Aspen/Durango–Federal aviation investigators are still trying to find out what caused a single-engine plane to crash Saturday afternoon while en route from Durango to Aspen. The pilot and three passengers were killed.
DENVER (AP) – The director of the Colorado Oil and Gas
Conservation Commission says requiring drilling companies to
publicly disclose what chemicals they use in hydraulic fracturing
is only one tool for protecting public health and the environment.
Director David Neslin’s comments came Monday as the commission
took comment on a proposal to require public disclosures of
fracking fluids that aren’t trade secrets. It wasn’t clear if
commissioners would immediately act. More than 100 people packed
the hearing. Neslin said disclosure is important, but existing rules for
monitoring wells, ensuring wells are properly cased, and water
sampling are the first defenses against contamination.
Hydraulic fracturing involves blasting water, sand and chemicals
into rock formations to free oil and natural gas. Residents near
wells have expressed concerns about potential effects on their
health and water.
DENVER (AP) – The state of Wyoming and the Colorado Mining
Association want a federal court in Denver to reconsider a rule
prohibiting roads on nearly 50 million acres of land in national
forests across the United States.
In a motion filed Monday, the plaintiffs say the U.S. Forest
Service’s roadless rule was a “sham process” designed to
circumvent Congress.
Last month, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals backed the
2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. Lawyers for the state of
Wyoming and the Colorado Mining Association contended it was a
violation of the law. Monday’s notice to the court asks for a
rehearing.
The roadless rule was put in place by the Clinton administration
in 2001, just before George W. Bush took office.
BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. (AP) – Breckenridge officials are continuing
their energy-saving plan this year, turning off some the town’s
streetlights to save money.
Community leaders say the move is part of Breckenridge’s effort
to protect the environment.
The streetlights will be kept off for the next few months and
removed next year.
According to the Summit Daily (http://bit.ly/vKKg4O ), the plan
is expected to save enough energy to light five houses for a year.
