Coyote Gulch

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Immigration
Colorado Confidential: "For years, Olathe sweet corn grower John Harold has played by the rules. He gets temporary work visas to bring legal workers from Mexico to harvest his fields. Now, as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security beats its chest about new regulations cracking down on employers who hire illegal immigrants, Harold wonders whether it will become even harder for him to do things the right way. The anti-illegal immigrant movement has gummed up the gears of legal worker recruitment at least as effectively as it has staunched the flow of illegal immigrants into the country. The visa program has become a nightmare, Harold said."

Blogs for Bush: "The people really, really want a crackdown on illegals."
"2008 pres"
5:54:58 PM

? for President?
TalkLeft: "I'd like to say Bill Richardson is refreshing for his willingness to admit when he screws up. First, at the Yearly Kos debate, he admitted he 'screwed up' in saying we need more Supreme Court Justices like Byron White. Today, he says he 'screwed up' in saying at the GLBT debate that gays choose their sexual orientation."

Governor Richardson's weblog has also been running damage control including a statement from Barney Frank along with this.

David Sirota (via SquareState):

Leave it to the New York Times' crack campaign team to take what is a truly interesting story from the Republican presidential primary and boil it down into an uninteresting, hackneyed attempt to mimic People magazine-style nonsense (Suggestion for a new Times slogan: All the fluff that's fit to print). The Gray Lady - like almost every other major news outlet that is covering the campaign - uses former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's (R) surprising second-place finish in the Iowa Straw Poll as an excuse to write not about the unique nature of Huckabee's substantive message, but to make the claim that the only reason he is getting ahead is because his "humor amounts to a style of politicking that many audiences have found engaging."

I'm not saying Huckabee isn't funny, but I am saying that he also has an extraordinarily different message than any of the other Republican presidential contenders - a populist economic message that may be shunned by conservative operatives and K Street lobbyists in the GOP-dominated Money Party in Washington, but likely has an appeal among rank-and-file working-class Republican voters. Though Beltway reporters are too insulated in their cliched views of politics to see how this economic populist appeal may be fueling Huckabee's candidacy, it is a phenomenon Democrats should be well aware of if they want to win the White House in 2008.

Colorado Pols: "According to Rasmussen Reports: Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has a ten-point lead over New York Senator Hillary Clinton in race for Colorado's nine Electoral Votes . It's Giuliani 50%, Clinton 40%. Arizona Senator John McCain leads Clinton by just three points while the former First Lady is essentially even with former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. However, Clinton doesn't attract more than 45% support against any of the GOP hopefuls. No Democrat has earned more than 45% of the vote in Colorado since 1964."
"2008 pres"
5:50:15 PM

Energy policy: Coal-bed Methane

Here's Part III of The Denver Post's series on coal-bed methane and the produced water. From the article:

...the Raton [Basin] is home to ranchers who, for almost a decade, have been receiving coal-bed methane water for their livestock and to replenish streams used by the deer and elk valued by hunters. The region, still staggering from drought and now the aftermath of last winter's blizzards, is in dire need of more water, Las Animas County officials say. But some landowners, such as Valentine, are increasingly wary about coal-bed methane water - which can damage soil if the salt levels in the water are high enough. Unlike Montana and Wyoming, Colorado has no water-quality rules placing pollution limits on coal-bed methane water, which must be pumped out of the ground in order for operators to extract the valuable gas. There are 800 outfall pipes discharging coal-bed methane water into southern Colorado streams and rivers, according to state records. "It's our job to protect water quality, and there is definitely impacts to water quality from CBM discharges," said Steve Gunderson, director of the state health department's water-quality division.

During the drought, Las Animas County officials filed with a district water court for a water right on the coal-bed methane water produced in the basin. Seeing the water just welling up, county officials said they figured it was only a matter of time before Front Range cities came after it. "But, boy, we opened a can of worms. Everyone said, 'We can't do it,' and I still don't understand why not," said County Commissioner Ken Torres. The state's legal view is that coal-bed methane water is "byproduct waste" - and cannot be claimed under a water right for irrigation or municipal supplies. That legal definition also places regulatory responsibility for the water under the state Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. The agencies that regulate water - the state engineer and the state Department of Public Health and Environment - have a much smaller stake. How Colorado manages coal-bed methane water may soon change as a state health department task force eyes new water-quality rules and the state engineer's office faces complying with a recent water-court ruling...

Armed with water-quality data taken from Frio Springs, Valentine urged regulators to adopt new rules aimed at protecting the waterways from salty coal- bed methane water. It appears they will. After Valentine's testimony, the state health department formed a task force to recommend whether Colorado should adopt salinity rules - rules that could limit some coal-bed methane water discharges. In July, the task force released a draft policy paper outlining how the state could revise its permits. It doesn't, however, propose a limit on sodium. "It's going to make industry howl, but we know it's a step in the right direction," Gunderson said. Officials with Petroglyph Energy Inc. say that they fear new rules will impede their ability to discharge water and that, as a result, they are considering treating the water. "If we're going to stay in business, it's something we've got to do," said Tom Melland, Petroglyph's operational manager. Environmental regulators have granted 13 discharge permits in the Raton Basin in the past two years, covering more than 800 outfalls in dozens of the area's streams. Gunderson said the division also will likely change its current permitting process to make sure landowners are aware where the outfalls are being placed...

While companies sometimes directly discharge coal-bed methane water into local streams, the water is often routed through an evaporation pit. There, the water is held until it's released into a nearby stream, or pumped into a water truck and carried to either an injection well or waterway for disposal. Like the deep-injection wells, those pits are regulated by the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. Agency officials estimate there are more than 13,000 permitted pits in the state. In Colorado, the key to more widely using coal-bed methane water is getting a court-approved right on it. That's why Ken Torres and his fellow Las Animas County commissioners decided to stake their claim to the thousands of gallons of coal-bed methane water flowing out of the ground. They knew the water wouldn't be a long-term supply but wanted the water for livestock, dust control and fire suppression.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
"colorado water"
6:38:35 AM