Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Colorado Foundation for Water Education: 2008 President's Award Nicole Seltzer sends this link to the Colorado Foundation for Water Education's 2008 President's Award ceremony. Special honorees will be Ruth and Ken Wright. They've been around water in colorado since...well for a long time. Justice Gregory Hobbs will be on hand for a special introduction. Sounds like a hoot. Mr. Wright sponsored Mayor Hickenlooper's lecture series Wringing Water from the Rocks back in the summer of 2005. What a grand time that was. Category: Colorado Water 7:00:25 PM     America's 50 Greenest Cities: Denver #19 Denver is #19 on Popular Science's list of America's 50 Greenest Cities. Congratulations to all of you Denver dwellers. From the article: "We used raw data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Geographic Society's Green Guide, which collected survey data and government statistics for American cities of over 100,000 people in more than 30 categories, including air quality, electricity use and transportation habits. We then compiled these statistics into four broad categories, each scored out of either 5 or 10 possible points. The sum of these four scores determines a city's place in the rankings." Thanks to Ed Cone for the link. Category: Colorado Water 6:38:06 PM     Western Progress: A New Western Water Agenda Western Progress has a new report out titled, "A New Western Water Agenda" [pdf]. They write: This policy paper grew from a roundtable discussion about western water policy convened by Western Progress in Boulder, Colorado, in October of 2007. We brought together a small group of experts to help us consider the driving forces for change in western water and to evaluate the opportunities for advocating sustainable solutions throughout the Rocky Mountain Region. Denise Fort and Lawrence MacDonnell prepared a briefing paper in advance of the roundtable and presented their findings to the group to provide a starting point for discussions. In addition, Brad Udall of the Western Water Assessment provided the group with an overview of the current state of knowledge of climate change and its impacts on western water supplies. From this starting point, participants engaged in a wide-ranging discussion of the major trends impacting water policy in the Rocky Mountain West. Their perspectives offered valuable insights into the potential areas for improving the laws, policies, and practices that influence how water is used in this region. We have attempted to incorporate their key ideas into this policy paper, which will provide the foundation for Western Progress' water policy research and advocacy program, but the ideas and conclusions here reflect the opinions of the authors, not those of other roundtable participants. Thanks to New West for the link and a great summary. Category: Colorado Water 5:58:23 PM     Aurora water rates: Final tiered structure for this summer Aurora water rates are rising according to The Rocky Mountain News. From the article: By an 8-2 vote, the Aurora City Council gave its final approval to the new tiered rate structure the city plans to put in place April 1 for the summer season. The new rates come months after city leaders met with consultants and community focus groups to develop a water plan that wouldn't leave residents reeling from the sticker shock many felt last summer when their bills arrived in the mail. "We're trying to come up with the fairest plan we could, and still encourage water conservation," said Peter Binney, director of Aurora Water. Under the three-tiered structure, residents will pay $4.45 per 1,000 gallons for the first 20,000 gallons used in a month, $5.17 per 1,000 gallons for the next 20,000 gallons, and $6.46 per 1,000 gallons for additional water used. Those rates amount to an overall increase of 12 percent, while allocating more water to customers, city officials said. Category: Colorado Water 7:28:50 AM     Fountain Creek management Here's an update on long-range planning for Fountain Creek through the lens of Pueblo residents, from The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article: Demonstration projects aimed at connecting people with Fountain Creek could help lead to taking down the signs warning people to stay out of the water, but will only be part of the solution. A landscape design team put together by the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District and Colorado Springs shared plans to develop educational areas along Fountain Creek in both Pueblo and El Paso counties with Pueblo City Council and Pueblo County commissioners Monday... "(East Side) residents are interested in flood control and a dam," Councilman Larry Atencio said. "They're concerned and I don't blame them." "Water quality is most important to us," said Councilman Mike Occhiato. "Right now we have signs saying you can't get in Fountain Creek because it's contaminated," said Councilman Ray Aguilera. "Will your project change that so we can take the signs down? ... You will never be done working on the Fountain," Shanks said in response. But he believes getting people to care about it is the first step toward rehabilitation... Commissioner Jeff Chostner said the demonstration projects are only part of the picture, and some of the flood control and water quality questions will be solved once a formal entity to deal with Fountain Creek issues is in place. The Fountain Creek Vision Task Force has debated how a foundation devoted to improving the creek could work with a nuts-and-bolts agency, similar to the arrangement on the South Platte. "A lot will be solved with the entity we create," Chostner said. "The real key is an entity that is self-funding."