News is breaking that the tragic accident in Firestone, where two people were killed in a home explosion, was caused by natural gas leaking from a cut flow line.
Contact: Jessica Goad, 720-206-4235
Highlights include dozens of events across the state, eight special beers, appearances by elected officials
Conservation Colorado and its partners have announced plans for celebrating the first-annual Colorado Public Lands Day, which will occur on Saturday, May 20th.
Ninety-five events are currently planned across the state, with more being added weekly. A map of all events can be found here, and highlights include:
- “Governor Hickenlooper Celebrates Colorado Public Lands Day,” Grand Junction Off-Road Bike Race main stage, 12:00 PM, Grand Junction
- “The Future of Public Lands” featuring U.S. Congressman Ed Perlmutter and the band Elephant Revival, American Mountaineering Center, 5:00 PM, Golden
- Events in Denver’s urban parks including Montbello Day of Beauty, 10:00 AM, and BBQ at Silverman Park, 12:00 PM
- Party and live music, Powerhouse Science Center, 6:00 PM, Durango
- Celebration featuring Colorado Public Lands Day architect state Senator Kerry Donovan, High Alpine Brewery, 5:00 PM, Gunnison
Eight special beers are being brewed by Colorado breweries to celebrate various aspects of public lands. Broken Compass’ spruce tip IPA, for example, pays homage to the mountains of Breckenridge, while Kannah Creek Brewing Company’s “Monument Irish Red” honors Colorado National Monument.
In addition, renowned Colorado-based band Elephant Revival is sponsoring a public lands trail cleanup on May 12th. The band has been dubbed the “official sound” of Colorado Public Lands Day 2017, and is hosting a contest to win free tickets to their show at Red Rocks on Sunday, May 21st, for anyone who helps promote Colorado Public Lands Day.
In May 2016 Colorado became the first state in the nation to establish a holiday recognizing the value of public lands to our state. The bill passed with bipartisan support and was signed into law by Governor Hickenlooper. Colorado Public Lands Day will occur on the third Saturday in May each year.
More information about all of the events can be found at copubliclandsday.com.
Contact: Jessica Goad, 720-206-4235
In a huge win for the environment and the “resistance” against the Trump agenda, the vote to move forward with repealing a rule protecting air quality from oil and gas development just failed in the U.S. Senate. However, Colorado Senator Gardner voted the wrong way.
Here is a reaction from Pete Maysmith, Executive Director of Conservation Colorado.
This is an incredible day for the environment and for citizens across the country who have been telling their members of Congress to vote for clean air. The vote should have been an easy one for the oil and gas lobby to win, but the power of citizen activism has broken through the political morass.
With that said, we are deeply disappointed in Senator Gardner’s vote. Despite more than 10,000 emails and calls from Coloradans and multiple protests at his offices on this issue, Senator Gardner managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by voting against Colorado’s clean air in what amounted to a futile vote for him.
It’s obvious from this vote that Senator Gardner is much more interested in joining the Washington, D.C. political club rather than representing the values of Coloradans. This is not the leadership that Colorado needs, and we will double down on our efforts to make sure that Coloradans of all stripes know what a threat Senator Gardner’s voting record poses to clean air and environment.
Senate Republicans today attempted to use a little-known procedure (the “Congressional Review Act”) to kill rules from previous presidential administrations. Today’s vote on the “motion to proceed” was 51-49, with Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Susan Collins (R-ME) and John McCain (R-AZ) joining all 48 Democrats in rejecting the resolution.
Senator Gardner has a 100% record of voting with Trump and has voted against the environment seven times already this year, the methane vote being the eighth.
The BLM’s methane waste prevention rule was modeled on Colorado’s successful 2014 methane rules. The federal rule was finalized in November 2016 after three years of public process that included eight public meetings held across the country and 300,000 public comments. The rule would minimize the amount of wasted natural gas resources from oil and gas facilities on public and tribal lands by requiring companies to look for and repair leaks, minimize flaring (burning) and prohibit venting of gas directly into the atmosphere. All told, the rule could save $330 million worth of natural gas each year, which would result in increased royalties paid to the federal treasury saving taxpayers more than $800 million over a decade.
Contacts:
– Elizabeth Whitehead, Children’s Hospital Colorado, 720-777-6388
– Mike Wetzel, Colorado Education Association, MWetzel@coloradoea.org
– Brian Turner, Colorado Public Health Association, 303-257-7142
– Jessica Goad, Conservation Colorado, 720-206-4235
– Mike Wetzel, Colorado Education Association, MWetzel@coloradoea.org
– Brian Turner, Colorado Public Health Association, 303-257-7142
– Jessica Goad, Conservation Colorado, 720-206-4235
The Colorado state legislature today passed HB 1306, a bill that would provide funds for Colorado schools to voluntarily test for lead in their drinking water. The vote count was 29-6, and the bill is on its way to Governor Hickenlooper’s desk.
