|
|
Saturday, March 22, 2008
|
|
| |
From PublicWorks.com: "The nation's first large-scale seawater desalination plant is delivering drinking water to more than 2.5 million residents of the Tampa Bay area...The Tampa Bay Seawater Desalination Plant can produce up to 25 million gallons per day of drinking water. The process works like this: About 44 million gallons of water from a nearby power plant cooling system is diverted to the plant. There, it goes through pretreatment steps to remove algae and other particles. Using reverse osmosis filters, 25 million gallons per day of freshwater is separated from the seawater. This leaves behind a twice-as salty byproduct that is blended with a large amount of cooling water from the power plant. That dilution is why environmental studies show no measurable salinity change in Tampa Bay related to plant production."
Category: 2008 Presidential Election
8:38:23 AM 
|
|
The EPA is going to declare the Nelson Tunnel near Creede a superfund site, according to The Denver Post. From the article:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday proposed adding a historic mine site near the southern Colorado town of Creede to its Superfund list of the most-polluted places in the country. Unlike in other communities where such designations have spurred animosity, town officials and residents welcomed the news as a way to continue local cleanup efforts. "We asked for this," said Town Manager Clyde Dooley. The EPA has proposed a narrowly defined cleanup of the Nelson Tunnel, which drains toxic levels of cadmium, lead and zinc from a mining district into Willow Creek.
The agency also would shore up the slumping Commodore waste-rock pile.
More coverage from The Rocky Mountain News. They write: "The agency wants to designate a five-acre site that includes the Nelson Tunnel and the Commodore Waste Rock pile. Both are putting cadmium, lead and zinc into the Willow Creek drainage. Studies show the contaminants in water exceed healthy levels for birds and fish, and that the potential exists for a flood to send contaminants into Creede, the EPA said."
More coverage from The Valley Courier:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing adding the Nelson Tunnel/Commodore Waste Rock site near Creede to the National Priorities List (NPL) of Superfund sites. The draining mine adit and waste rock pile are located about one mile above Creede. The announcement, made yesterday, March 19, begins a 60-day period in which citizens may send comments on the proposed listing to EPA. The site is approximately five acres in size and consists of an abandoned mine site. It includes the Nelson Tunnel, a draining adit that drains directly into West Willow Creek and the Commodore Waste Rock pile that is immediately upslope and surrounds the mouth of the adit. West Willow Creek joins Willow Creek, which flows through Creede and into the Rio Grande River approximately four miles from the site. Mining of silver, lead, and zinc in the Creede mining district resulted in contaminated water discharging into the Willow Creek drainage and mine waste piles accumulating in the watershed. The Nelson Tunnel adit drainage is the largest source of cadmium, lead and zinc in the Willow Creek watershed.
The Commodore Waste Rock pile also contains elevated levels of arsenic, cadmium, lead, and zinc. The drainage constructed around the pile failed in 2005 during a flood which left the Commodore Waste Rock pile highly unstable. The pile lies primarily in West Willow Creek, but during the flood some of the rock was washed downstream into Willow Creek. The potential exists for these piles to contaminate the town of Creede during another flood. A biological assessment of the Willow Creek watershed indicated concentrations for cadmium, lead and zinc that exceed recommended dietary intake benchmarks and aquatic water standards for fish and birds. These analyses identified cleanup of the Nelson Tunnel as a key element to restoring the Willow Creek stream and streamside habitat...
Information that EPA used to document the proposed listing of the site is available at:www.epa.gov/region8/superfund/co/nelsoncommodore. The information may also be obtained at Creede Town Hall, Meeting Room, 2223 N. Main Street.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
Category: Colorado Water
8:12:25 AM
|
|
Here's a look at opposition to HB 08-1165, from The Telluride Watch. From the article:
A bill currently before the Colorado House Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Natural Resources aims to increase the regulatory authority of the state's Reclamation, Mining and Safety Board over all hard rock mining in Colorado. It also includes provisions to consider human health and environmental risks during the permitting process. But with a myriad of mining regulations already on the books, some opponents question the necessity of the bill. At least two dozen citizens, among them both active and retired miners, appeared before the Ouray County Board of Commissioners at their meeting on March 10 to express their opposition to the bill, saying it would have a massive impact on the industry by imposing too many costs and adding more bureaucratic roadblocks in an already heavily regulated industry. "We need regulations that don't stymie the industry. Mining is a capital-intense industry," said Stuart Sanderson, president of the Colorado Mining Association, via conference call with the commissioners. "We don't need another layer of political uncertainty."[...]
