From the Styx by Peggy Tibbetts

Every June, Tod and I make our annual pilgrimage to Lake Powell, which I call the 8th Wonder of the World. The trip takes about 6 hours with the camper, boat and now 2 dogs. We put our boat in at Bullfrog Marina and set up our camper in the RV Park.

Bullfrog has no cell service, no internets. The closest town is Hanksville, Utah, 40 miles away. Once you head south on Hwy 95 into the desert, you depend on the kindness of strangers – and extra gas cans. It’s the US version of the Outback.

We’ve had some unusual experiences over the years. This year was exceptionally unusual.

Our boat is an 18-year old Thompson with a 240hp OMC/IO. We’ve taken immaculate care with it and it’s been a reliable vessel – until we had the engine overhauled last year. I won’t bore you with the details. It’s the same old story – hasn’t worked right since. Tod put in a new battery, changed the oil, and we took it for test run on Rifle Gap a couple weeks ago. Still shifted hard, but the engine ran smoothly.

Late Monday afternoon, we put the boat in water at Bullfrog. Tod drove it over to the rental docks and moored it for the night. We set up camp and ventured out to the dock early Tuesday morning. After a sweltering night with a low of 90 degrees, we were anxious to get out on the lake. The dogs, Venus (Great Pyrenees/Lab mix) and Zeus (Malamute) were hot and crabby.

Venus is a year old. We adopted her on Easter Sunday. She’s been a huge challenge – from separation anxiety to escape artist – but we’ve been training her hard. This was her 3rd camping trip and her 2nd boat ride, so she was ready. We haven’t been able to let her off leash outside our own yard because she bolts. Our plan that morning was to motor to an island and let her and Zeus go crazy. She loves to swim and we brought plenty of tennis balls to fetch. Plus a shade tent for Zeus. 

About 15 minutes into the bay, we heard a clunk. The engine quit. Every time Tod tried to start it – clunk. We weren’t dead in the water for even 5 minutes when another boat pulled up. A family of 4 towed our boat to the landing and delivered Tod to the Marina to pick up the truck and trailer. They told Tod a story about last year when their new boat caught fire and they had to depend on the kindness of strangers. “What goes around, comes around,” the man said. “Do something nice for someone else.”

Imagine if people lived by that creed everywhere – not just on Lake Powell.

Meanwhile, by then it was about 100 degrees, so I beached the boat and cooled the hot dogs in the water while we waited for Tod. We pulled the boat out and parked it at the campsite. We weren’t about to turn around and drive 6 hours home. We headed to the Marina to rent a boat.

The first boat wouldn’t start, so they set us up with another boat. An hour and $1,000 later, we headed into the bay. But the noisy outboard engine ran ragged. Since we’d already missed a half day on the lake we didn’t want to turn back. Instead we found an island not far from the Marina, beached and tied the boat and went swimming. We spent the afternoon there about 100 feet offshore. The dogs had a blast. Swimming. Chasing lizards. Walking on the beach. Eating dead fish. (Venus! Yuck!) We didn’t leash or tether Venus. Didn’t need to. The harsh desert terrain intimidated her. She stayed close.

Zeus also herded her occasionally. He’s an unusual Malamute. He swims. He grew up romping with Labs on the banks of the Colorado River. They taught him to swim. Although he hated the loud outboard motor on the rental boat. His ears are huge, and sensitive.

A friendly loon paddled around, watching us all afternoon. A fitting visitor.

Our boat troubles didn’t end at the island. Tuesday’s boat with the faulty motor made it back to the Marina okay. Wednesday morning Tod told the boat rental crew that the engine was missing. The rental supervisor thought he said the boat was missing and ran out on the dock frantically looking for it. The boat rental crew just oozed competence.

“No,” Tod explained. “The boat’s motor isn’t working right.” They wanted us to wait for the mechanic to fix it, but Tod argued that for the money we’d put down, they needed to give us another boat. Like, now.

The boat rental dude showed us another one and boasted, “This is the employee boat. Just took it out yesterday. I know it works.”