“Clean water in our schools is an expectation everyone in Colorado can get behind,” said Brian Turner, MPH, President of the Colorado Public Health Association. “As a public health professional, but more importantly as a parent, I’m happy to see our state moving in the right direction for our kids’ safety.”
The bipartisan bill would provide funding for schools to voluntarily test their water for lead, and it prioritizes testing for older schools and schools with younger children. Schools that discover lead in their drinking water have several routes for securing more funding to mitigate the issue. Just seven of Colorado’s 178 school districts have tested their water for lead, and in these districts, 100 schools were found to have lead in their water.
“There are no safe levels of lead,” said Dan Nicklas, MD, pediatrician at Children’s Hospital Colorado. “The recent crisis in Flint, Michigan, brought the nation’s attention to this environmental hazard, though lead toxicity has always been a public health challenge. We fully support our state proactively addressing this risk to keep Colorado kids safe.”
“We recognize our school districts are badly underfunded and cannot perform this important work for student safety without assistance,” said Kerrie Dallman, president of the Colorado Education Association. “We appreciate our legislators for stepping forward with funding to help older schools meet the challenge of providing safe learning conditions for their students.”
“A safe environment is a human right,” said Kristin Green, Water Advocate at Conservation Colorado. “We’re thrilled that legislators from both sides of the aisle stood up for Colorado kids and will help keep them safe from lead pollution.”
Contact: Jessica Goad 720-206-4235
The Colorado state Senate just passed HB 1227, a bill to extend a successful energy efficiency program, on a 21-14 vote. The state House has already passed the bill, so it is going to Governor Hickenlooper’s desk.
Theresa Conley, Advocacy Director at Conservation Colorado, made the following statement:
This is an important win for Colorado. Energy efficiency programs have been wildly successful in our state, having saved consumers money and helped our environment. Despite misleading information that this bill would cost ratepayers money, its passage demonstrates that bipartisanship can be found on energy issues. We thank Senators Priola and Fenberg, as well as Representatives Winter and Lawrence, for their teamwork and for their commitment to Colorado’s consumers and our environment.
Colorado has long been a bipartisan leader in energy efficiency policies. Energy efficiency saves money for families and businesses and reduces air pollution. A Colorado bill passed in 2007 created the Energy Efficiency Resources Standard, which requires energy savings goals for utility companies, providing incentives for implementation of energy efficiency programs. This program is set to expire in 2018, and HB 1227 extends it through 2028.
Since its implementation in 2009, the EERS has created over 40,000 jobs, avoided 1.85 million metric tons of pollution, and saved Colorado consumers and businesses over $1.3 billion in utility costs. HB 1227 ensures the continuation of programs that help Colorado consumers and business save money, support existing jobs, create new jobs, and benefit our environment.
Contacts:
Jessica Goad, Conservation Colorado, 720-206-4235
Mike Freeman, Earthjustice, 720-989-6896
Two of the state’s leading environmental advocacy groups today called upon Governor Hickenlooper to accept the court’s decision in Martinez v. Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission and not appeal the case. Governor Hickenlooper has until this Thursday, May 18 to decide whether to appeal the decision.
“Several bills that would have done a better job of protecting Colorado communities from oil and gas failed in the state Senate during this past legislative session,” said Pete Maysmith, Executive Director of Conservation Colorado. “Now, it’s up to the governor to take this opportunity to protect public health and the environment and do all that he can to prevent tragedies like Firestone. A critical way to achieve this is to ensure that the oil and gas commission fully utilizes all of the tools that it has been given to protect public health, safety, and welfare. One of these tools is a recent court decision that makes it clear that the agency does in fact have the ability and authority to protect Colorado communities from oil and gas drilling. In order to preserve this important tool, we urge Governor Hickenlooper to not appeal the Martinez decision.”
“All the Martinez decision says is that Colorado must protect public health, safety, and the environment when approving oil and gas development,” said Mike Freeman, Staff Attorney at the public interest law firm Earthjustice. “But the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission has been telling Coloradans for years that it already does that. If the COGCC has been meeting its obligations to protect Coloradans the State should have no objection to the court’s ruling. By appealing the court ruling, the government and the COGCC would be making the case that public health and safety are not the commission’s top priority in managing oil and gas development.”
Background on the case:
In 2013, Xiuhtezcatl Martinez and several other Colorado young people asked the COGCC to adopt a regulation stating that no drilling permits will be issued without a finding that drilling can occur without impairing Colorado’s air, water, and wildlife and that it does not adversely affect public health. The COGCC denied the request, holding that it lacked legal authority to issue such a rule. In March 2017, the Colorado Court of Appeals set aside the COGCC’s decision. The Court held that state law makes “protection of public health, safety and welfare, including protection of the environment and wildlife resources” a prerequisite for approving oil and gas development. While rejecting the COGCC’s legal interpretation, the Court did not address whether the agency should adopt the specific rule language requested by the Martinez plaintiffs.
