The Home Front: Broomfield’s city council is expected to vote on oil and gas regulations

“The Broomfield City Council is expected to vote on whether or not to adopt an ordinance amending sections of the municipal code regarding oil and gas regulations at its Tuesday council meeting,” reports The Boulder Daily Camera. “In general, the draft regulations ensure that oil and gas facilities are designed, modified, commissioned, constructed, equipped, operated, maintained, suspended and abandoned in a manner that prioritizes the protection of human health, safety, and welfare, according to the city memo. The draft regulations also contain provisions related to the location of proposed oil and gas well sites, including a requirement that operators conduct an alternative site analysis.”

“For the first time ever, the median sales price of a home in Greeley and Evans broke the $300,000 mark, coming in at $301,000, an increase of $4,600 since May,” reports The Greeley Tribune. “In comparison, the median sales price of a home in the Greeley/Evans area a year ago was $273,885. This represents a 9.9 percent increase year over year, according to data provided by Sears Real Estate. That’s good news for home sellers, said Chalice Springfield, CEO and managing broker of Sears Real Estate in Greeley. And not so good news for buyers.”

“Caerus Oil and Gas plans to spend about $229 million this year drilling and completing natural gas wells in western Colorado’s Piceance Basin,” reports The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. “A Caerus official on Monday updated Garfield County commissioners on the company’s operations and also said the company is looking into the possibility of restoring some level of public access on local acreage where it closed the access after buying the land last year. “We’re going to try and see if we can’t come to some kind of compromise,” said Michael Rynearson, vice president of operations. Denver-based Caerus formed in 2009 and in recent years has acquired Piceance Basin assets from a number of companies.”

“So many residents weighed in Monday night on a proposed pipeline to carry water from the Poudre River to Thornton that the Larimer County commissioners split a hearing on the matter into a second day,” reports The Longmont Times-Call. “With hundreds of residents filling every seat in the Larimer County hearing room and many standing or sitting on the floor at the back of the room and lining the walls, the commissioners heard two opposing arguments on whether the county has a say on where the water is withdrawn from the Poudre River.”

“To protect the health of the Yampa River ecosystem, the city of Steamboat Springs and Colorado Parks and Wildlife have implemented a closure of the river from Steamboat to the Chuck Lewis State Wildlife area,” reports The Steamboat Pilot. “On Monday, the city announced a voluntary closure for all recreational river use. In a news release, the city asked that tubers, paddleboarders, swimmers and anglers avoid river recreation. Commercial tubing outfitters have also suspended operations.”

“More families were able to move back home Monday night, as the evacuation order for the Lake Christine Fire was lifted for residences in the Missouri Heights neighborhood, east of Upper Cattle Creek Road,” reports The Glenwood Springs Post-Independent. “‘I’m thrilled,’ said attorney and Blue Creek resident Jody Edwards, who learned the news at Monday’s community meeting at Basalt High School. Edwards, who has been evacuated since July 4, was one of about 10 residences who were displaced by the mandatory evacuation order. “These guys have done a fantastic job,” Edwards said, adding he’s grateful for the firefighters and law enforcement for handling the operation so well. “Safety was their number one concern.” About 20 homes off of Frying Pan Road from Pinon to Cedar Road remain under mandatory evacuation.”

“Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Colo., is asking the White House to bring more federal resources to the job of fighting the 105,000-acre Spring Fire, including the use of the special Boeing 747 supertanker that is based in Colorado Springs,” reports The Pueblo Chieftain. “Tipton’s letter takes account of the burned acreage and lost homes in the fire, but notes the supertanker is not being used in fighting Colorado fires despite being able to carry 19,000 gallons of water or retardant. Tipton’s letter urges the Trump administration “to expedite federal approvals to get the tanker off the ground.” News reports have said the giant jet isn’t being used because it lacks computer software required by federal officials. The company that owns the airplane, Global SuperTanker, reports that it is getting the required update but doesn’t yet have all the needed approvals. It is reportedly getting its upgrade in Sacramento, Calif.”

“The Fort Collins man who went missing after climbing Mount Meeker on June 30 was hiking to celebrate completing his master’s program thesis, according to a friend,” reports The Coloradoan in Fort Collins. “Search efforts continued Monday for Brian Perri, who was last seen in a photo taken from the summit of the 13,911-foot mountain on June 30. Rocky Mountain National Park rangers were notified late Thursday of his reported disappearance and began a search that night. Now, nine days after the 38-year-old student was last seen, the search continues without resolution.”

“Visitors to the top of Pikes Peak now can drive themselves — rather than taking the previously mandated shuttle — if they arrive between 7:30 and 8:30 a.m. or after 4 p.m., says Jack Glavan, manager of the Pikes Peak America’s Mountain Enterprise,” reports The Gazette in Colorado Springs. “Visitors used to flock to the mountain between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., but they’re showing up these days between noon and 3 p.m. “People are staying a little longer, and they’re coming up a little later,” Glavan said, allowing more drivers to skip the shuttle service.”

“Charges were filed Monday against a Fremont County Sheriff’s deputy who allegedly took silver coins from a crime scene and later sold them at a local coin shop,” reports The Cañon City Daily Record. “Christopher Pape, 30, who is free on a $1,000 personal recognizance bond, is facing charges of attempting to influence a public servant, theft between $5,000 and $20,000, and tampering with physical evidence, all felonies; and abuse of public records and first-degree official misconduct, both misdemeanors. Pape is on paid administrative leave while an internal investigation takes place, Fremont County Sheriff Jim Beicker said June 9. Pape was hired with the FCSO in October 2013 and recently was assigned as the marijuana enforcement officer.”

“After 27 years of EPA control, Colorado is preparing to take over the full financial burden — a forever bill for $2 million a year — of a high-mountain cyanide gold mine that became one of the West’s worst environmental disasters,” reports The Denver Post. “The re-shaping of ravaged alpine tundra at the Summitville Mine through a $250 million federal Superfund cleanup stands out because scores of other toxic mines in Colorado still are contaminating headwaters of western rivers each day. But this fix requires constant work. Colorado must pay the $2 million, a bill that the EPA has been handling, starting in 2021 for cleaning a fluctuating flow of up to 2,100 gallons a minute of toxic water that drains down a once-pristine mountainside. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment will use the money to run a silver-domed $18 million industrial water treatment plant built at 11,500 feet elevation in a wild and spectacular valley, surrounded by snow-splotched jagged peaks.”

“The Montezuma County commissioners are getting pushback on their assertion that certain roads and trails running through the San Juan National Forest are under the jurisdiction of counties,” reports The Cortez Journal. “In a June 17 resolution based on historic maps, the Board of Commissioners claimed that 17 roads and trails fall under the RS2477 statute, which date to 1866 mining laws establishing early travel routes. The resolution states that the routes existed before the forest was formed in 1905 and therefore are under the control of counties where they lie.”

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1 COMMENT

  1. Thanks to the Independent for offering us news of events in localities statewide. This is a great service to interested readers, especially given the shriveling resources of the Denver Post. Keep up the good work!

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