We motored for a half hour to a sheltered cove and tied up. We set up the sun tent and went swimming. No one bothered us. We had our own private pool. After lunch we noticed the tent was missing. We searched everywhere but the wind must’ve carried it into open water. Maybe someone picked it up. Or else it sank. We’ll never know.

When it was time to head back, we pulled the boat out of the cove and paddled through the narrow channel. Once we were clear of the rocks, the motor wouldn’t start. Then Tod flooded it trying to start it. He tried calling the Marina on the radio. But the radio didn’t work.

Tod paddled awhile. I told him, “Zeus likes this speed. All he needs now is a little Spa73 on the Sirius radio.” Zeus loves new age music – makes him sleepy.

Eventually the engine sputtered, blasted blue smoke and kicked in. Zeus groaned. We headed for the Marina before it changed its mind.

The trip home was uneventful until 15 miles away we saw smoke coming from the direction of Silt. We tried calling Ema but no answer. The fire was on Jolley Mesa, about 4 miles east of Silt. You can read all about it in The Paper. It’s 100% contained now.

Next year we’re planning to rent a houseboat and take the whole family. Loon-acy loves company!

Click here for photos of the dogs and Lake Powell. The photos of the sun tent and our boat are from last year. Be sure to click on the photo captioned, “Chillin”. It’s a hoot!

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Sometimes it seems like the impacts of gas well drilling are hitting us from all sides. Despite increasing evidence of water and air quality impacts, we are powerless to hold the gas companies accountable. As gas well development increases, the demand for gravel is at an all time high. But are we willing to risk turning the Colorado River Basin into an industrial dust bowl? It would seem so.

Despite concerns, gravel pit moves closer to annexation
by Dennis Webb

SILT - The Silt Board of Trustees has found the site of a proposed gravel pit to be legally eligible for consideration for annexation.

Monday night’s determination that the proposal complies with state statutes clears the way for continuing with an annexation process that could last for years and is drawing opposition from residents living near the land in question.

Some raised concerns about the proposal both at Monday night’s board meeting and earlier Monday when the matter came before Garfield County commissioners.

Nancy Limbach, who runs a wildlife rehabilitation center on County Road 346, worries about the impacts on her center. Traffic on the road, which is located in natural gas drilling country, already is bad, she said.

“It’s nonstop trucks anymore,” she said.

Gravel pit traffic would create further noise for the center, where rehabilitating bears try to hibernate in the winter and deer and elk in pens have been disturbed by traffic, she said …

If there’s no stopping the gravel pit, then I understand the need for Silt to annex the property so the town government can put regulations in place to minimize the impacts and demand reclamation. Problem is, I’m against more gravel pits – period. They cause dust, truck traffic, and they’re an eyesore. We don’t know enough about the impact of mining all this gravel. And I’m not alone in my concerns. Local officials met last week to discuss gravel pits.

Rifle, GarCo discuss gravel pit issue
by Heidi Rice

RIFLE - Reclamation of the Colorado River Basin following the increasing number of gravel pits along the corridor from New Castle to Rifle was the top concern voiced by local municipalities to the Garfield County Commissioners Wednesday night.

The joint, informational discussion came up in light of two recent applications for gravel pits in both Silt and Rifle.

Members of the Rifle City Council asked that the impacts of the mining be addressed and proposed an Environmental Impact Study be conducted by reclamation specialists.

“The goal here is to create a collaboration between the city and county to fund the studies,” said Councilor Jennifer Firmin. “We want to take a proactive stance to ensure reclamation.”

Councilor Alan Lambert outlined his concerns about the gravel pits, including impacts to water quality, wildlife, economic development, flooding, conservation and reclamation.

“We need to reclaim one (gravel pit) before the next in line, otherwise we’ll have a huge industrial strip,” Lambert said …

The Silt Board of Trustees will hold at least two more hearings on the gravel pit proposal. I hope we can stop it, although I realize it’s a long shot.

