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In the Rockies today, Colorado approves the shuttering of two coal-fired power plants.
In what is being heralded as a first, the Colorado Public Utilities Commission approved Xcel's Energy's request to voluntarily shut down two coal-fired power plants in the state due to concerns about public health and carbon dioxide emissions.
Excel's Grand Junction plant will close by the end of 2010, and its Denver plant will shut down in 2012.
Also in the news, Wyoming's uranium resources get a glowing review from the NRC, and a presidential candidate's remark on the 1922 Colorado River Compact riles up some Western governors.
Rockies today
Colorado utility board OKs Xcel's plan to shut down coal plants
Xcel Energy, Inc., Colorado's largest utility, got the go-ahead from the Colorado Public Utilities Commission to shut down two coal-fired power plants in the state, the first time in the United States a utility has volunteered to shut down a plant to limit carbon emissions, and has received regulatory approval to do so.
Denver Business Journal; Aug. 21
NRC official tours nation's largest uranium mine in Wyoming
During a tour of the Cameco Inc.'s Smith Ranch-Highland in-situ leach uranium mine in Wyoming, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Dale Klein said his agency has received four new applications for in-situ uranium mining permits in Wyoming, and that agency experts expect another 13 will be received for such projects in the Cowboy State over the next three years.
Casper Star-Tribune; Aug. 21
McCain's Colorado River remark astonishes Wyoming governor
U.S. Sen. John McCain's remark last week that he believed the seven Western states that are parties in the 1922 Colorado River Compact should renegotiate the agreement prompted an immediate response from Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal who said he preferred a presidential candidate with no knowledge of the compact rather than one who was leaning toward reworking the accord for the benefit of the lower basin states.
Casper Star-Tribune; Aug. 21
Utah governor says he's open to reworking 1922 Colorado River pact
Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. said he's open to Arizona Sen. John McCain's suggestion that the 1922 Colorado River Water Compact be reviewed, and for that reason Huntsman, who serves as the chairman of the Western Governors' Association, put water on the association's agenda this year.
Salt Lake Tribune; Aug. 21
Advocate praises Utah's move to toll ways
A member of the National Transportation Infrastructure Finance Commission said Utah's move to time-of-day based tolls on freeway express plans puts the state on track with the Commission, which will propose a national shift away from fuel taxes to tolls on interstates to keep the federal highway tax fund solvent.
Salt Lake Tribune; Aug. 21
Proposal would change gun laws in national parks in 6 Western states
The Interior Department's proposed change to a 25-year gun ban in national parks would bring the laws in the parks in line with the laws of the states in which they lie, which means concealed weapons would be allowed in national parks in Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming, as well as 18 other states that allow concealed guns in state parks.
Christian Science Monitor; Aug. 21
Idaho homebuilder's bankruptcy rumbles through local economy
The bankruptcy of the owner of the now-defunct Crestwood Construction, an Idaho company that was once a major home builder in Idaho and Utah, will leave 800 creditors, including painters, house cleaners and suppliers with $11 million in unsecured debt, and some Idaho cities with the modern-day version of ghost towns: unfinished subdivisions littered with partially complete homes and construction debris.
Idaho Statesman; Aug. 21
Opinion
Congress needs to make roadless rule a law
The best way to end the legal shenanigans over the Clinton-era rule that banned development in the nearly 60 million acres of roadless federal forest lands would be for Congress to pass a law making the rule a firm law.
New York Times; Aug. 21
Beyond the region
Fire chief in fatal 2001 wildfire sentenced
On Wednesday, a federal judge sentenced Ellreese Daniels, the incident commander in the 2001 Thirtymile forest fire in Washington state in which four firefighters died, to 90 days of work release and three years of probation for lying to investigators about his actions prior to the deaths; Daniels was originally charged with involuntary manslaughter for failing to take proper steps to keep his crew safe.
Yakima Herald; Aug. 21
U.S. investigation finds a few players held sway in oil futures markets
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's investigation into whether speculators helped drive oil prices higher over the past few months found that a significant amount of trading activity in the oil futures markets was done by a handful of players, including a private Swiss energy conglomerate called Vitol, which at one point in July held 11 percent of all the oil contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Washington Post; Aug. 21
U.S. House models renewable-energy bill after Germany's
Germany has jumped to the forefront in the world in the production of wind and solar energy, pushed ahead by a pioneering law that requires utilities to pay top dollar for electricity generated by renewable sources, and the U.S. House is considering similar legislation.
Christian Science Monitor; Aug. 21
California poised to pass bill to curb urban sprawl
A bill designed to curb greenhouse gas emissions in California by putting the brakes on sprawling development is expected to pass the Assembly today, sail through the Senate on Friday, and land on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk, where sources say it will be signed into law once the state's budget is passed.
Los Angeles Times; Aug. 21
California firm finds deep pockets to fund geothermal energy quest
Google, Paul Allen's Vulcan Ventures and a Silicon Valley venture capital firm are among the investors who pumped $26.25 million into the coffers of California-based AltaRock Energy, which will test its technique of fracturing rock miles below the Earth's surface, and using the heat produced to make electricity at an undisclosed site next year.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer; Aug. 21
In depth
University's solar-power system will be N.M.'s largest
The University of New Mexico broke ground at its Taos campus on a 500-kilowatt solar panel system on Wednesday that is part of a planned 1.1-megawatt photovoltaic system distributed between the Taos site and three others.
Santa Fe New Mexican; Aug. 21
N.M. utility shops around for new energy sources
PNM, New Mexico's largest utility, gets all the base load electricity--power it needs all the time--from two coal-fired plants in the state as well as from an Arizona nuclear-power plant, so PNM officials are looking for renewable sources of energy to fill in the gaps during peak demands and to meet state requirements that more of its power comes from renewable resources. You may have to view an ad to read this article.
Albuquerque Journal; Aug. 21
National laboratory picks Montana State U. for wind center
Montana State University will get $40,000 a year for the next three years from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to establish a Wind Applications Center and to offer classes in wind-related technology.
Billings Gazette; Aug. 21
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Hundreds attend McCain's town hall meeting in New Mexico
USDA extends deadline for Wyoming rancher to slaughter herd
Obama to return to Montana on Tuesday
USFS's $400M firefighting shortfall hits Wyoming forest's budget
Bishop, Hatch tout oil-shale's potential to Utah lawmakers
Report lowers N.M. city's projected water shortfall
Wildfire fells Montana's second largest ponderosa pine tree
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Exclusively
on Headwaters:
NewVoices/NewWest:
Culture
Clash: Can the federal No Child Left Behind Act coexist with Montana's
Indian Education for All?
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Regional Conferences
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Sept. 8-11: The U.S. Geological Survey's Third Interagency Conference on Research in the Watersheds, Estes Park, Colo. Read a preview.
Sept. 15-17: Headwaters Summit: Re-visioning how we use water in a changing climate, Missoula, Mont. Read a preview.
Sept. 22-24: The 32nd Annual Public Land Law Conference, "A Federal Lands Agenda for the 21st Century," Missoula, Mont. Read a preview.
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Headwaters
News is a project of the Center
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