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In the Rockies today, the focus is on passenger rail service in the West.
On Friday, a report on the feasibility of restarting the North Coast Hiawatha Route across southern Montana was released, and while the cost was high--$1.043 billion--the study also found that interest on using the service was high.
In southern Idaho, where the Pioneer Route is also under consideration for reopening, Amtrak officials said they were interested in restoring that service but that Congress would have to come up with some cash, as cost estimates released earlier were right on the money.
Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo had questioned those estimates, saying that they were based on outdated data.
Rockies today
Report: Amtrak route through S. Montana will be costly, well-used
A report on the feasibility of restarting the North Coast Hiawatha Route in southern Montana was released on Friday, with the cost of restarting pegged at $1.043 billion, and an indication that the route would draw a high number of riders.
Missoulian; Oct. 18
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Amtrak: Federal funds needed to restart route through Idaho
Amtrak officials said they're willing to work with Congress and states to restore the Pioneer Route, stopping in Boise and other Northwest cities, and they agreed with estimates that reopening the route would be expensive, a finding that disappointed Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo, who had questioned those projections.
Idaho Statesman; Oct. 19
New Mexico ranchers fight reform of Clean Water Act
New Mexico ranchers are worried that the federal government's work to rework the Clean Water Act to address changes wrought by U.S. Supreme Court decisions is nothing more than a roundabout way to curtail grazing on public lands.
El Paso Times (AP); Oct. 19
Montana approves air permit for natural-gas power plant
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality issued a needed air-quality permit on Friday for Southern Montana Electric Generation & Transmission Cooperative's proposed natural gas plant eight miles east of Great Falls.
Great Falls Tribune; Oct. 18
DOE buys Nevada firm's geothermal power plant in Wyoming
Nevada-based Ormat Technologies sold its geothermal power plant located in an old oil field 35 miles north of Casper in Wyoming to the U.S. Department of Energy for an undisclosed amount of money.
Billings Gazette (Casper Star-Tribune); Oct. 19
Wyoming to get bighorn sheep from Utah, Oregon
In an effort to build up the Ferris/Seminoe herd in southcentral Wyoming, the state Game and Fish Department are planning to get 20 sheep from the Diablo Mountains of south-central Oregon and 40 sheep from Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake of Utah.
Casper Star-Tribune (AP); Oct. 19
Idaho county officials confident about jail bond
Canyon County officials said they're sure that the voters of the Idaho county will approve the $46-million construction bond to build a new detention facility near Caldwell as the county needs the holding space, the construction jobs the project will bring, and with construction costs lower now, they'll be getting a bargain build.
Idaho Statesman; Oct. 19
Opinion
Colorado has millions riding on 2010 Census
An accurate count of the number of Coloradans is needed because the federal government uses those numbers to dole out funds, and all of the Centennial State's residents have a stake in next year's Census.
Denver Post; Oct. 19
Correct Census more important to Utah than politics
While Utah Sen. Bob Bennett and Rep. Jason Chaffetz have legitimate concerns that illegal immigrants' participation in the upcoming Census may shift Congressional representation and federal funding, their push to include a question on the Census form as to participants' immigration status appears to be more related to politics rather than getting an accurate count of the people who live in Utah, which is more important than anyone's political agenda.
Deseret News; Oct. 19
Beyond the region
Washington state's wolf plan compensates well for livestock losses
The Washington state Department of Fish and Wildlife, in an effort to allay ranchers' concerns about the return of wolves to the state, is proposing what likely could be one of the most generous payments for livestock losses in the West.
SeattlePI.com (AP); Oct. 19
Oregon congressman fights to keep public health care option
U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, a seven-term congressman from Oregon, continues to fight for the public option in the health care reform fight, and is frustrated that climate-change legislation passed by the House is languishing in the U.S. Senate.
New York Times; Oct. 18
Energy companies at odds over climate change legislation
The once united energy industry has been split apart by climate change legislation, with natural gas and oil companies duking it out; electrical utilities are wrangling over coal versus renewable sources of energy; and coal and natural gas are fighting over their role in the production of electricity as well, and some federal lawmakers said the sector's discord may make climate change legislation easier to pass.
New York Times; Oct. 19
In depth
California, Texas vie to be top producers of renewable energy
California is emerging as the nation's top producer of solar power, and Texas is blanketing its west desert mesas with wind turbines, making that state top in the nation in wind-generated energy.
New York Times; Oct. 19
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Solar power projects in California slowed by regulatory snags
Dozens of companies are racing to get their solar power projects planned for stretches of the California desert to be approved and get going on construction by the end of 2010 to tap into the federal stimulus money for renewable energy projects, but federal and state environmental concerns have slowed the work, as have lack of manpower at both levels to get the applications approved.
Los Angeles Times; Oct. 19
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