The state is about to get tougher on runoff from oil and gas well sites and a coalition of water providers and consumers intends to help, according to the Rocky Mountain News [November 9, 2005, "West Slope coalition asks for runoff limits"]. From the article, "A coalition of West Slope counties, cities, water districts and environmental groups is backing the state's effort to impose storm- water runoff rules on oil and gas drilling sites. Congress exempted the oil and gas industry from similar rules under the Clean Water Act earlier this year, but left the door open for states to enforce their own rules. West Slope communities, alarmed at the fast pace of oil and gas development, want more state oversight of storm-water runoff at drilling sites, according to Randy See, head of the Western Colorado Congress, a citizens' group. And members want the oversight done by the Colorado Water Quality Control Commission, not the state Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, as industry groups have proposed."
Meanwhile the EPA is hoping to empower grass-roots organizations in the cleanup of watersheds effected by abandoned mines, according to the Rocky Mountain News [November 8, 2005, "Speakout: Working to ease mine cleanup efforts"]. From the speakout, "Administrator Steve Johnson recently announced a new initiative to shield and empower communities and grass- roots organizations seeking to clean up watersheds threatened by abandoned mine runoff (http://www.epa.gov/water/goodsamaritan/). The announcement was made in St. Louis at the White House Conference on Cooperative Conservation on Aug. 30. And on Oct. 6, Colorado's two U.S. senators, Democrat Ken Salazar and Republican Wayne Allard, introduced new legislation to allow volunteers to clean up abandoned mine sites without fear of legal liability. The Cleanup of Inactive and Abandoned Mines Act (S 1848) would provide legal protection for companies, environmental groups, communities and individuals who undertake efforts to clean up hard-rock mining sites long abandoned. Anyone wishing to undertake a voluntary cleanup would be required to develop a remediation plan, undergo a review by EPA and the host state, and obtain a permit. To earn legal protection under the proposed law, the cleanup project must improve the environment on or in the mine area to a significant degree as well as meeting applicable water quality standards to the maximum extent reasonable and practicable under the circumstances. The Western Governors Association estimates there are at least 400,000 abandoned or inactive mine sites in the West alone. But it is also an issue in the East. Pennsylvania, for example, has a quarter-million acres of abandoned mineral extraction lands. Trout Unlimited estimates that sites in the West adversely affect approximately 40 percent of stream headwaters. EPA pegs the number of sites, nationally, at over half a million. These sites threaten surface and groundwaters with leached mercury, arsenic and copper. They load sediments into adjacent streams. And they render fish inedible and drinking water polluted. In most cases, no responsible party can be found, the operations having gone out of business long ago."
Category: Colorado Water
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