ProgressNow.org Daily News Digest

Two views of Ritter’s energy level - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_11359696 Search online for the phrase "new energy economy" and you get hits for Colorado and Gov. Bill Ritter. Ritter, who is heading into the second half of his four-year term, has distinguished himself even internationally as the New Energy Governor, a tireless supporter of solar- and wind-energy industries who has made Colorado a leader in renewable power. But critics as well as some friends of Ritter — who plans to seek re-election — say he hasn't accomplished much else in two years. Little has been done to address the state's crumbling roads and bridges, the state has made only modest efforts to expand health care to the uninsured, and colleges and universities say they're being starved. On top of that, Ritter now faces a budget crisis that is potentially worse than the one Republican Gov. Bill Owens dealt with earlier this decade.

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GJSentinel.com: White to promote rules for oil shale development

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2009/01/03/010409_6a_oil_shale_rules.html Commercial oil shale production might be years away, but Republican state lawmakers plan to craft some general policies this year that could set the stage for developing the abundant fossil fuel. Sen.-elect Al White, R-Hayden, said he plans to carry legislation to start a rule-making process governing how and where oil shale can be developed in Colorado. “The bill will establish a task force whose job it is to do a rule making for oil shale extraction and what parameters need to surround oil shale when it becomes commercially viable,” he said Colorado, Utah and Wyoming have an estimated trillion barrels of crude oil locked in their shale formations.

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Colorado GOP lawmakers seek to regulate oil shale projects : State and West : Boulder Daily Camera

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2009/jan/05/legislature-2009-lawmakers-seek-to-regulate-oil/ No commercial oil shale development is expected in Colorado for several years, but some Republican legislators want to start laying the groundwork to manage the resource that some estimates put at more than 1 trillion barrels of oil. Sen.-elect Al White, R-Hayden, said he plans to propose a bill in the legislative session that starts Wednesday to create a task force to craft rules for oil shale production. Rep. Kevin Lundberg, R-Berthoud, plans a bill to provide incentives for oil shale production by cutting the state's severance tax on the fuel. "(It's) an incentive by discounting the oil shale severance taxes through the year 2020 if any company will start to develop a commercial program by 2012," Lundberg said. Glenn Vawter, executive director of the National Oil Shale Association, said it is good to see lawmakers gearing up for the future.

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GJSentinel.com: Parcels in sale may be protested

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2009/01/03/010409_2A_San_Miguel_leases.html Officials in San Miguel County likely will protest at least some parcels slated for the auction block in a federal mineral-lease sale next month. As many as 48,000 acres of forested lands in the county are listed in the lease sale, but at least some of the parcels will be deferred because they are in areas to be treated as roadless. Naturita Canyon lands now listed as being available for lease will be withdrawn from the Feb. 12 sale, said Charlie Richmond, supervisor of the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests. If San Miguel County officials have additional concerns, “They will have to go through the protest process,” Richmond said.

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San Miguel County officials might protest energy leases : Local News : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2009/jan/04/san-miguel-county-officials-might-protest-energy-l/ Officials in San Miguel County might protest energy leases proposed on federal land in an area watershed and in sage grouse habitat. Officials in the southwest Colorado county, which includes the mountain resort of Telluride, plan to meet with the U.S. Forest Service Tuesday to discuss the oil and gas leases up for bid in a Feb. 12 auction. About a third of the 133,00 acres up for lease are in San Miguel County. Some of the parcels will be withdrawn from the auction because they're on roadless forest land.

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GJSentinel.com: Denver-based driller Vantage Energy presses on in Piceance

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2009/01/04/010509_1A_Roan_plans.html Falling natural gas prices and the decision of several major energy companies to draw down their drilling operations in northwest Colorado will not deter Vantage Energy from drilling the Roan Plateau over the next two years. Mark Rothenberg, the Piceance Basin team leader for Vantage Energy, said the “short-term fluctuations” in natural gas prices and new regulations from the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission will not derail its “very long-term” plans for the gas-rich plateau in Garfield and Rio Blanco counties. “A short-term fluctuation in gas prices is not going to stop us from pursuing that project,” Rothenberg said. “It may cause some subtle changes in what we do in 2009 or 2010, but it’s not going to change our impression of the Roan Plateau as being a tremendous resource.”

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Durango Herald News, Motion resumes HDs lawsuit

http://durangoherald.com/sections/News/2009/01/03/Motion_resumes_HDs_lawsuit/ Legal action has resumed in a lawsuit that seeks to block coalbed methane wells in the HD Mountains east of Bayfield. The case is likely to be fought mostly through written arguments, and environmental groups filed their first major motion in mid-December. Meanwhile, BP has asked U.S. Senior Judge Richard Matsch to dismiss the part of the lawsuit that applies to wells it already has drilled in the area. Much of the HDs is undeveloped and free of roads. The lawsuit began after San Juan National Forest Supervisor Mark Stiles approved coalbed methane wells in April 2007 in both the HD Mountains and near the outcrop of the coal layer that contains natural gas. Companies had bought leases to drill in the HDs years earlier.