[...] "We've been talking about Fountain Creek for years," said Councilwoman Vera Ortegon. "When are you able to start and who's going to pay?" Shanks replied that a project would start incrementally, and draw on both governmental and private sources for funding and maintenance. Many of the features of the projects would fit in with Army Corps of Engineers ideas for streambed protection and wetlands preservation, he said. Merle Grimes, a landscape architect working with Shanks, said diverse activities including exercise, education, music, agriculture and culture are all purposes of the demonstration projects and could play a role in gaining funds as well. Both demonstration projects are conceptual at this point, and while sites are identified, the land has not yet been obtained... In Pueblo County, a 300-acre environmental stewardship center near new development north of Pueblo would provide access to a variety of habitats currently off-limits to many people. An interpretive center, trails and observation towers would give visitors an idea of what type of wildlife use the creek. Wetlands would protect the less visible creatures, such as the endangered Arkansas darter. "It's an opportunity to demonstrate what the river should look like," Shanks said. A second "Ecofit Education Park" is envisioned on land south of Colorado Springs. It would be on about 50 acres near an existing sports complex, important in drawing crowds, Grimes said. Possibly, it could be built by volunteers, increasing community participation. "It's all part of making Fountain Creek an amazing amenity," Grimes said. More Coyote Gulch coverage here. Category: Colorado Water 7:06:10 AM     Energy policy: Nuclear The Larimer County Commissioners hosted a packed meeting with most present asking them to oppose Powertech's proposed uranium mine in Weld County, according to The Loveland Reporter Herald. From the article: The commissioners did not make a decision about whether to oppose the proposed in situ leach mine, but Commissioner Randy Eubanks said he will request one soon. "Sometimes governance is a contact sport," said Eubanks, after admitting he is "a little disgusted by (mining industry) efforts to brain wash...Sometimes we have to just step up and take the lead." His fellow commissioners, Glenn Gibson and Kathay Rennels, were not as forceful in their comments. Both voiced concerns about water and public safety, but said they needed to learn more about the issue. Most of the residents who spoke did feel as strongly as Eubanks. All but two of the 28 argued a uranium mine in Weld County would destroy the environment and the economy throughout Northern Colorado... Fort Collins resident Bruce Lockheart agreed. All forms of electricity, including coal and solar power, result in some radiation and have some risks, he said. "Nuclear power is probably the least of them," said Lockheart, who compared the fear of radiation to Howard Hughes, the movie mogul who became a hermit by trying to stay away from germs. His opinion of nuclear power was shared by Fort Collins resident Michael Beshore, the senior environmental coordinator for Powertech. Beshore believes uranium mining should occur here, where it is regulated, instead of in Third World countries where it is not. "There are very, very stringent regulations in place in the state of Colorado, some of the most stringent in the country, to protect health and environment," Beshore said. None of those regulations address in situ uranium mining, added Loveland resident Jeff Parsons, a mining attorney working with the organized opposition to the Powertech proposal. New bills to protect water quality from in situ mining are before lawmakers but have not yet passed, he noted... Others, Fort Collins resident Diane Marschke said, are refusing to come to Northern Colorado because of the possibility of a mine. And Realtor Loretta Bailey said she has lost business when she told potential customers about the proposed mine. "I couldn't live with myself knowing that I sold property to a young family with children," she said. "They buy out there and they are going to have to live with contaminated water and land, and they suffer ... I suffer because of it. I tell them, and they don't buy, and I don't blame them." More coverage from The Fort Collins Coloradoan. From the article: A proposal to mine uranium from beneath the prairie between Wellington and Nunn received a thumbs down Monday night from a Larimer County commissioner. In response to comments from the 27 people who spoke on the proposal during a meeting, Commissioner Randy Eubanks said he plans to sponsor a resolution opposing uranium mining in the region. The resolution may be considered by the commissioners in a few weeks. With the growing interest in renewable, clean energy in Northern Colorado, uranium mining and nuclear energy don't fit in, he said. Eubanks, who worked for 13 years in the nuclear industry, said he was "disgusted" by efforts to "greenwash" the industry. His biggest concern is how to handle waste generated by nuclear power plants, Eubanks said following the 2[product]-hour meeting. "I see this as a giant step backward into the past," Eubanks said... The proposed mine has been formally opposed by the town council of Timnath and the Fort Collins City Council. The state and Larimer County medical societies also have come out against the proposal. Commissioners Kathay Rennels and Glenn Gibson said they have concerns about the project and will consider Eubanks' resolution. Rennels said the county has a responsibility to protect the health and safety of its residents. Gibson said he is still studying the issue but is concerned about how the process would affect groundwater. More Coyote Gulch coverage here and here. Category: 2008 Presidential Election 6:49:26 AM

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