In the Rockies today, settlements of years-long legal disputes are at the top of the page.
First up, the federal government and four Northwest tribes have agreed to a deal that will provide the tribes $980 million for fish habitat and hatcheries improvements in exchange for the tribes dropping out of lawsuits over hydroelectric dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers.
Next, the W.R. Grace Co. has agreed to settle all of its outstanding claims over asbestos exposure, an important step in the company's effort to emerge from bankruptcy.
Attorneys for the residents of a Montana mining town exposed to asbestos through the company's vermiculite mine near Libby voted against the settlement because it makes no special provision for Libby residents.
The settlement must still be approved by the federal bankruptcy court judge, and does not affect the criminal case against the company and its executives still pending in Montana.
Rockies today
Federal gov't gives NW tribes $980M to bow out of salmon fight
Environmental groups and tribes have often banded together to oppose the federal government's management of the Snake and Columbia rivers and the hydroelectric dams on those rivers in the Pacific Northwest, but on Monday federal officials said they'd reached an agreement to pay four tribes $900 million to improve fish habitat and manage hatcheries over the next decade in exchange for the tribes' withdrawal from the litigation.
New York Times; April 8
W.R. Grace announces it will settle all asbestos claims
W.R. Grace & Co. has been in bankruptcy for the past seven years and the company's agreement to settle all present and future personal injury claims arising out of the company's asbestos-related products, including claims brought by residents of Libby, Mont., for the company's operation of a vermiculite mine, is the first step toward the company's reorganization.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer; April 8
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Attorneys for Montana town vote against W.R. Grace settlement
The claims of Libby residents against W.R. Grace Co. represent about 1 percent of the total number of claims against the company, and attorneys for the residents of the Montana town exposed to asbestos from Grace's vermiculite mine voted against the settlement estimated to be ultimately worth $3 billion.
Missoulian; April 8
Las Vegas housing market full of glitzy, high-end -- vacant -- homes
There are more than 22,000 homes on the market in Las Vegas, and more than half are vacant, but the vacancy rate is a bit lower for homes on the market for more than $1 million, where just 36 percent of those homes are vacant, but higher-end homes are a tougher sell since many people who want a multi-million dollar home prefer to build their own.
Las Angeles Times; April 8
Researchers say melting glaciers releasing nitrogen into Colo. park
A U.S. Geological Survey researcher said her research indicates that melting glacier ice in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado may have contributed to a 33 percent increase in the gas since 2000.
Denver Post; April 8
Washington state issues guidelines for dams on Spokane River
In order for Avista Corp. to get its four dams on the Spokane River relicensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the utility must get approval from Washington state, Idaho and other federal agencies, and on Monday the Washington State Department of Ecology issued its guidelines for the utility.
Twin Falls Times-News; April 8
Opinion
If the mission is salmon recovery, federal deal paves the way
Criticism of the federal government's deal with four tribes to drop their challenge to the Bonneville Power Administration's operation of hydroelectric dams in the Northwest in exchange for $980 million to improve conditions for endangered salmon on the Snake and Columbia rivers was almost immediate, but the bottom line is the deal improves the situation for the fish, keeps clean hydroelectric power steaming, and is forward motion on an issue long stalled.
Tri-City Herald; April 8
Wyoming agency must demand uranium mining is done right
The news that an in-situ uranium mining operation in Wyoming was rife with violations was unsettling as the state begins its foray into broadening its minerals industry, and the explanation that the state's Department of Environmental Quality lacked the staff and institutional knowledge to adequately monitor the operations doesn't do much to bolster public confidence about the state's ability to handle the new industry.
Casper Star-Tribune; April 8
Colorado governor, lawmaker tangle over toll-road proposal
Gov. Bill Ritter blasted Senate Minority Leader Andy McElhany, R-Colorado Springs, for not consulting with those most affected by his proposed legislation to impose a toll on the I-70 mountain corridor before submitting the bill, but McElhany defended the move, saying it was Ritter's inertia on transportation that made the move necessary.
Denver Rocky Mountain News; April 8
Arizona cities' new rules on dust won't do much if they're not enforced
Pushed by a federal mandate to reduce particulate pollution, Maricopa County and Valley cities have adopted tough new rules on the pollution, but the efforts of those Arizona entities will be just dust in the wind if the new rules aren't enforced.
Arizona Republic; April 8
Beyond the region
Washington state faults federal funding gap in Hanford cleanup
The Washington State Department of Ecology said the federal Department of Energy's planned cleanup of the Hanford nuclear complex in the state will fall billions of dollars short of what's needed, and the state has come up with a prioritized list of cleanup tasks.
Tri-City Herald; April 8
Texas takes custody of 401 children from polygamist compound
Texas Child Protective Services officials said they have taken 401 children into protective custody from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' YFZ ("Yearning for Zion") Ranch near Eldorado, and that 130 women from the compound had voluntarily decided to stay with their children rather than return to the compound.
Los Angeles Times; April 8
Metal-stripping scofflaws leave Ohio subdivisions uninhabitable
Armed with government lists of foreclosed homes, groups of scrappers are stripping copper piping and other metals for resale from Ohio subdivisions, and in some cases leaving the homes in such a state there is no recourse other than to tear them down; similar thefts of copper and aluminum have been reported across the United States as the price of those metals rise.
New York Times; April 8
In depth
Developer unveils plan to add 600 homes to Montana's capital
A Belgrade developer wants to build a 502-lot subdivision on 156 acres near Fort Harrison in Helena which would eventually add 600 homes to the Montana city.
Helena Independent Record; April 8
Housing market stalls million-dollar condo project in Colorado city
The developers of a proposed 37-unit condominium project in Durango said they'll delay construction on the Colorado project for at least a year until the housing market improves.
Durango Herald; April 8
Blixseths take control of Montana's Yellowstone Club to court
Tim Blixseth, the billionaire founder of an exclusive golf and ski resort near Big Sky, Mont., was in court in Virginia City battling with his estranged wife over control of the Yellowstone Club.
Bozeman Daily Chronicle; April 8
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