The American Petroleum Institute, which has opposed the Martinez plaintiffs in the lawsuit, is expected to ask the Colorado Supreme Court to reverse the Court of Appeals decision. On May 1, the COGCC voted to join the American Petroleum Institute in challenging the court decision.
The Outdoor Retailer Show and its partners today announced that Denver has been chosen as the new home for the $45 million biannual gathering.
On the final day for public comments during the Trump administration’s “review” of 27 national monuments, Coloradans across the state are standing up for our public lands, especially our most exceptional protected places like Canyons of the Ancients National Monument near Cortez.
“Coloradans have shown unequivocally that they support our national parks and monuments,” said Scott Braden, Wilderness and Public Lands Advocate at Conservation Colorado. “President Trump and Secretary Zinke’s morally bankrupt threat to shrink or remove protections for our public lands has backfired and has resulted in even greater support for them. This attack has also shown Secretary Zinke’s initial claim to be a devotee of President Teddy Roosevelt to be a cruel farce.”
Since the beginning of the monuments review, announced in early May, Coloradans have spoken out in many ways:
- As of this morning, nearly 12,000 Conservation Colorado members had submitted comments supporting Canyons of the Ancients. See a sampling of Coloradans’ comments here, including those from MB McAfee of Cortez and the CEO of Icelantic Skis.
- Nationally, more than 2.5 million comments in favor of protecting our nation’s monuments have been submitted.
- Editorial boards from across the state have weighed in for keeping Canyons of the Ancients protected or for the Antiquities Act, including the Denver Post, Grand Junction Sentinel, Durango Herald, and Cortez Journal.
- Elected officials have weighed in, including:
– The Colorado state House unanimously voted to pass a resolution in support of the Antiquities Act and all of Colorado’s national monuments.
– Colorado’s statewide officials (Senators Michael Bennet and Cory Gardner and Governor John Hickenlooper) as well as local Congressman Scott Tipton have supported Canyons of the Ancients.
– 29 county commissioners from across the state signed a letter to the Secretary of Interior stating, “These monuments are our heritage, our future and our template for preservation.”
– The Cortez City Council signed a strong letter to the Secretary of Interior saying, “Canyons of the Ancients became a National Monument because it is a special place and merits the protections that Monument Status provides.”
While Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has made assurances to some of our Colorado leaders that Canyons of the Ancients will remain unharmed, other national monuments have come under direct attack, even in the face of widespread public support. Secretary Zinke has recommended that neighboring Bears Ears National Monument in Utah be shrunk.
Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper today announced major steps to fight climate change, including putting the state of Colorado on track to meet the emissions reductions targets of the landmark Paris climate agreement.
Contacto: Jessica Goad, 720-206-4235
El gobernador de Colorado, John Hickenlooper, anunció el día de hoy importantes medidas para luchar contra el cambio climático, incluyendo el encaminar al estado de Colorado para cumplir con la reducción de emisiones cual tiene como objetivo el histórico acuerdo climático de París e ingresar a Colorado a la Alianza Climática de EE.UU., una coalición bipartidista de 12 estados comprometidos a cumplir con las metas y objetivos del Acuerdo de París.
“Le agradecemos al gobernador Hickenlooper por tomar acción para combatir el cambio climático y edificar la economía de energía limpia de Colorado,” dijo Hilda Nucete, Directora de Programa Protégete en Conservation Colorado. “Las comunidades en las líneas frontales son las más afectadas por la contaminación del aire y los impactos del cambio climático, y frente a los ataques a nuestro aire limpio por parte del presidente Trump y su administración, el gobernador Hickenlooper está en lo correcto al anteponer a nuestras comunidades y familias.”
Otras acciones en el anuncio del gobernador incluyen:
-Objetivos mensurables en la disminución de emisiones de carbono en el sector de servicios públicos, así como aquellos de eficiencia energética.
-Apoyar de los vehículos eléctricos.
-Ampliar los programa de edificios sostenibles.
-Adoptar requerimientos de reporte de gases de efecto invernadero, lo cual le permitirá al estado identificar oportunidades para disminuir la contaminación y por lo tanto, ahorrar energía y dinero.
-Impulsar el desarrollo económico en las comunidades de carbón de Colorado.
-Nuevas asociaciones con gobiernos locales.
El Acuerdo de París 2015 incluía un objetivo mundial de limitar el aumento de temperatura a no más de 2 grados Celsius e idealmente 1.5 grados Celsius. Como parte de esto, EE.UU. estableció una meta de disminuir las emisiones de gas de efecto invernadero de entre 26 y 28 por ciento por debajo de los niveles de 2005 para el año 2025, y también delineó metas de “mediados de siglo” para conseguir cero emisiones.
La economía de energía limpia de Colorado esta expandiéndose ampliamente, con 62,000 empleos ya en el sector de tecnología limpia y más de 2,000 compañías de tecnología limpia. Cerca de 90 empresas de Colorado se han comprometido a cumplir con las metas del Acuerdo de París.
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