Saturday, June 14, 2008

Women's health Here's the link to a video from Planned Parenthood that is an attempt to educate voters about John McCain's views on women's health. "2008 pres" 9:14:00 AM

Supply news From The Pagosa Daily Post: "The San Juan Water Conservancy District -- an Archuleta County special district charged with assuring adequate wter storage for its district members -- has lately found itself defending its decision to engage with the Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District (PAWSD) on a collaborative plan to build a future 35,000 acre-foot reservoir near downtown Pagosa Springs. A ballot measure to approve a bond issue to purchase the reservoir site was rejected by SJWCD voters in 2004, but PAWSD and SJWCD chose to proceed with the purchase of the $10 million+ site nevertheless. The purchase price was supposedly going to be funded by impact fees assessed on the rapid growth Pagosa Springs was experiencing up until 2006 -- but that growth has come to a virtual halt over the past two years, and some statistical evidence shows that Archuleta County is in fact experiencing population loss at the moment. The SJWCD canceled its regular meeting scheduled for June 9 and rescheduled its meeting for this coming Monday, June 16. That meeting will be followed by a work session with PAWSD and a planned Executive Session." "colorado water" 8:23:52 AM

Energy policy: Nuclear Here's an update on the proposed requirements that Fremont County attached to the Black Range Minerals' exploration permit, from The Cañon City Daily Record. From the article: With the Conditional Use Permit necessary for uranium exploration firmly in the grasp of Black Range Minerals, the company next will work to iron out a list of conditions with the county before it can resume drilling in the Tallahassee area... On Wednesday, the county released a list of 22 proposed conditions and three waivers that were requested by Black Range. One of those conditions states the company will hire an independent hydrogeologist, selected by the county, to study the adequacy of the proposed surface and groundwater monitoring plans. Another specification requires BRM to have a geologist or hydrologist on site at the time of plugging, sealing and capping of all prospective drill holes, to provide written documentation that all regulations were followed throughout the process. Other conditions stipulate the CUP is for a 10-year term with annual county review to determine compliance of all conditions. Days and hours of exploration are limited to 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Traffic to and from the site by drilling equipment and heavy truck traffic will be limited to the use of CR 9A. The company may be required to apply adequate dust suppression on county and access roads used in the exploration process if dust pollution becomes a problem because of increased traffic... The company already has verbally agreed with many of the proposed conditions. The entire list of 22 conditions, as well as the three waiver requests, is available in the Planning and Zoning Office, 615 Macon Ave., or online at www.fremontco.com. Written public input, being accepted both online and in person, will be taken until close of business June 25. Final conditions will be on the July 8 agenda for consideration by the commissioners. That meeting will begin at 9:30 a.m. at 615 Macon Ave. Meanwhile the Ault Town Board has passed a resolution in opposition to Powertech's proposed in-situ uranium operation in Weld County, according to Fort Collins Now. From the article: The town of Ault joined the long list of opposition against a proposed uranium mine Tuesday. At its meeting Tuesday, Ault's town board passed a resolution opposing any uranium mining in northern Colorado... The resolution passed unanimously. As mayor, Bayne does not have a vote on board actions. Resolutions are not binding, and they have no legal clout. Before the board took action, Bayne said he spoke with town residents to get their opinions on the subject. "Some people are flat out against it, and others were not a fan of uranium but understand the need for alternative sources of energy," he said. The resolution also encourages federal and local agencies to deny "any and all permit applications for in-situ uranium mining operations in the northern Colorado area." "2008 pres" 7:56:46 AM

60th Annual FibArk Boat Race Here's a recap of the Fibark Boat Races from The Mountain Mail. From the article: Team Colorado took the lead early and never looked back Thursday evening in the men's division of the Brian Dreher Memorial Pro Raft Race on the Arkansas River. In the women's division, Wilderness Aware won first with Arkansas Valley Adventures clinching second. Unlike past FIBArk professional raft races, the course was moved upstream from Salida to Browns Canyon providing 'lots of great white water and speed.'" "colorado water" 7:42:58 AM

