucus overwhelmed precinct volunteers and party officials,' the Honolulu Star-Bulletin reports. Obama beat Sen. Hillary Clinton, 76% to 24%, for his tenth straight victory. 'The tally totaled more than 37,000 votes, showing that turnout far surpassed even the highest estimates of Democratic Party officials.' The last caucus in 2004 had nearly 4,000 voters which was considered a strong turnout."
"2008 pres"
7:11:59 AM
|
|
Climate Change: The earth is a beautifully complex system
Here's a recap of a panel on ocean health this week's annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, from The Environment News Service. Read the whole article. Here are a few excerpts:
Climate change is transforming the world's oceans by increasing the temperature and acidity of seawater, and altering atmospheric and oceanic circulation, reported a panel of scientists this week at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, AAAS, annual meeting in Boston. "The vastness of our oceans may have engendered a sense of complacency about potential impacts from global climate change," said Dr. Jane Lubchenco, a marine biologist at Oregon State University, who moderated the panel. "The world's oceans are undergoing profound physical, chemical and biological changes whose impacts are just beginning to be felt." Panelist Gretchen Hofmann, a molecular physiologist at the University of California-Santa Barbara, describes the situation as "multiple jeopardy." "Ocean ecosystems are facing new stresses and new combinations of stress," Hofmann said. "The water is warmer, circulation patterns are changing in unpredictable ways, and oceans are becoming acidic."[...}
Panelist Gretchen Hofmann, a molecular physiologist at the University of California-Santa Barbara, describes the situation as "multiple jeopardy." "Ocean ecosystems are facing new stresses and new combinations of stress," Hofmann said. "The water is warmer, circulation patterns are changing in unpredictable ways, and oceans are becoming acidic." Michael Behrenfeld, an oceanographer from Oregon State University, is studying relationships between climate and the global activity of ocean plants called phytoplankton. "Phytoplankton are of tremendous human importance because their photosynthesis yields oxygen for us to breathe and they are the base of the ocean food webs that support our global fisheries," Behrenfeld explained. Despite their microscopic size, ocean phytoplankton are responsible for about half of the photosynthesis on Earth, a process that removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and converts it into organic carbon to fuel nearly every ocean ecosystem. Using NASA satellites, Behrenfeld and other scientists are tracking changes in phytoplankton on a global basis and finding that warming ocean temperatures are linked to decreasing photosynthesis. Satellites aid understanding of the link between climate and ocean biology because they provide measurements of the whole planet on a daily basis, yet now the Behrenfeld worries that "we are facing the end of NASA ocean biology satellites because of budget cutbacks or new priorities." "Instead of facing the end of these critical missions and becoming blind to the changes occurring in our oceans," Behrenfeld said, "we should be building even better ones to see more clearly than we have in the past, and to gauge the potential consequences of climate change on ocean productivity."[...]
Rising greenhouse gas emissions are warming the world's oceans and providing a new threat to coral reefs, which already are among the most threatened of all marine ecosystems, the panelists say. Even modest warming of a degree or two above normal maximum temperatures can cause a breakdown in the relationship between corals and their symbiotic algae, zooxanthellae, said Nancy Knowlton, a marine biologist with the Smithsonian Institution. Without zooxanthellae, corals appear white, or "bleached," and grow more slowly. They also are more susceptible to disease and may not reproduce. In 1998 there were worldwide mass bleaching events, Knowlton pointed out, affecting 80 percent of the corals in the Indian Ocean, 20 percent of which died. In 2005, severe bleaching occurred over much of the Caribbean as a result of overly warm water temperatures. "We have already lost some 80 percent of the reef corals in the Caribbean over the last three decades, and losses in the Pacific Ocean also are widespread and severe," Knowlton said. "Reefs are like cities, with some parts growing and some parts being destroyed, and only when net growth is positive can reefs persist. These reefs already are under threat to overfishing and local pollution and unless drastic action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is taken soon," she said, "these reefs will cease to exist as we know them."