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GJSentinel.com: $4,000 oil, gas well fee will continue

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2009/01/05/010509_1A_BLM_permit_fee.html A reduction in drilling already is expected locally in 2009 because of tight lending markets, low natural gas prices and stricter rules recently approved by state regulators. Congress implemented the fee for the 2008 fiscal year in an appropriations bill signed by President Bush on Dec. 26, 2007. Although that fiscal year expired Oct. 1, the fee was extended as part of a stopgap 2009 budget resolution that runs out March 6, said Tom Gorey, a BLM spokesman in Washington. Williams Production RMT spokeswman Susan Alvillar said probably about half of the 500 wells Williams normally drills per year in the Piceance Basin are under BLM jurisdiction. “That’s a pretty hefty price tag,” she said. For 250 wells, it would amount to $1 million.

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GJSentinel.com: Natural gas from Piceance Basin being sent to markets outside Colo.

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2009/01/02/010309_12b_Questar.html Questar Pipeline Co. has begun pumping Piceance Basin natural gas to markets south and west of Colorado. The White River Hub connects a natural-gas processing plant near Meeker with four interstate pipelines, Questar said in a news release. Among those pipelines is the Northwest Pipeline, which carries gas to markets in the Pacific Northwest and, via another pipeline, to Las Vegas and Southern California. The White River Hub provides producers with greater access to markets for gas from the Piceance and Uinta basins, said Allan Bradley, Questar Pipeline president and chief executive officer.

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Drop in gas prices only temporary | Gazette.com

http://www.gazette.com/articles/gas_45666___article.html/prices_ochs.html In the midst of a grim economy, lower gas prices have been a small but real comfort. Just don't expect them to last forever. That's the new-year prognostication of Harlan Ochs, a gentleman who has been in the oil and gas business for 51 years. He and brother Ken co-own and manage Acorn Petroleum, a fuel and lubricant distributor that counts the city of Colorado Springs among its clients. "I would bet $5 - and I'm not a gambling man - that in the next two or three years we'll be back where we were in July (when gas prices soared above $4 a gallon)," Ochs said this week. "People should say, ‘I'm getting a temporary and very welcome respite from high prices. But I'm not going to be lulled into thinking I'll see $1.44 a gallon prices for very long.' " Over his five decades in the business, Ochs has seen a few breathtaking run-ups in gas prices before.

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The Steamboat Pilot - Volunteer group plans bulb swap

http://steamboatpilot.com/news/2009/jan/05/volunteer_group_plans_bulb_swap/ Volunteers gathered Sunday to discuss an appropriate way to mark President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration and Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The group, which calls itself Change We Need, plans to replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs in homes around Routt County. The group will seek donated CFL bulbs, which use less energy than their counterparts, and plans to work with the Routt County Council on Aging and other organizations to find people who want new bulbs. Nearly 20 people attended Sunday’s discussion at the Solstice Building on Oak Street. Change We Need plans to distribute the bulbs the weekend of Jan. 17. Martin Luther King Jr. Day is Jan. 19, and Obama’s inauguration is scheduled for the next day.

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Durango Herald News, LPEA returns to doing billing

http://durangoherald.com/sections/News/2009/01/03/LPEA_returns_to_doing_billing/ La Plata Electric Association is bringing its billing back home. Effective Thursday, all electric-bill payments were to be directed to LPEA headquarters in Durango, Chief Financial Officer Dennis Svanes announced in the January issue of Colorado Country Life, an industry newsletter. The return to Durango comes after the electric cooperative outsourced its payment processing to a company in Prescott, Ariz., for several years. "At the time, it was the most cost-effective option, though admittedly not the most popular locally," Svanes wrote in the newsletter.

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Up to 8% drop in natural gas bills predicted : More Business : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/dec/19/up-to-8-drop-in-natural-gas-bills-predicted/ Xcel Energy on Thursday projected a 7 percent to 8 percent decrease in natural gas bills for January compared with the same month a year ago. Declining natural gas prices on the heels of softening oil prices in a weakening economy, coupled with robust gas storage, are responsible for the downward revision of Xcel's forecast. If the revision is approved by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, a typical residential customer would pay $108.20 a month beginning Jan. 1, compared with $116.85 paid in January 2008 and this month's $113.97. A small business would pay $491.08, compared with this month's $532.97 and the $531.79 in January 2008.