"HB 08-1165 clarifies that local control is retained," said [Ouray County Commissioner Keith] Meinert last week, "but the language grants to the counties some powers they've never had at any time, and it is those liberal provisions which are not necessarily endorsed by either myself or Commissioner Batchelder." Attorney Andy Mueller, who represents mining interests in Ouray County, told the commissioners that the bill is unnecessary because adequate agencies and laws already exist. "The question is, at what point is the public getting more benefit from this process?" Mueller asked. "From a miner's perspective, it's impossible to try to figure out what's right in full contact with the county. While the bill speaks of local control, its effect is to squelch mining activities in the state." Mueller's remarks were echoed by other members of the mining industry present, most of whom maintained that mining contributes substantially to the county's revenues and is more sustainable than tourism or agriculture.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
Category: Colorado Water
7:52:27 AM
|
|
The EPA is moving ahead with the plans they've put into motion for the Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel, according to The Leadville Herald Democrat. From the article:
The Environmental Protection Agency is moving forward on its emergency plan and has no intention of changing its course of action. Lake County Commissioner Ken Olsen asked the EPA if it had any intention of doing dye testing, which puts a marker in the water to know for sure where the water flows within the faults and spaces under the mountain. The EPA said no. Olsen said that this could be a missed opportunity, with the water levels so high, to know for sure where water flows under the ground. These tests were done a few years ago, said Stan Christensen, EPA, and there is no intention to do the testing again.
Lake County Commission Chair Mike Hickman expressed a concern that the EPA will run out of emergency funds to continue the work planned for the water-level temporary fixes. He asked if the EPA would walk away from these projects when the money ran out. Bill Murray, EPA, assured all that the pumping at the Gaw shaft would not stop for financial reasons. It would stop if certain trigger points for deteriorating water quality were met, meaning that the water could no longer be released straight into the Arkansas River. These trigger points are 5 parts per billion of cadmium or a 6.0 pH level. The water-quality tests are currently being done weekly, and these results will be posted on the California Gulch Web site for the EPA...
ASARCO, which is still going through the bankruptcy process, has given verbal permission for the pipeline to be placed across its property. The pipeline will transfer water from the mine pool well to the treatment plant at the bottom of the LMDT. The goal is to start the pumping out of the mine pool by May 15...
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has been researching the Canterbury Tunnel in an attempt to find a solution for the blockage in that tunnel.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here and here.
Category: Colorado Water
7:23:34 AM
|
|
From The Estes Park Trail-Gazette: "Eight candidates are vying for three slots in the May 6 Upper Thompson Sanitation District board of director election. Chris Eshelman, Michael Griffith, John Michael Kearney, Larry Wilburn Pettyjohn and Reed Smedley are challenging incumbents Doug Fox, Jack E. Reed and Robert M. Ryan. The election will be conducted through the mail, and officials will be mailing ballots to over 5,000 addresses within the district. Electors need to be registered voters living within the district. They will select three candidates for four-year terms."
Here's an update on the growing problem for Montrose County in finding a consistent septage receiver, from The Montrose Daily Press. They write:
Struggles toward a consistent septic waste receiver in Montrose County became more pronounced this week as hopes for a $100,000 grant seem to have faded. "We haven't had a final turndown, but it seemed like a pretty lukewarm response," said Randy See, West Montrose Sanitation District manager. The district applied for an Energy and Mineral Impact Assistance Grant from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs. The grant was intended to aid in removal of biosolids accumulated from septage dumps at the district's ponds. See has said the district is inadequate to operate as a permanent septage receiver because loads have been far less frequent than projected: The facilities haven't been expanded because the district doesn't wish to financially burden its sewer customers. He said the district presented its request to the DOLA grant board Wednesday, but that "it just didn't seem to be perceived as a high priority."