These same greenhouse gas emissions also are creating dramatic buildup of atmospheric carbon dioxide, CO2, which is making the world's oceans more acidic, said panelist Scott Doney of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Current CO2 levels of 380 parts per million already are 30 percent higher than pre-industrial values and many scientific models predict that those rates will triple by the end of the century under "business as usual" scenarios. While much of the scientific attention on ocean acidification has looked at the impact of coral reefs, the potential danger to other marine ecosystems is equally severe, Doney said. "Ocean acidification harms plants and animals that form shells from calcium carbonate," he said. "Calcifying organisms include not just corals, but many plankton, pteropods [marine snails], clams and oysters, and lobsters. Many of these organisms provide critical food sources or habitats for other organisms and the impact of acidification on food webs and higher trophic levels is not well understood." "Newly emerging evidence suggests that larval and juvenile fish may also be susceptible to changes in ocean pH levels," Doney added. "Ocean acidification is rapidly becoming a real problem."
Two scientists at Los Alamos Laboratory are proposing a method for turning CO2 into fuel, according to The New York Times. From the article:
If two scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory are correct, people will still be driving gasoline-powered cars 50 years from now, churning out heat-trapping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere -- and yet that carbon dioxide will not contribute to global warming. In a proposal by two scientists, vehicle emissions would no longer contribute to global warming. The scientists, F. Jeffrey Martin and William L. Kubic Jr., are proposing a concept, which they have patriotically named Green Freedom [pdf], for removing carbon dioxide from the air and turning it back into gasoline. The idea is simple. Air would be blown over a liquid solution of potassium carbonate, which would absorb the carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide would then be extracted and subjected to chemical reactions that would turn it into fuel: methanol, gasoline or jet fuel. This process could transform carbon dioxide from an unwanted, climate-changing pollutant into a vast resource for renewable fuels. The closed cycle -- equal amounts of carbon dioxide emitted and removed -- would mean that cars, trucks and airplanes using the synthetic fuels would no longer be contributing to global warming. Although they have not yet built a synthetic fuel factory, or even a small prototype, the scientists say it is all based on existing technology.
There is, however, a major caveat that explains why no one has built a carbon-dioxide-to-gasoline factory: it requires a great deal of energy. To deal with that problem, the Los Alamos scientists say they have developed a number of innovations, including a new electrochemical process for detaching the carbon dioxide after it has been absorbed into the potassium carbonate solution. The process has been tested in Dr. Kubic's garage, in a simple apparatus that looks like mutant Tupperware. Even with those improvements, providing the energy to produce gasoline on a commercial scale -- say, 750,000 gallons a day -- would require a dedicated power plant, preferably a nuclear one, the scientists say. According to their analysis, their concept, which would cost about $5 billion to build, could produce gasoline at an operating cost of $1.40 a gallon and would turn economically viable when the price at the pump hits $4.60 a gallon, taking into account construction costs and other expenses in getting the gas to the consumer. With some additional technological advances, the break-even price would drop to $3.40 a gallon, they said. A nuclear reactor is not required technologically. The same chemical processes could also be powered by solar panels, for instance, but the economics become far less favorable.
"2008 pres"
6:52:33 AM
|
|
Energy policy: Nuclear, HB 08-1165 and HB 08-1161
Here's an update on Powertech's proposed uranium mining operation in Weld County and the opposition from Fort Collins Now. From the article:
Though it's still months before any permit applications will be filed to conduct uranium mining in Northern Colorado, local government leaders and activists continue ramping up research and organizing efforts.
Last week, a board appointed by the Larimer County Commissioners wasn't ready to take a stand for or against the proposed mining operation, which is in neighboring Weld County but close to the county line. The Larimer County Environmental Advisory Board noted that "a number of risks are identified with (in-situ) operations," including threats to soil, air and water, but said the probability of those risks is still unknown...
Larimer County does not have permitting authority over the project, but other civic leaders have already announced formal opposition, most notably the Fort Collins City Council. County commissioners scheduled a public hearing on the matter for next week, which will include presentations by Powertech Uranium Corp., which wants to conduct the mining, and the main opponents' group, Coloradoans Against Resource Destruction.