Wastewater news The EPA is requiring upgrades to Iliff's sewage lagoons, according to The Sterling Journal-Advocate. From the article: At the town meeting here Wednesday, Brad Simons from OIsson Associates, based in Lincoln, Neb., talked to the council members about the Environmental Protection Agency's requirements for updating the town's sewage lagoons. The town recently received a compliance advisory from the Colorado Water Quality Control board stating that it needs to update its sewage lagoon system to meet EPA standards, within the next four to five years... One of the issues in the letter was lining the lagoons to prevent contamination of groundwater. Simons said he had been over to Iliff's lagoons and looked them over. The first lagoon appears to be either lined or sealed over with sludge, he said. But the second lagoon is a marsh, with no standing water. That indicates it is not lined and the water is seeping directly into the ground. One of the decisions town officials need to make is whether they think the town is going to grow, stay the same size, or shrink over the next 20 or so years. This will determine whether they want to expand the sewage system or update the existing facilities. "It's critical to not over-build," Simons said... Iliff should qualify for a 20-year loan at 0 percent interest, Simons said. If his company performs the engineering study and design, the cost would be $22,320. They don't do any of the actual construction work. The town could probably obtain a $10,000 grant to pay for part of this, he said, as there are many different ways to do this. Mayor Jennifer Anderson asked if funds from a Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) grant could be used, and Simons said, yes, they could. Carbaryl, an insecticide also known as Sevin has been found in Silverthorne's effluent, according to The Summit Daily News. From the article: A toxic chemical commonly used to kill pine beetles has shown up again in wastewater treated at the Silverthorne/Dillon Joint Sewer Authority, officials reported this week. Last summer, routine testing at the treatment facility revealed the presence of carbaryl -- an insecticide also known as Sevin -- in effluence draining into the Blue River... Because of concerns about the chemical's possible impact on the river's delicate ecosystem, the sewer authority started a stringent monitoring schedule for this year's pine-beetle spraying season. Two samples taken on different dates in May tested positive for carbaryl, plant manager Mike Bittner said. Although amounts of the pesticide were small -- 6 parts per billion in the test sample from the plant's intake -- any measurable level at all indicates illegal disposal of the chemical. "This is not the stormwater system," Bittner said. "It shouldn't get into the sanitary sewer system."[...] An organic insecticide commonly used in the commercial cultivation of food crops such as apples, citrus and grapes, carbaryl is generally benign to birds, but acutely toxic to honeybees and aquatic insects. As part of Colorado's designated Gold Medal trout stream system, the stretch of the Blue River next to the treatment facility is home to a trout population dependent on healthy numbers of aquatic insects. Any carbaryl runoff could be devastating to the river's ecosystem. "The bugs are so sensitive to it," Margolis said. "That's what makes it a good bug killer." The treatment processes used by the sewer authority do little to remove the chemical, he added. Once it's in the system, it will eventually find its way into the Blue River. Margolis expressed surprise that the carbaryl resurfaced this year despite the town's community-education efforts... In Summit County, the Household Hazardous Waste Collection Program offers free disposal of small amounts of carbaryl and similar substances. According to Bittner, any container used for pesticides should be air dried and never rinsed in a sink, toilet, storm drain, or gutter. "colorado water" 7:34:10 AM

Water incentives help Greeley land Leprino factory In Colorado we've always known that "Water flows uphill to money." It looks like Greeley hit on the right package of incentives to land a new cheese plant to be built by the "World's largest producer of mozzarella cheese, according to this report from The Greeley Tribune. From the article: After a long battle where city officials dangled everything but the key to city hall as bait, Greeley has finally landed the big cheese. City officials and Denver-based Leprino Foods -- the world's self-proclaimed largest producer of mozzarella cheese -- signed a development agreement Friday that will bring a large-scale cheese manufacturing plant to Greeley. Greeley was chosen over Garden City, Kan., as the site of the new plant. "This is a major domino falling in the redevelopment of east Greeley," said City Manager Roy Otto at a Friday afternoon press conference... During the last seven months, Greeley officials have approved several incentives to lure Leprino to the city. The incentives include selling the company water at a reduced rate from the city's water bank, creating a special financing district that will help further improve the area around the plant and helping its own urban renewal authority come to an agreement with Leprino to pay Leprino back for the nearly $4.5 million in development and sales and use tax fees it will give the city. That includes $1.2 million in development fees for construction of city infrastructure at and around the site. Greeley officials also agreed to give Leprino 211 acre-feet of water to help the company subsidize its needs, which they estimate to be 1,000 acre-feet. Greeley also will give Leprino credit for their processed water they extract from the milk in making cheese. For Greeley to turn that processed water into a useable water right, which it could use to augment the city's water, it must go to water court, Otto said. More Coyote Gulch coverage here. "colorado water" 7:21:05 AM