WMSD is the only official septic waste receiver in Montrose County. In Delta, there's CB Industries -- a place that takes septic waste and restaurant grease and turns it into compost. Chuck Bishop owns of Eagle Plumbing and Septic in Montrose. He land-applies his loads rather than bringing them to a receiver. He recently filed an application for a special use permit to create a site similar to CB Industries. Bishop said in a phone call Thursday that the process of obtaining equipment and permits to be in compliance at the state and national levels will consume considerable time and money. He said he's met with Montrose County Manager Joe Kerby to find finance through state activity bonds, but that the estimated $250,000 he wants isn't enough to qualify.
Regional officials and folks involved in the septage industry have been meeting since last fall to find solutions to such difficult problems. They met Thursday at Montrose County Health and Human Services. Montrose Mayor David White said the septage issue matters to local governments because of health regulations. "It becomes a political problem -- because if you have no place to take it, it's going to require a governmental solution at some point because of federal requirements," he said. Montrose County Land Use Director Steve White said the state government gave minimal feedback on a site plan Bishop had submitted for review, as it's too simple. He said Bishop wouldn't have the incentive to hire an engineer to design the system until it gets moving through the public process. "We've got to get the idea moved forward, otherwise nothing's ever going to happen," Steve White said. He said he will try to have the special use permit before the Montrose County Commissioners in the next few months. Also at the meeting, the issue of putrid septic odors affecting land values was discussed as another possible hindrance toward establishing a receiver. Montrose Roto-Rooter owner Kevin Smith said this can be more cumbersome than legal matters. "If the neighbors don't want it, we as an industry, individually, don't have the financial depth to defend ourselves against a gang of neighbors that can afford collectively a lot of legal counsel," Smith said.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
Category: Colorado Water
7:11:13 AM
|
|
Here's an upate on the proposed uranium operation in Park County from The Fairplay Flume. They write:
Park County Development Services Coordinator Tom Eisenman met with Horizon Nevada Uranium Inc. President Bill Wilson on March 14, and Eisenman was scheduled to meet with county commissioners on March 19, but it's unclear at this point what input the commissioners will have in the decision-making process on uranium mining in Park County. Eisenman said on March 18 that he was in the process of determining what rights the county has with the proposed in-situ recovery uranium mines planned for South Park near Hartsel, in terms of using county land use regulations. The proposed uranium mines are a priority issue for the county, and officials would be watching the progress closely, Eisenman said.
According to information provided by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, three agencies each share a portion of the permitting process: the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, the Colorado Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. A radioactive materials license must be issued by CDPHE to an applicant in order for a company to handle radioactive materials and uranium recovery operations. Part of the application process requires two public meetings and input from county commissioners. According to an e-mail from Warren Smith, community involvement manager for the CDPHE, when making a decision on the application, the CDPHE will take into consideration the county commissioners' comments, but "in the end, it comes down to a question of does the application demonstrate that the operation can be done in a way that protects people and the environment." The public input meetings would be further along in the process of applying for permits and could be years away, according to CDPHE documents.
The Colorado Department of Natural Resources also requires a notice of intent of prospecting activities be sent to property owners whose land might be mined. A mining company must also obtain a reclamation permit. The EPA requires that mining companies receive an aquifer exemption for any possible in-situ mining operation. During the application process, a company must prove that an aquifer isn't currently being used as a source of water and cannot be in the future, in order to obtain the exemption...
This summer, Horizon Nevada will be drilling exploratory wells to determine the level of uranium in the area. The process would involve drilling holes and measuring radiation...
Doran Moore, one of the founding members of Save Our South Park Water '08, said his organization is in the process of collecting membership and will hold a public meeting in early April. "We want to preserve the quality of life," he said, including property value and water quality. "I love the area." His property isn't on the list of properties on which a claim was filed, but neighbors all around him are, which prodded him into action. "We've certainly received a lot of inquiries and encouragement," said Moore, who has set up a Web site at SOSPW08.blogspot.com.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
From The Norwood Post: "Norwood could get a new neighbor: a uranium mill outside of Naturita to process all of the uranium ore that is being mined in and around San Miguel County. Energy Fuels, Inc. is in the early stages of permitting its Piñon Ridge Mill to process up to 1,000 tons of uranium ore, as well as vanadium, per day. It would be the first uranium processing facility to be constructed in the U.S. in 25 years."
Category: Colorado Water
7:06:29 AM
|
|
Today is World Water Day. Take time out of your day to reflect on the billion or so people around the world that do not have a sustainable clean supply of water. You can help by participating in today's UNICEF Tap Project. Go out to dinner tonight and donate a $1 to the project at participating restaurants. Click on the link, enter your zip code, donate, help someone.