Meanwhile, a new umbrella fundraising group that aims to help CARD is asking for small donations from as many residents as possible. Groups United Against Resource Destruction, GUARD, came about after opponents realized the need for fundraising to help support their Web site, www.nunnglow.com, and other projects. Founder John Schreck said GUARD would stick around regardless of the uranium mining project, in an effort to consolidate fundraising for other environmental advocacy groups. On Friday, he was finishing the tax paperwork to ask for classification as a non-profit group. "With Powertech being our mainstay adversary at this point, they are in the position of having millions of dollars to spend," he said. "I understand it is going to take a lot more than $10,000 or $20,000 to get this fight done." To that end, GUARD is hoping 100,000 residents will donate $5 each to help stop the mining operation. Schreck said the funds would be used to help CARD. "They will be hiring attorneys, a geologist, people in the scientific community, and a media contact, newspaper ads, radio ads, to bring all of Northern Colorado to a point of awareness," he said...
An immediate focus for GUARD, CARD and their members are two legislative proposals directly related to Powertech's planned mine. One of two mining-related bills is up again Wednesday, Feb. 20, before a Colorado House committee, which has already heard hours of testimony from mining opponents and industry experts. After an initial hearing that lasted well past dinnertime, officials from the mining industry met with bill sponsors Reps. John Kefalas and Randy Fischer, both Fort Collins Democrats, to hammer out some details. A second meeting took place last Friday and some amendments might be the result of those talks when the bill comes before the committee Wednesday. Testimony was closed at the previous hearing, so it's possible the bill could move forward Wednesday afternoon or meet its end in the committee. Some Republicans on the committee, including Rep. Frank McNulty, R-Highlands Ranch, have expressed skepticism in previous hearings. Fischer said last week that some committee members suggested tackling the issue in more depth in an interim committee over the summer. "There was a move to take this to a protracted interim committee, but we feel this needs to be done this session, this year," he said. "We think there's really some urgency around this issue, and we need to act in good faith for all the concerns that people up in Fort Collins and northern Larimer and Weld counties really have." Jeff Parsons, an attorney with the Western Mining Action Project, who works pro bono for the mining opponents, said delaying the bill until next year would render it ineffective. Powertech plans to apply for its dozens of permits in December, so legislative action in January 2009 might be too late. "Once that inertia builds, that's part of their strategy, I think, to make it seem like it's inevitable," he said. "And it's not."
Public Hearing: The Larimer County Commissioners are holding a public hearing on a proposal to mine for uranium in western Weld County, 6:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 25, County Courthouse, 200 W. Oak St.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here, here, here and here.
"2008 pres"
6:08:20 AM
|
|
HB 08-1141: Require Sufficient Water Supply
We prematurely reported on the death of HB 08-1141 earlier this month. We apologize -- cynicism is not a good trait to apply in evaluating water news. State Representative Kathleen Curry was able to shepherd the bill through the House Local Government Committee yesterday, according to The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. From the article:
State Rep. Kathleen Curry, D-Gunnison, told the House Local Government Committee her measure, House Bill 1141, will help local communities confront the competing demands of residential growth around the state and Colorado's "arid climate." Curry said the bill's provisions will tell local governments how to determine if sufficient water exists for new developments Reps. Steve King, R-Grand Junction, and Bob Gardner, R-Colorado Springs, opposed the bill and repeatedly asked about the necessity of the bill. King said he was worried the bill leaves homeowners and developers liable in the event local governments mistakenly approve residential properties without sufficient water supplies. However, the panel approved Curry's bill, which could go before the House Appropriations Committee as early as Friday.
More coverage from The Denver Post. They write:
A bill that would require developers to prove there is a sufficient water supply before getting approval for a new development cleared its first test Tuesday.
The House Local Government Committee passed House Bill 1141, sponsored by Rep. Kathleen Curry, D-Gunnison, with a 7-3 vote. Curry said it is critical for Colorado communities to connect growth with water supply, and she said the drought of recent years exposed how precious water is in the state. "We do live in an arid environment," she said. "That's a fact of life."[...]
Supporters call the bill a common-sense measure. "There is nothing more important in Colorado in the arena of policy making that dealing with water," said Rep. Cherylin Peniston, D-Westminster, who sits on the committee. Environmental groups also rallied behind the bill. "It offers a rational approach for cities across the state," said Bart Miller, with Western Resource Advocates. The Colorado Association of Home Builders opposed the bill.
