Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Gunnison Basin Here's an article about attitudes towards development of water from the Gunnison Basin from the Pueblo Chieftain. They write, "Colorado's roundtables may increase an understanding of water issues in the state, but they won't change many minds in the Gunnison River Basin. "Nearly 100 years ago, one of the oldest Bureau of Reclamation water projects in the West was completed: the Gunnison Tunnel that brought water from the upper part of the river to the farming area on the Uncompahgre River near Montrose. Taylor Lake later became part of that project. "In the 1950s, a series of reservoirs was completed to make use of the 'Aspinall Pool' to help fulfill Upper Basin states' obligation under the 1922 Colorado River Compact. "Now, the valley's emphasis is on protecting its water for its own uses. After a recreational in-channel diversion plan in Gunnison was rejected by the Colorado Supreme Court, proponents reached settlement with the Colorado Water Conservation Board last month, clearing a path for implementation. The RICD would tie up large amounts of flows on the Upper Gunnison and protect them from future transfers. "The prevailing attitude along the river is 'not one drop' to the Front Range." Cateogory: Colorado Water 6:27:44 AM     Runoff from oil and gas drilling The Rocky Mountain News is reporting that the State Water Quality Control Commission voted to keep oversight of runoff from oil and gas wells [January 11, 2006, "Environmental board keeps oil-gas oversight"]. From the article, "Commissioners heard from a parade of water districts, cities and green groups that emphasized the need to protect aquatic life and drinking water from sediments that come off thousands of drilling pads and access roads during heavy rainfall... "With the ruling, inspectors at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment will scrutinize the industry's efforts to control storm-water runoff during construction at all sites covering more than one acre." Here's the coverage from the Denver Post [January 11, 2006, "Panel keeps runoff rules"]. They write, "While the move was cheered by Western Slope water users, it was a rebuff to the oil and gas industry. The industry association had urged the commission to transfer stormwater runoff regulation to the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. Several water-quality commissioners said that although they were impressed that the oil and gas commission had recently adopted stringent stormwater rules, they were convinced that the state Department of Public Health and Environment was best qualified to enforce provisions of the Clean Water Act." Category: Colorado Water 5:48:27 AM

© Copyright 2006 John Orr. Last update: 12/29/06; 10:59:08 AM.