Category: Colorado Water
6:45:51 AM
|
|
From The Boulder Daily Camera: "Gov. Bill Ritter declared an emergency Friday in Alamosa County, which activates the Colorado National Guard and provides up to $300,000 for emergency response efforts. The city and county already had declared emergencies as officials scrambled to provide residents with safe water and disinfect the water system with chlorine...Water agencies from Denver, Aurora and Fort Collins were assisting."
Here's the latest on the emergency from SLV Dweller.
Category: Colorado Water
6:37:18 AM
|
|
From The Glenwood Springs Post Independent: "More than a million gallons of waste water has poured into an area known as 'Garden Gulch' north of Parachute, according to Western Colorado Congress. The spill has been frozen in a huge waterfall that is now starting to melt as the temperatures rise. The fluids are flowing directly into West Parachute Creek -- a source of irrigation water for many landowners and the entire town of Parachute...Eventually, West Parachute Creek ends up in the Colorado River.
Category: Colorado Water
6:35:01 AM
|
|
Here's a recap of this week's meeting of the Lower Arkansas River Water Conservancy District from The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:
An experiment to weigh the effects of farming ground that has been left idle in the Arkansas Valley is entering its second year. An update on the project at the Colorado State University Agricultural Research Center near Rocky Ford was shared with the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District board Wednesday by Jim Valliant, irrigation specialist for Colorado State University Extension Service. "One of the things we did see, that we expected to see, is that if you take care of fallowed land, you won't lose the nutrients in the soil," Valliant said.
The CSU Research Center began a test on a 10-acre plot owned by the Lower Ark on the Rocky Ford Ditch last year. Most of the water in the ditch has been purchased by Aurora, but the research center continues to operate using water from the ditch. The Lower Ark purchased property on the ditch to ensure there would always be a need for water in the ditch...
In 2006, concerned about new state legislation allowing farms to be fallowed for three of 10 years under lease programs, the Lower Ark proposed a direct test of the impacts. Since then, the district itself has backed a plan to create a land fallowing, water leasing program, nicknamed "Super Ditch." There are few scientific studies on the impact of fallowing, and none specific to the Arkansas Valley. "From the Super Ditch concept, we're very interested in looking at the speed which you can bring land back to production after it's been fallowed," said Jay Winner, Lower Ark general manager. Valliant said corn was planted on one-quarter of the ground in 2007. This year, half the plot will be planted. In 2009, three-fourths of the land will be planted, and all of the farmland will be put in corn in 2010. That will give comparison of land that has been fallowed one, two or three years...
Managing the fallowed land is important, Valliant said. Letting weeds grow and cropping them close to the ground prevents wind from carrying soil away. Deep plowing fallowed ground - or cultivated ground too often - can disturb the soil and deplete nutrients, he added. "We can't continue to farm the way we used to farm," Valliant said. CSU Extension, with the help of the Lower Ark district, is planning to seek a state grant to run more experiments with fallowing up and down the Arkansas Valley to get more of an idea how rotational fallowing can affect crop yields under actual conditions.
The Lower Ark board also heard a presentation from CSU-Pueblo graduate student Jason Turner on metal testing in Fountain Creek. The metal testing is part of a project testing water quality and the effects of contaminants on aquatic life. Turner said tests last fall and this spring at 14 sites in the Fountain Creek watershed identified higher levels of zinc near Gold Hill, a development on former mine tailings in Colorado Springs. Selenium loading was observed north of Pueblo, where flows are probably leaching the element from Pierre shale formations. The highest amount of zinc (39 parts per billion) was well under Environmental Protection Agency limits (120 ppb), while the highest reading for selenium (19 ppb) was above EPA recommendations for fish and birds (5 ppb), although not harmful to humans. "We know it's there. We know it's high. What do you do about it? It's a natural situation," Turner said. "That's what we're looking at."
More Coyote Gulch coverage here and here.