More coverage from The Colorado Springs Gazette. They write:
Groups representing county and city governments said the bill would give local officials a better picture of how housing developments will affect their communities. It will also give them more authority to block projects that will not be able to make good on their promises. "This gives them more muscle to say no," said Pat Ratliff, who testified for Colorado Counties, Inc., a lobbying group for the state's 64 counties. Ratliff's organization said the bill gives governments greater discretion over how to evaluate builders' proposals, including the ability to determine what constitutes an adequate water supply. Under the measure, builders will have to show an adequate water supply for any development exceeding the equivalent of 50 single-family homes.
Rob Nanfelt, speaking for the Colorado Association of Home Builders, which opposes the bill, said developers work closely with local governments to ensure projects have enough water. "We are concerned that this will be a way of slowing or killing growth when the economy does rebound," Nanfelt said. Opponents of the measure said many local governments, including Colorado Springs and Douglas County, have a tough review process.
The bill's supporters said HB1141 will not weaken those requirements, but it will require communities without reviews to start taking a harder look at growth and its effect on water supplies. Small communities will be allowed to ask for less-detailed plans than larger cities may require. Rep. Larry Liston of Colorado Springs was the only Republican on the committee to vote for the bill. He said he may still vote against the bill on the House floor, but he thinks Curry can work with the bill's opponents to address their concerns. Curry had introduced the measure earlier in the session, but withdrew it to make revisions after local governments opposed it, saying it would place too many mandates on them.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
"colorado water"
5:53:53 AM
|
|
Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel update
Here's an update on happenings at the Leadville Mind Drainage Tunnel from The Associated Press. From the article:
The Environmental Protection Agency said it could be a month or two before crews pump water from a crumbling tunnel where officials fear more than a billion gallons of trapped water could cause a potentially catastrophic flood in a historic mining town. EPA officials are scrambling to find a contractor and more than $4.5 million to pay for the project, said Stan Christensen, remedial project manager for the federal agency...
A speaker system that would broadcast evacuation notices has been installed near a mobile home park that has 300 residents near the tunnel's portal...
Federal and state agencies had been working on a plan to drain the tunnel since at least 2003. But the plan to drill into the tunnel and pump water more than a mile to a water treatment plant became bogged down in a bureaucratic quagmire over ownership.
The federal Bureau of Reclamation wanted to give Colorado the tunnel, a $20 million water plant that removes heavy metals and other contaminates from the old mines, and $30 million -- enough for 40 years of operating expenses, said reclamation spokesman Peter Soeth. But the state balked. "Frankly I don't blame them," Christensen said. "It's taking on a considerable liability for the state."[...]
The Bureau of Reclamation took ownership of the tunnel in 1959 and began treating the contaminated water draining from the tunnel in 1992.
More coverage from The Denver Post. They're looking at the potential damage to the fishery in the Arkansas River. The recovery of the river, which used to flow an orangish color not so long ago, could be set back. From the article:
Amid all the fanfare over the danger from a potential mine tunnel blowout near Leadville, scant attention has been given to what might be the most long-lasting fallout: the health of the Arkansas River fishery. The Arkansas perhaps has suffered most from Colorado's checkered mining legacy, languishing for years in the backwash of heavy-metal pollution from the far-flung Leadville district. Now, just as the river is nearing full recovery following a 1992 Superfund cleanup, comes a threat to these gains as well as future improvements. Under a worst-case-scenario blowout, trout could be lost for miles downstream.
More recently, the water backup has reached an elevation that created seeps of toxic water through fissures down the separate California Gulch drainage to the south. A second 1992 treatment plant here at the Yak Tunnel also contributed to the river cleanup.
This latest seepage, flowing below the plant, already has reached the river. Greg Policky, area biologist for the Colorado Division of Wildlife, this week will begin testing to determine whether this leak has caused damage to the aquatic resource. But it's what might happen next that has him most worried. "A blowout could be like the one at the Yak Tunnel," Policky said of a 1985 event that turned the Arkansas River a dirty orange all the way to Pueblo Reservoir and precipitated the Superfund action. The calamity caused the wildlife agency to launch a study that delivered a startling discovery. "That's when we found a cadmium accumulation in internal organs kept fish from living past 3 or 4 years old," Policky said of the condition that held the river's resource in a sort of extended death grip.
