Garfield County May Fund Health Study of Battlement Mesa Drilling

GLENWOOD SPRINGS - This week the Garfield County commissioners indicated their willingness to have a health impact assessment conducted in the community of Battlement Mesa, where Antero Resources wants to drill 200 natural gas well.

What’s more, they’ve offered to fund the study.

The commissioners said some of the $17 million in oil and gas mitigation funds collected from the recent natural gas boom could be dedicated to funding a baseline air quality study as well as health assessment of the 5,000 residents of Battlement Mesa, according to the Glenwood Springs Post-Independent.

“Why wait for a grant?” commissioner John Martin asked at the meeting, referring to a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Pew Charitable Trusts Health Impact Assessment.

Members of the Battlement Concerned Citizens are worried about air and water quality pollution, as well as the traffic, noise and light impacts of the Antero plan, and they first broached the idea of such a study – reportedly unique to the state – with county health officials.

State Lawmaker Wants to Clean Up Electric Co-Op Elections

A Boulder lawmaker says she’ll introduce a bill in the upcoming legislative session aimed at cleaning up questionable campaign practices in rural electric association board elections. State Rep. Claire Levy told The Colorado Independent earlier this week that she is still working on a draft of the bill she’ll introduce in the upcoming legislative session that starts Jan. 13, but she outlined the basics.

What I want to be dealing with is making sure that all the [REA] members have adequate information about how to get on the ballot, that they have equal access to the names and contact information for REA members, that the REA is not sending out election propaganda on behalf of incumbents using ratepayer funds,” Levy said.

Levy, a Democrat, did not specify which of the state’s 22 member-owned electric co-ops engaged in election practices necessitating such reform, but she did say she’s discussed the bill with the Colorado Rural Election Association, which represents 21 of the co-ops that provide power in most of rural Colorado.

The state’s largest REA — the nearly 138,000-member Intermountain Rural Electric Association — bowed out of the CREA because of increasing pressure to increase renewable energy portfolios. The IREA was targeted by three clean-energy candidates running in its board election last spring, but all three came up short amid allegations the process was skewed to favor incumbents.

READ THE COMPLETE STYORY HERE.

La Veta Wind Farm Rejected

Huerfano County commissioners last week denied a proposal from a Broomfield renewable energy company to construct a 150-megawatt wind farm north of La Veta.

Commissioners cited concerns about potential negative impacts on the La Veta area’s scenery, among other reasons. A group called Save La Veta Valley opposed the proposal, saying the negative impact to the area’s natural environment and scenic views outweigh the benefits of a wind farm.

La Veta Mayor Mickey Schmidt also opposed the proposal. “There are a fair amount of citizens opposed to this project for one reason or another,” Schmidt said. “I think that the development at this end of the county has always depended on if the scenic beauty would be disturbed.”

Schmidt said he agrees with those who say a wind farm would hurt scenic views. “I feel that it is a good decision to try and preserve the scenic quality here,” Schmidt said.

Solar Proposal for Saguache County Meets Opposition

Audrey Gilpin of the Montain Mail reports that local opposition is heating up over  a proposed 2.4 square mile solar electric installation near Saguache. Last Friday developers met with Saguache County Commissioners to discuss their perceptions of the project.

The proposal by Tessera Solar of Houston, Texas, is for a 200 megawatt solar plant which would sell power to Xcel Energy. Tessera personnel conducted a public information meeting Nov. 24 regarding the project. San Luis Valley Solar Project, LLC, the applicant, is a private enterprise and wholly owned subsidiary of Stirling Energy Systems, Inc. and Tessera Solar North America.

Tessera is seeking a permit for site selection and construction of the major public utility. The proposed project will be constructed on about 1,525 acres of private land about eight miles southeast of Saguache. The company plans to use SunCatcher technology developed by its sister business, Stirling Energy Systems. It includes a 25 kilowatt solar dish to track the sun and focus solar energy onto a power conversion unit that generates electricity.

Joy Hughes of Moffat told commissioners “many citizens in the San Luis Valley are deeply concerned about impacts the proposal could incur.”

Hughes said, “1,500 acres isn’t that big if you’re a cloud. Rather than forcing their plans upon local people, solar companies can work with farmers and home owners to build a network of small and medium size facilities - a distributed power plant.”

Stimulus Money to Fund Ouray Micro-Hydro Project

OURAY – The City of Ouray has been awarded a $30,000 grant from the Colorado Governors Energy Office to install a 20 kilowatt micro-hydro generating unit to be located at the Ouray Hot Springs Pool.

“This is great news for Ouray,” said Ouray Mayor Bob Risch, “This project – along with already-completed efforts including our recent LED energy efficient streetlighting project – are establishing Ouray as a leader in clean energy, creating local jobs and saving the city money in avoided energy expenses.

Telluride Energy will be managing the project, working in collaboration with McMillon Engineering, Hydrowest, and High Tech Electrical Services.

The project will take advantage of an existing, currently underutilized pipeline adjacent to the pool site. The electrical output from the system will be net-metered to offset the electricity use of the pool complex, saving the city approximately $12,000 in annual electricity expenditures. The powerhouse for the project will be constructed by a shop class from Ouray High School. Once completed, the project will provide an added tourist attraction to visitors to Ouray Hot Springs.

Four Corners Saga: The Navajos’ Environmental Fight 

By Dennis Wagner

WINDOW ROCK - A green controversy fueled by coal-fired power plants is raging on America’s largest Indian reservation.

On one side is Joe Shirley Jr., president of the Navajo Nation, who rejects the notion of climate change even though he recently won an international award for environmentalism. On the other are environmentalists opposed to power plants in Indian Country and to the coal mines that provide their fuel. Caught in the middle are tribal members concerned with economic survival and the protection of sacred lands.

The dispute centers on fundamental questions of religion and heritage, as well as tribal finances.

The Navajo Generating Station near Page, which uses coal from mines on Black Mesa, employs hundreds of tribal members and helps finance the tribal government. The Desert Rock Energy Project, proposed in western New Mexico, has been under consideration for years. The $3 billion plant would be fueled by coal from a new mine, bringing more jobs and revenue to the Navajos.

The Environmental Protection Agency wants the Navajo Generating Station to install costly air-scrubbing equipment, an expense the tribe and some Arizona utility companies say could lead to the plant’s closure. Environmental groups, which have targeted the plant for years because of the emissions-related haze that builds up over the Grand Canyon, applaud the scrubbers.

READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE HERE.