Category: Colorado Water
6:28:25 AM
|
|
In light of the recent AP report on pharmaceuticals and endocrine disruptors in the nation's water supply here's an article about Fort Collins' water safety from The Fort Collins Coloradoan. They write:
Despite ongoing reports about pharmaceuticals in drinking water, local water experts say Fort Collins water is safe. Fort Collins is the first municipality to use water from the Poudre River as it flows from the mountains to the plains, meaning the water is virtually untouched, officials said. Fort Collins also gets drinking water from Horsetooth Reservoir, which includes water from upstream wastewater treatment facilities in the Estes Park area. That water could contain trace amounts of pharmaceuticals, city officials said. "We're very fortunate in that we're pretty much the first users other than the animals in the forests and the mountains," said Keith Elmund,environmental services manager for the city's utilities department. "Our drinking water is from rain and snowmelt."
Still, U.S. Geological Survey studies conducted in 2002 and 2005 in the Poudre as it winds through the Poudre Canyon west of Fort Collins found trace amounts of caffeine, disinfectants, fire retardant, household detergent and DEET, a chemical most often found in bug spray...
Though Fort Collins draws drinking water upstream of the city, it discharges treated wastewater into the Poudre River, which meets the South Platte River east of Greeley and flows past cities on the state's Eastern Plains. Water officials said they aren't sure how much of that water is used on the plains for agricultural irrigation or drinking water. Pharmaceuticals can also travel through the human body unprocessed and are then excreted to involuntarily put pharmaceuticals in the wastewater system, said Ken Carlson, associate professor of environmental engineering at Colorado State University, who studies water quality. "We have found everything from ibuprofen to caffeine in the wastewater stream," Carlson said. "But we are talking about parts per trillion." Carlson said that would be like putting a droplet full of pharmaceuticals in 20 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Pharmaceuticals are much smaller molecules, making it easier to get through the numerous barriers water treatment plants set up to treat drinking water, an issue the Environmental Protection Agency will continue to study, Carlson said. "Wastewater plants weren't designed to remove this kind of thing," Carlson said.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
From The Pikes Peak Courier View: "Cities, towns, water districts and individual wells in the county are almost always above the problem in elevation. 'A few of our wells are located below septic systems but most of our water is first use,' said Jim Schultz, Woodland Park utilities director. 'We're an upstream user; there are no wastewater plants above us.' The same can be said for Victor which gets most of its water from a snow-melt-filled reservoir on Pikes Peak. 'Our water is unique,' said Jim Lottig, operator of the Victor water plant. 'We're pretty lucky to be living in the mountains, don't you think?' Cripple Creek also gets most of its water from snow melt."
From The Crested Butte News: "The [Crested Butte] Town Council reviewed the first draft of its amended Watershed Protection Ordinance, which will replace the town's existing ordinance. In general, the ordinance is more stringent than the old version, according to the town's special counsel attorney, Barbara Green. "It's going to be more difficult to get a permit now because we have standards with more teeth,' she said during the meeting."
From The Sky-Hi Daily News: "Kremmling got some very good news this week because its desperately needed water line project will receive a major grant from the state of Colorado. At Tuesday's town board meeting, Mayor Tom Clark announced that the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) has approved a matching grant for the town's nearly $1 million project. The grant will pay for 50 percent of it. The project, which is scheduled to be done this year, will replace the main water transmission line from the town's water plant three miles west of Kremmling to the town's western edge. That line, which supplies all of the town's water, is badly leaking and sections of it have failed in recent years."
More from the article:
The total price tag for the main transmission line project this year is estimated to be about $957,000. The town of Kremmling had set the replacement of the main water transmission line as a top priority project as part of its budget for 2008. The water line, which was installed in the early 1970s, has begun to fail in recent years due to heavy corrosion to its steel pipes. This year's project to replace the main transmission line is just the first stage of needed repairs to the town's water system. Moses estimates that 24,000 feet of steel water pipe, which is 30 percent of the Kremmling's in-town water system, has corroded to the point that it must be replaced in the next few years. These steel pipes were installed in the late 1940s and early 50s. The need to replace large portions of the town's water lines is not only due to fear of the collapse of the system, but also to its continuing financial drain on the town. Moses estimates that nearly 70 percent of the water treated by Kremmling's water plant is lost to leaky pipes along the main transmission line or to the in-town steel pipe system. The town of Kremmling plans to replace of all these leaking water lines during the next five years.
Thanks to The Water Information Program for the link.
Category: Colorado Water
6:18:41 AM
|
|
|
|
© Copyright
2008
John Orr.
Last update:
4/1/08; 8:15:35 AM.
|
|
|