In other news, Silt Trustees unanimously adopted a resolution stating that the White River National Forest’s roadless areas should remain that way.

Bravo!

The resolution was sought by Citizens for Roadless Area Defense. In May 2005, the Bush administration overturned a Clinton ruling that protected nearly 60 million acres of roadless areas nationwide. Conservationists have designated 1.1 million acres that should remain off limits to timber and natural gas drilling. The Roadless Areas Review Task Force will hold a hearing on June 21 at the Hotel Colorado in Glenwood Springs.

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Carbondale’s Gordon Cooper Librarian Extraordinaire, Marilyn Murphy organized a group booksigning for local writers on June 14. The event was scheduled to coincide with the opening night of Farmers Market. Marilyn knocked herself out with publicity in the local papers and radio. But in one of those small town glitches, the Farmers Market was cancelled at the last minute. Evidently the crops weren’t in yet – er something – I never heard the reason for the cancellation.

The booksigning went on without the Farmers Market – and unfortunately the people. Although a couple people stopped by looking for fresh fruits and veggies. A plate of strawberries, grapes and cookies were all we had to offer. No bananas.

What we lacked in crowds, we made up for in enthusiasm. Booksignings tend to be hit-and-miss events anyway. Success is usually depends on one’s perspective – not the number of books sold. I like to keep an open mind.

In this case, the evening turned out to be a great opportunity for meeting and networking with local writers, viewing their books, talking shop, and comparing promo & marketing habits. This is big valley and we don’t often get the chance to commune with other writers. For me, Wednesday evening was a great chance to do that.

Including myself, other local writers and books making their appearances:

Ann Ramsey, author of “Me, The Tree”
Ann and I have become partners in book promotion. I featured her and “Me, The Tree” in my March 22 blog entry. Ann plays fiddle in a band so she’s setting up booksignings to coincide with her out-of-town gigs.

Amy Krakow, author of “The Mutt and the Monster” series
Amy’s action-packed series about 2 playful pups are delightfully illustrated by Steven Williams. Other titles include: “The Mutt and the Monster Go Skiing and Snowboardng” and “The Mutt and the Monster Go To Mexico” (bilingual). Ann and I talked Amy into putting up a website. She does lots of school visits around Colorado and Wyoming, where her books are a big hit.

Annie Mack, author of “The Lost Dogs of Shoretown”
Annie’s book is the first in a series about 6 dog detectives. She’s hard at work on the next book, “The Shoretown Dogs Go Loco”. She makes library appearances with real-live Koko, the Australian shepherd star of the series, in tow.

Phil Freedman, author of “Izzy, Do We Have Any Trojans? The Wit and Wisdom of Phil Freedman”
Phil’s book is a humorous collection of wit and wisdom from his column, Whatever, which was published in the Aspen Daily News. He’s been speaking at local bookstores and doing newspaper interviews.

Karen Chamberlain, author of “Desert of the Heart”
Karen’s newly released memoir is about her 4½ years as a lone caretaker at an isolated ranch in Utah. She received a glowing review from the Durango Herald and is just getting the ball rolling with promo & marketing.

The next event at the Gordon Cooper Library is scheduled for August 1. Craig S. Barnes will present a lecture and slide show about his book, “In Search of the Lost Feminine”. For more information contact Marilyn Murphy: mmurphy@marmot.org

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Despite a higher than normal snowpack and a fairly wet spring, high winds and temps spiking to 100 degrees over the past few weeks have brought the return of wildfire season with a vengeance. On June 6, my friends, Alaine and Jon Seastrom were this year’s first local victims of a wildfire caused by a discarded cigarette on their property 5 miles north of Rifle on Hwy 13.

Thankfully no one was injured. Clancy the dog and Cali-cat were saved. The house was untouched. Michelle Pike’s 2 horses, Jasper and Sugar, and Britches the burro, who were boarding on the property, were also saved. The fire destroyed 30 acres, plus fencing, the horse shelter, a camper, and shed.