Since the cleanup, recovery has been remarkable. A dominant brown trout population now lives twice as long, with a considerable gain in size. "We also have a more diverse and abundant bug life, more food resources right down to the development of plants," the biologist said. This recovery is reflected in a surge in fishing-based recreation along every segment of the river. Nowhere is this more evident than in the upper reaches near Leadville. Once devoid of fish life, this part of the Arkansas now is the center of expanded public access and stream improvement projects.
Here's a recap of yesterday's emergency meeting about the LDMT from The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:
Local fixes for relieving pressure on a blocked mine drainage tunnel holding back 1 billion gallons of toxic water were well received by federal agencies Tuesday at a meeting in Leadville. An estimated 150 local residents flocked to the meeting with the Bureau of Reclamation, Environmental Protection Agency and the state Division of Emergency Management, according to Ken Olsen, a Lake County commissioner who has taken the lead in dealing with what commissioners have called an emergency. "Nothing we suggested locally was taken off the table," Olsen said. "Water is the lifeblood of the valley and we have to protect it. What I'm trying to do is slash through the bureaucracy and get more work on the ground."[...]
Local officials want three pumping operations to operate simultaneously to relieve the pressure of water underground. The EPA has agreed to pump the Gaw Shaft, which is located just downstream from the Yak Tunnel impoundment pond south of Leadville. The funding apparently is in place, but procurement of equipment is a logistical problem, Olsen said. Commissioners want the bureau to drill into the Leadville Tunnel above the blockage east of Leadville. The project is a problem because there are not federal funds in place for the project, Olsen said. The county also wants to pump the Canterbury Tunnel, a water supply tunnel upstream of the Leadville Tunnel, but the bureau apparently lacks authority for that project. The bureau has agreed to nearly double the capacity of its water treatment plant, and is testing its safety procedures such as sirens and evacuation plans. Finally, the county wants to flume water away from old mine shafts to prevent more water from flowing underground, Olsen said.
[State Sen. Tom Wiens, R-Castle Rock] and [U.S. Senator Wayne] Allard have called a meeting Thursday of the federal agencies at the state Capitol in Denver to try to cut through more of the red tape. Cooperation of the federal agencies had been a major complaint of commissioners. Letters between the EPA and the bureau were made known to the commissioners only within the past few weeks for the first time indicating behind-the-scenes discussions about problems with mine tunnel blockage. Bureau officials were skeptical of EPA claims that the blockage of tunnels was creating an imminent threat.
More coverage of yesterday's meeting from The Summit Daily News "reg". They write:
...the City of Leadville was told by Travelers' Insurance that its liability insurance will be rescinded as of April 1. Leadville Mayor Bud Elliott is concerned about the fact that he was never warned about the Declaration of a State of Emergency. Real estate agents are fielding calls from worried buyers and sellers. And residents at the Village at Lake Fork are very nervous: at Tuesday's meeting, a resident invited officials to come sleep in her house for one night. "They're living in panic right now," said her translator. Bureau of Reclamation officials did their best to calm fears, reiterating Reclamation's commitment to treating water from the mine pool on a "short-term, interim basis."
However, according to Donald Moomaw, Reclamation has no responsibility for reducing water going into the mine pool by pumping the Canterbury Tunnel or the Gaw Shaft. CDPHE Remedial Programs Manager Jeff Deckler insisted that Reclamation needs to take responsibility for the mine pool. "We think the bureau has traditionally viewed their responsibility as being the tunnel or the treatment plant. We would like to see that expanded so they're responsible for managing the pool," he explained...
Superfund Remedial Program Director Bill Murray said that his boss was in Washington this week to procure funding for the pump system. Near the end of the meeting, Mike Wireman, an EPA Groundwater Expert who performed a study on the LMDT in 2005-2006, was asked about the risk of a major event with the tunnel. "In my professional judgment I would not characterize the risk as high, but I would not characterize it as low either. Keep in mind, you can't get in this tunnel. Everything we've done, we've done remotely," he responded. In the end, Wireman suggested that parties start to put some plans in place. Pumping the tunnel and eventually building a plug for it would likely be a two-season effort, he said. "[Pumping the water] is the only fix that will ever work," said Wireman.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
"colorado water"
5:45:15 AM
|
|
|
© Copyright 2009 John Orr.
Last update: 3/14/09; 10:08:28 PM.
|
|
|