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Xcel says natural-gas bills will dip - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_11265822 Xcel Energy announced Thursday that typical residential natural-gas bills in January are projected to be 7 percent lower than a year ago because of plunging gas prices. Typical residential bills will be $108.20 next month, down from $116.85 in January of this year. Typical small-business customers are expected pay $491.08 next month, down from $531.79 in January 2008.

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GJSentinel.com: Planning Commission: Mesa County needs plan for energy-industry road damage

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/12/18/121908_4a_Road_plan.html The Mesa County Planning Commission is recommending the Mesa County Commission devise a policy for roads damaged by heavy, energy-industry traffic. Mesa County “needs an additional policy regarding road improvements and maintenance on county roads impacted by gas exploration and development,” the Planning Commission wrote in its recommendation. It was drafted Dec. 4 as the commission debated a proposal for a compressor facility near Collbran. According to the meeting minutes, Planning Commission Vice Chairman Mark Bonella said the Mesa County Commission “needs to come up with some sort of a pay schedule or something. This is something that needs a long hard look at ... Something needs to be done.”

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Salazar given interior post - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_11258047 President-elect Barack Obama officially picked Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar as his appointee for secretary of the interior Wednesday, a move intended to bring a more centrist — and ethical — approach to administering the nation's federal lands and shaping its energy policies. Salazar's departure with two years remaining in his first term leaves a gaping hole in the state's congressional delegation and puts enormous pressure on Gov. Bill Ritter to name a stand-out Democratic replacement who can adequately serve for two years and win election in 2010. The nomination comes with turmoil surrounding the Interior Department, which has been accused of corruption, malfeasance and rendering decisions based on politics. Obama said that the department "too often has been seen as an appendage of commercial interests as opposed to a place where the values and interests of the American people are served." "There have been too many problems and too much emphasis on big- time lobbyists in Washington and not enough emphasis on what's good for the American people, and that's going to change under Ken Salazar," Obama said at a news conference.

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Company outlines Garfield Creek drilling plans for ’09 | PostIndependent.com

http://www.postindependent.com/article/20081218/VALLEYNEWS/812179985/1001/NONE Denver-based Orion Energy Partners plans to drill six wells in the Garfield Creek State Wildlife Area next year, company representatives said Tuesday night. And If those wells are successful, Orion plans to drill many more wells from four well pads it is planning to have in the wildlife area. The company outlined its drilling plans in the habitat during a Colorado Division of Wildlife-organized community meeting Tuesday night about ongoing energy development in the area. The DOW cannot prevent drilling in the 13,160-acre wildlife habitat because it does not own the mineral rights below the surface.

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More Xcel bills going unpaid - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_11257798 Jerica Roush's power was shut off Wednesday, the second time in the past month her home went dark. The 19-year-old, a dancer at Oasis Cabaret gentlemen's club in Adams County, said the sinking economy has drastically cut her wages, making it harder to pay the bills. Even amid lower energy prices, more Coloradans are struggling to pay their utility bills this heating season. Xcel Energy, the state's largest electric and natural-gas utility, shut off 8,526 residential customers for delinquent bills in November, up 117 percent from 3,930 in November 2007, according to spokesman Joe Fuentes. So far this year, shut-offs have increased by 32 percent. "It's the economy, the wintertime, Christmas, everything," Roush said Wednesday afternoon while applying for financial assistance from the state Low-income Energy Assistance Program. This week, she made $18 for a day's worth of work. She used to make $100 a day.

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CU undergrads solve global energy problems : CU News : Boulder Daily Camera

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2008/dec/18/cu-undergrads-solve-global-energy-problems/ Terese Decker was frustrated. After crunching the numbers again, reworking the problems, doing more research and running complex cost-benefit analyses, the senior at the University of Colorado created a plan that allows Spain to get an incredible get 98 percent of its energy from renewable sources by the year 2030. But she just couldn't squeeze out that extra 2 percent -- representing the burning of fossil fuels -- in any kind of reasonable, cost-effective way. "That's a little disappointing," she told her classmates Tuesday. Decker and her fellow "energy minister," Josh Maynard, presented their semester's work on Spain to professor Frank Kreith this week. The students in Kreith's sustainable energy class have been working in pairs since August to write energy plans for a handful of countries, including Israel, Turkey, Thailand, France and Brazil.