To me there’s nothing more horrifying than to arrive home and find the fire department at your house. Unless you know the fire department is at your house and the sheriff’s department won’t let you through the roadblock. That’s exactly what happened to Alaine and Jon.

Alaine was the first to arrive at the first temporary roadblock set up by Garfield County Sheriff’s Deputies at 5:15 pm, about 15 minutes after the Rifle Fire Dept arrived. For whatever reason, the deputies didn’t have radio contact with the firefighters. Alaine couldn’t get any information. She didn’t know if her house was on fire, or if the animals were safe. But the deputies would not let her through the roadblock to assist the firefighters on her own property. She cried. She pleaded with them. She ran past them. A deputy threatened to handcuff her. She explained to them that she’s a trained firefighter. Still, they held her back.

Meanwhile, Jon showed up at the second roadblock set up a mile outside Rifle at the bowling alley. He met with the same resistance and lack of information from the deputies there. Separated by roadblocks, Alaine and Jon suffered through an agonizing 6 hours wondering what nightmare awaited them.

At 11:15 pm, the deputies allowed them to return home to gather belongings and evacuate. But when they arrived home, Chief Morgan was outraged that they hadn’t been allowed in sooner to assist with the animals. Firefighters had secured the house and animals immediately and they could’ve used Alaine and Jon’s help in dealing with the frightened animals. After all, if they had been home at the time of the fire, they would’ve been allowed to stay and help.

Exasperated, Alaine started loading her van to evacuate. Chief Morgan asked her what she was doing. When she explained the deputies instructed them to evacuate, he shook his head in frustration. “No-no-no. You need to stay here and keep an eye on the hot spots. Make sure the fire doesn’t flare up again. Take care of the horses and burro.”

Many sleepless nights later, Alaine and Jon have suffered incredible post-traumatic stress from those 6 unbearable hours not knowing what was happening. And it was all so unnecessary. Since the fire, Alaine has spoken with the Chief Morgan and others in the Sheriff’s department but no one can give her any good answers why she wasn’t allowed to go home and help. Lack of communication is the most common reason given. But there’s no reason on earth why a deputy couldn’t have gotten in his damn vehicle with Alaine and driven up to the property and asked Chief Morgan what he needed the homeowners to do.

Alaine and Jon, Michelle, and all of their friends and family are thankful their home and animals were spared in the fire. Yet as she begins the parade of insurance adjustors and the painstaking process of reclamation, Alaine knows that the nightmares, panic attacks, and migraines she’s suffering through would have been lessened had she and Jon been allowed to help the firefighters, or at least know their home and animals were safe during those 6 hours.

The whole problem with Garfield County Sheriff Deputies’ storm trooper mentality and behavior is that they ignore common sense and communication. Saddled with procedure they are incapable of evaluating situations on an individual basis. According to Ema, a trained firefighter, firefighters prefer to make the decision whether property owners should be present or evacuated in a fire situation. Out of all law enforcement and emergency services workers involved, the Fire Chief is the most qualified to evaluate the situation. However that’s now how it goes down. The Sheriff’s Dept calls the shots. It’s a constant battleground.

So is this what they mean by Homeland Security? Law enforcement withholds information and prevents homeowners from defending their property. Where I live, that’s more frightening than a terrorist attack. On the night of June 6, the Garfield County Sheriff’s Deputies were the terrorists.  

In a related story, on June 12, a fire ban went into effect in Garfield County.

… According to [Burning Mtns Fire Chief] McLin, the fire conditions now are worse than they were when the Coal Seam Fire broke out in 2002, burning more than 12,000 acres, starting in West Glenwood Springs and ending on the Flat Tops …

Yikes! Makes me scared to leave home.

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Today I’m announcing my new blog feature: a monthly Newspeak Award. If you’re not a fan of George Orwell’s “1984”, just google newspeak or go check out Wikipedia for more info:

Newspeak is a fictional language in George Orwell’s novel 1984 … Generically, newspeak has come to mean any attempt to restrict disapproved language by a government or other powerful entity … A comparison to Newspeak may arguably be seen in political rhetoric, where two opposing sides string together phrases so empty of meaning that they may be compared to the taunts young children toss back and forth. The arguments of either side ultimately reduce to “I’m good; he’s bad.”