Southern Delivery System: Sierra Club blasts SDEIS The Sierra Club is recommending that Reclamation rewrite the EIS for Colorado Springs proposed Southern Delivery System, according to The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article: The Sierra Club calls a draft environmental impact statement on the Southern Delivery System "skewed and misleading," and recommends rewriting the document. The Sierra Club claims significant information was not evaluated in the report by the Bureau of Reclamation and that the public comment process stifled, rather than promoted, discussion about SDS... The Sierra Club comments are significant, since the group sued Colorado Springs over continued sewage spills into Fountain Creek in 2005. That case is still in federal court. Comments filed this week with Reclamation indicate that continued growth in Colorado Springs will increase flows on Fountain Creek, worsening flood dangers, degrading water quality and potentially increasing selenium concentrations on Fountain Creek. The true effects of growth are masked in the draft EIS, the Sierra Club said, both because it compares alternatives to a "worst-case scenario" no-action alternative and because it does not include the costs to people downstream, but only the SDS sponsors. "The Sierra Club is concerned that the draft EIS presents a skewed and misleading view of the environmental impacts from the SDS project, based on an inappropriate no-action alternative to which other alternatives are compared,[per thou] the conclusion of the 17-page Sierra Club document states. "Additionally, viable alternatives including indirect potable reuse and conservation methods were not adequately addressed in the draft EIS and many other issues were obscured by the organization of the draft." The Sierra Club called the alternatives presented in the draft EIS "minor variations on the same theme," rather than providing a reasonable range of possibilities as required by the National Environmental Policy Act. The Sierra Club brought up issues of environmental justice, pointing out the large Hispanic population in Pueblo and the fact that the city as a whole has a lower household income than the rest of the state and nation. The problems are worse on the East Side, which suffers the most from flooding and contamination of Fountain Creek. Several times in the letter to Reclamation, Sierra Club said minor revisions would not fix the draft EIS, and it echoes comments made by several speakers at a May 29 meeting in Pueblo that Reclamation should go back to the drawing board with its environmental report. The Sierra Club tackled the issue of growth head-on, saying the entire SDS project is designed to meet the needs of a larger population in the future, yet Reclamation ignores how growth would be facilitated by SDS in its evaluation. "Reclamation asserts that none of the alternatives would increase regional growth which is allegedly going to occur with or without the project. That assertion is patently false," the Sierra Club states. "The raison d'tre for the project is regional growth." More Coyote Gulch coverage here. "colorado water" 7:08:16 AM

Arkansas Basin Roundtable The Arkansas Basin Roundtable was busy during their meeting this week. Here's an article about a request from the Upper Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District for dough for monitoring equipment, from The Pueblo Chieftain. They write: A plan to put remote measurement equipment on six reservoirs and nine streams in the Upper Arkansas River basin gained approval from the Arkansas Basin Roundtable this week. The Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District is proposing installation of stream gauges and weather stations in a two-year, $815,000 effort. "It will eliminate conflicts between competing water interests because we'll know what the exchange windows are," said Terry Scanga, Upper Ark general manager. Besides local users, the U.S. Forest Service and Colorado Department of Water Resources will have access to the data, Scanga explained. Scanga said the area's population is growing, but water is still needed for agricultural activities and recreation. For the district, it will save labor costs as well, since reading the gauges at higher elevations can be difficult when the ground is covered in snow. Gauges and weather stations would be installed at Rainbow, Cottonwood, North Fork, Boss, O'Haver and DeWeese lakes and reservoirs. All but DeWeese Reservoir are above 9,000 feet elevation. North Fork and Boss reservoirs are above 11,000 feet and surrounded by snow most months of the year. "To get to them in winter is difficult,[per thou] Scanga said. "It's a full day's work just to check reservoir levels." The Upper Ark district requested $285,000 from the roundtable and has applied for a like amount from the Department of Interior's Water 2025 program. The Colorado Water Conservation Board must approve the request. Some funding may also be available from the resource planning group of the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District. The Upper Ark will fund the rest. "colorado water" 7:00:26 AM

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