Friday, 01 July 2011 06:29
The Pitkin County Commissioners hold weekly work sessions on Tuesdays and bi-monthly public hearings on Wednesdays in the Plaza One building (next to the Courthouse) in Aspen. Both meetings are televised live and repeated on locater CG12 TV. They are also streamed live and available on the County website. Agendas are posted in the Aspen/Glenwood newspapers and on-line at www.aspenpitkin.com. In this column, your District 5 Commissioner, George Newman offers his take on current matters. You can reach him at
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BOCC gives input...
As a headwaters County and tourist based economy, Pitkin County Commissioners actively correspond and meet with our Congressional delegation concerning the health of our water, wildlife, air and overall environment. Most urgently, we asked the BLM to deny the proposed Lake Ridge Exploratory Oil and Gas Unit application by SG Interests I LTD on 32,000 acres of BLM land within the Thompson Creek area. This unique area and ecosystem has been identified for protection from oil and gas development by the Thompson Creek Coalition. The BLM must determine this proposal is “necessary or advisable in the public interest” and provide opportunities for the public at large to comment on this proposal before taking any actions.
In addition, the BOCC submitted comments to the USFS on the Lava Boulder Project application by Antero Resources to drill up to four exploratory natural gas wells on a 2,500 acre federal lease they hold near the headwaters of East Divide Creek. We stressed the public health and safety impacts of this proposal, located just upstream from numerous rural residences. One involves water quality in a watershed that provides municipal water, another concerns potentially toxic air levels from flare gas and dust. Wildlife and ranchers with grazing rights would be adversely affected as well.
Meanwhile, we recently provided feedback on the BLM’s 2011 Oil Shale Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, which is intended to “take a fresh look at previous allocation decisions to consider what public lands (in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming) are best suited for oil shale and tar sands development.” Pitkin County’s stance is that it is premature to open public lands identified in 2008 or proposed in 2011 until technologies for resource extraction have been developed and impacts understood. Oil shale production will likely utilize vast amounts of water from the Colorado River Basin. Issues include water quality and quantity for human consumption, livestock and wildlife as well as irrigating agricultural lands and outdoor recreation; loss of habitat and fragmentation of contiguous wild lands necessary to sustain wildlife; air quality and overall human health impacts; and the cost/benefit of oil shale production. These are issues critical to the health and sustainability of our resort economy as well as the State as a whole. This issue is still open for public comment.
In addition, H.R. 1581-Wilderness and Roadless Area Release Act proposed legislation would release wilderness study areas administered by the Bureau of land Management as well as releasing inventoried Roadless areas within the National Forest System. This “Wilderness Elimination Act” would dismantle a decade of environmental protections that have helped to sustain healthy watersheds and wildlife populations on publicly owned lands throughout the Country. The BOCC stated our opposition to this Act which would reverse the 2001 Roadless Rule on U.S. Forest Service lands and eliminate protection of Wilderness Study Areas on BLM lands. This bill has been referred to the House Natural Resources Committee and the House Agriculture Committee, and remains in Committee.
Finally, we are appealing the 2011 White River Forest Travel Management Plan Record of Decision which “outlines specific details for all forms of transportation on the White River National Forest.” Issues of concern for the County include ensuring continued public (non-motorized) access to trails associated with an old County wagon road in the Crystal River Valley; designation of “open motorized areas” on County mining claims in the Kobey Park and Sellars Park areas (both of which we asked to be excluded from winter motorized use); and parking areas at nodes between the County Road system and Forest Service lands.
The BOCC remains very concerned about our environment and tourist based economy. We continue to aggressively pursue all avenues in regards to these issues. For additional information on these or other issues that may concern you, please contact me.