The Newspeak Award for June goes to the following article in what is heretofore known as The Paper (Post Indpendent):

Commission defends its lifting of the drilling moratorium south of Silt
by Donna Gray

Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission staff say their decision to lift a moratorium on natural gas drilling in an area south of Silt was a sound one.

The decision, which was made at a COGCC public hearing in Glenwood Springs in April, was unwelcome news to some people who live in that area and who have been impacted by drilling and production for years …

However none of the residents of the area were contacted for comment. If you would like to comment, please use the comment button on this blog or send email to: peggyt@siltnet.net

The moratorium was imposed in 2004 after gas escaped from an EnCana well and bubbled to the surface in and around West Divide Creek south of Silt. EnCana was fined $371,000, one of the largest fines ever imposed by the COGCC …

… Since the moratorium was imposed, 313 gas wells have been drilled, and 13 had problems. Seven of the problem wells, including the problematic EnCana well, were located along a northwest to southeast trending alignment, believed to be a fault zone that likely was intersected during drilling of the EnCana well and led to the escape of gas along the fault line and into West Divide Creek.

Soon after the gas was discovered in the creek, EnCana recemented the well and prevented further gas from escaping. However, residual gas from the original leak continues to surface and benzene, a toxic chemical associated with natural gas production, has been measured at levels above the health standard set by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, said COGCC environmental manager Debbie Baldwin …

In the mean time, the Fox (COGCC) has incorporated West Divide Creek into the East Mamm Creek area, thereby changing the name and thus the focus on that whole contaminated water wells kerfuffle – and also sanitized the news. Yay!

From now on West Divide Creek will be known as East Mamm Creek and they won’t know what the hell we’re talking about when we say West Divide Creek seep cuz, hey, they’ve moved on.

But not before they clamped down really hard on operators by restricting them to only “one drill rig at a time until five wells are drilled” and then they have to ask permission to drill a second rig – which the Fox will gladly grant even if no one has any freaking clue what that means. Oh, and some well integrity testing, too – just to make us chickens happy.

Remember, I’m open for comments – especially if you live in the West Divide Creek area south of Silt and you’re reading this. Use the comment button below or send your comments to: peggyt@siltnet.net

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Members of the Western Colorado Congress showed up wearing T-shirts with the message, “Go Slow on oil shale” to a hearing at Grand Junction City Hall on June 1, with US Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee members: Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM); Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT); and Sen. Ken Salazar (D-CO).

The article further below appeared on Page 5 in Friday’s Post Independent.

PAGE 5!!!

The gas companies are already punching holes in the ground faster than we can spit, carving up the wilderness with new roads, tearing up existing roads, polluting our air and water. AND NOW the oil companies want to dig up the Rockies for oil shale – a process that will forever change life in this valley. But that’s just a big ol Page 5 yawn to the local paper.

Go slow? This is just nuts. Abso-smurf-ly insane!

There. I said it. Somebody has to.

Senators hear committee’s suggestion on easing into oil shale development
by Donna Gray

GRAND JUNCTION - The message Thursday to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee was “bring on oil shale, but not too quickly.”

Senators Ken Salazar (D-Colo.), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Pete Domenici (D-N.M.) held a committee field hearing in Grand Junction and got the message loud and clear that while oil shale can help the country achieve energy independence, research on new extraction technologies should be allowed to proceed slowly until they’re fully tested.

However, the Energy Policy Act passed in August 2005, mandates the Bureau of Land Management to offer public land for commercial leasing by the summer of 2007.

Elected officials from Rio Blanco and Mesa counties, both rich in oil shale resources and which will feel the strongest effects of development, were “cautiously optimistic” about oil shale’s future.

Mesa County Commissioner Craig Meis urged the senators to also explore other areas of the country that have potential energy resources.

