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Wednesday, December 10, 2008
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The Pueblo Board of Water Works has approved a fee exemption for a wind turbine manufacturer that plans to build a facility in the city, according to a report from Chris Woodka and the Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:
The Pueblo Board of Water Works Tuesday approved a $316,000 water hookup exemption for the Vestas plant in the south industrial park. The special exemption was granted because the wind turbine manufacturer will receive funds from the city's half-cent sales tax. The exemption represents the cost of a plant water investment fee, meter fee, parts and labor for a 6-inch tap that would provide for Vestas' needs at its new plant, landscaping and fire protection. Vestas plans to open a plant which will manufacture towers for the wind turbines next year...
The water board already has committed a total of about $2.5 million for service to Vestas and the new south industrial park, which requires an extension of service zones. A new tank and water lines must be built to serve the area. A federal grant is expected to add about $2.5 million to complete the $5 million project. The new waiver is on top of those costs.
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5:20:15 AM 
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Here's an update on the proposed new rules for oil and gas development, from Todd Hartman writing in the Rocky Mountain News. From the article:
State oil and gas commissioners began their last look Tuesday at sweeping new rules to guide energy development in Colorado, preparing a massive slate of regulations that supporters say could be a model for other Western states. Commissioners are expected to take a final vote on the rules today or Thursday, wrapping up work that began in mid-2007, in the midst of a drilling boom unseen in the state's volatile history of fossil fuel development. "It's a very positive step for the state," said Dave Neslin, acting director of the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. "These rules protect our environment and wildlife and public health in a way (that also) facilitates development of our oil and gas resources."
But a major state industry group, the Colorado Oil & Gas Association, warned that the regulations are coming at the wrong time - amid a recession - and will pile on an industry already sharply cutting back in the state...
COGA has complained about the rulemaking, criticizing specific proposals and fretting that state regulators were taking on too much, too fast when a more careful approach was needed. Swartout said the final version of the rules still put too much power in the hands of the Division of Wildlife, the commission director and other parties that he believes will have an easier time challenging drilling and creating a greater industry burden.
But Neslin said the final version of the rules was shaped significantly by industry input. He said other groups, including landowners, mineral rights owners and environmentalists, have also provided important suggestions. In one set of rules, involving how industry must handle its chemical inventories and provide information about trade secrets in an emergency, the state incorporated about 80 percent of what energy companies sought, Neslin said. Environmentalists, though still critical of some aspects of the rules, called them "balanced and fair" and said their overall impact marks progress.
More coverage from Dennis Webb writing in the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. From the article:
The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission approved rules in numerous areas, including stream setback requirements to protect public water supplies, and requiring oil and gas developers to provide information to authorities as necessary regarding the chemicals they use. Commissioners are scheduled to continue their final deliberations through Thursday. Two key areas still awaiting final action involve wildlife protections and stricter drilling pit requirements. Commissioners approved numerous measures with unanimous or near-unanimous votes Tuesday. However, a few decisions were closer, including a rebuff of an attempt to impose greater interim setback requirements between wells and homes.
The commission previously had decided to put off final action on those setbacks until a stakeholder group could study it next year. But Commissioner Michael Dowling argued that in the meantime, wells shouldn't be allowed any closer than 350 feet from an occupied building unless the owner agrees to a waiver. The current minimum setback for homes in rural areas is 150 feet...
But the commission voted 5-3 to make no changes to the setback rules until the stakeholder process is completed. Commissioner Joshua Epel said establishing an interim setback distance would prejudice the work of that group...
Some rules commissioners approved Tuesday include:
- Requirements for state approval of new oil and gas operation sites disturbing more than an acre in Garfield, Mesa, Rio Blanco and Gunnison counties, and in limited circumstances elsewhere. The site approval requirement is in addition to permits already needed to drill individual wells.
- New odor- and dust-control measures, many of them applying only to Garfield, Mesa and Rio Blanco counties.
- Provisions allowing state wildlife and health agencies to seek hearings on proposed oil and gas development, along with the owner of the land proposed for that development and the energy company. In most of the state, owners of neighboring land within 500 feet of a proposed activity also would have to be notified of the plans.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
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4:38:24 AM
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© Copyright 2009 John Orr.
Last update: 3/15/09; 3:26:39 PM.
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