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Gas industry, state environmental groups support Salazar | PostIndependent.com

http://www.postindependent.com/article/20081217/VALLEYNEWS/812169943/1001 Members of environmental groups and oil and gas trade organizations in Colorado have given the thumbs up to the news that U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar is expected to become Interior secretary. However, some environmental groups outside of Colorado assailed Salazar’s apparent selection as head of the Interior Department. The Associated Press, the Rocky Mountain News and The Denver Post have reported that President-elect Barack Obama has selected U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., for the job of Interior secretary and that the senator has accepted the offer. Michael Amodeo, a spokesman for Salazar, said the senator’s office was not commenting on news that he had been offered or accepted the Interior secretary post. But in the wake of the reports, Marc Smith, executive director of the Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States, said Salazar will “provide a strong Western voice and will play a pivotal role in meeting the administration’s goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing energy security.”

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Knotty issues at Interior put Salazar on tightrope - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_11248594 As head of the Department of the Interior, Ken Salazar will face a delicate balancing act in managing public lands for conservation, recreation and development, according to industry executives and environmental activists. "It is a balance that kind of got out of whack in the last few years," said Jane Danowitz, public land director for the Pew Environment Group. Salazar will also face issues his predecessors have not, including starting up offshore oil drilling, helping institute the Obama administration's renewable-energy policy and adding climate change to public-lands planning. "This is a very full and complex plate," said Bill Meadows, president of the Wilderness Society, an environmental group based in Washington, D.C. "Ken Salazar is a good choice for the job," Meadows said. "He has a conservation ethic, and while we haven't always agreed with him, he is someone who will listen with an open mind." Salazar is seen as a centrist who will listen to all sides.

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New oil and gas laws are still drawing fire : State and West : Boulder Daily Camera

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2008/dec/17/new-oil-and-gas-laws-are-still-drawing-fire/ Legislators challenging Colorado's new oil and gas regulations will face push-back from others who argue the safeguards for public health and the environment are long overdue. Approval last week of dozens of new rules ranging from waste pits to well locations to protection of wildlife prompted warnings that burdensome regulations could drive away oil and gas companies struggling with the economic downturn. Rep. Steve King, R-Grand Junction, wrote in a letter Monday to Gov. Bill Ritter that it looks like the new rules "will make an already deteriorating economic environment in Colorado's natural gas industry drastically worse." Lawmakers and companies claiming the rules will drive up costs must be specific rather than speak in generalities, said Rep. Kathleen Curry, D-Gunnison. Curry, a sponsor of one of the bills mandating the overhaul of the rules, said she will be the lead person in the House on review of the results.

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Legislature looks at ozone levels : County News : Boulder Daily Camera

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2008/dec/17/legislature-looks-at-ozone-levels/ Federal officials say ozone levels are too high in a nine-county region along the Front Range, including the Denver area and parts of Weld and Larimer counties. The Colorado Air Quality Control Commission approved tighter rules Friday after two days of hearings. The Legislature must give final approval. Lawmakers convene next month but it's not known how quickly they will take up the changes. The state must submit an ozone-reduction plan by July 1. "This is an important and substantial step along the path that will lead us to compliance with federal health-based standards for ozone," said Paul Tourangeau, director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment's Air Pollution Control Division. Regulators say pollution from oil and gas production has increased with expanded drilling in northern Colorado, while emissions from other sources have declined. Recent high ozone levels in western Wyoming are blamed on increased gas drilling there.

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Colorado BLM to offer energy leases on 133,000 acres | AspenTimes.com

http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20081216/NEWS/812169961/1002/NONE Federal oil and gas leases on about 133,000 acres, including more than 96,000 acres of national forest land, will be offered for sale in Colorado in February. The Bureau of Land Management will offer leases on 120 parcels in its quarterly auction Feb. 12. The parcels are in 16 counties, including 39,239 acres in Montrose County and 16,397 acres in La Plata County. None of the leases up for bid on forest land is in roadless areas, federal officials said Tuesday. Federal officials are considering a Colorado plan to protect 4.4 million acres of national forest land declared off limits to development by the Clinton administration. The fate of roadless areas across the country is in limbo as lawsuits challenging the Clinton-era rule and one by the Bush administration are considered by federal courts.

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BLM to offer Hogback parcels north of Rifle for lease | PostIndependent.com

http://www.postindependent.com/article/20081217/VALLEYNEWS/812169945/1001 The Bureau of Land Management will offer up two parcels encompassing 2,818 acres for lease for potential oil and gas development on the Hogback northeast of the Roan Plateau during its February lease sale. The acreage is located to the east of Colorado Highway 13 and near the Rio Blanco-Garfield county line, an area that residents and environmentalists have proposed to be set aside as designated wilderness area. Stipulations to protect big game winter habitat cover all of the two parcels, according to BLM lease information. Other parts of the parcel are also covered by a no-surface-occupancy stipulation, which requires operators to drill from other areas to reduce surface disturbances.

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