“The energy crisis is too big for one area of the country to bear the whole burden,” he said. Nor does northwestern Colorado want to be a “sacrifice zone” for energy development.

No members of the Garfield County Commission spoke as witnesses at the hearing. Commission chairman John Martin was present in the audience and said the three county commissioners were not invited to speak at the hearing …

Even though the Garfield County Commissioners were not invited to speak at the hearing, County Commissioner Tresi Haupt headed up a coalition of local mayors and town officials from Garfield County and they presented this letter:

Dear Senator Pete Domenici, Senator Ken Salazar, and the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee:

We, Northwestern Colorado elected officials, want to sincerely thank-you for coming to the Western Slope of Colorado to discuss the issues that local communities have concerning the Federal oil shale program. Unfortunately, many of us will not be able to attend in person. We have drafted this letter to give you a sense of the common concerns of many of the elected officials in Northwestern Colorado. We do hope this is the beginning of a long and thorough dialogue.   

The Bureau of Land Management’s oil shale Research and Development Demonstration program is an important first step towards determining the potential for developing oil shale commercially. There are some basic questions that we simply cannot answer without the R&D program. 

1)  Is there a method to extract oil shale that is commercially viable?  
2)  Are there new technologies (such as the in-situ process) that can bring shale oil to market without the many environmental impacts associated with mining and retort?
3)  What is the maximum amount of oil shale production that can be allowed before air quality, water quality and quantity, social impacts and our infrastructure meet their limits?

These questions should be answered before public land is leased for commercial oil shale production.

The local Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has stated that the 2005 Energy Policy Act requires commercial leasing of our public lands at the conclusion of the Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement scheduled for completion by February 8, 2007. That is not how we read the Act. The Act states (at § 15927(e)) that following adoption of final regulations, the Interior Department must consult with the Governors of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming, representatives of local governments, interested Indian Tribes, and the public to determine the level of support in the development of oil shale and tar sands resources. If “sufficient support and interest” is found in a state, then the Department may conduct a lease sale. We believe that commercial leasing should not occur until the success of the Research and Development Demonstration program has been measured.

Additionally, we believe it is a mistake to direct the BLM to complete the oil shale Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement before the Research and Development Demonstration program is complete. Because of the timeline placed on the completion of the oil shale PEIS, the BLM has been placed in the impossible position of having to estimate the environmental effects of technology still being developed. This analysis also must consider all the possible social and economic effects of oil shale development for a large part of Utah, Colorado and Wyoming. This analysis would better serve the region if conducted in tandem with the R&D Demonstration program.
 
The R&D demonstration program should be allowed to run its course before commercial leasing of public land is allowed. There are thousands of acres that are privately owned by oil and gas industry that can and will be developed for oil shale if a feasible technology is discovered. Our public lands provide many of our communities with our most important and sustainable industry – hunting and tourism. We believe that the Federal government has the responsibility to answer our very basic questions before allowing wholesale leasing of our public lands.   

When oil shale is mentioned on the Western Slope of Colorado it is discussed as an industry that brought our economy and communities to their knees. In the earliest part of the boom lack of housing and infrastructure had communities reeling and left people sleeping under bridges and in tent cities. Then, just as towns and counties were able to provide the needed infrastructure for the industry we experienced the bust. May 2, 1982, the day Exxon closed down its oil shale operations and sent home over 2,000 workers, is still referred to as “Black Sunday” in our communities. Local governments had created housing and infrastructure that was no longer needed. People walked away from their homes and mortgages. There was even a bank closing by FDIC. These are not the experiences of past generations. This is the experience of community leaders and people who hold elected office today.  

Colorado is already playing a large role in supplying energy to meet the needs of our country. Western Colorado is a national leader in natural gas production. But this boom has certainly created its own problems. Housing is at critical levels and worker’s “man-camps” are being set up. Many of our communities are stretching to meet current needs. 

Imposing the additional environmental and social impacts of oil shale development should only be done in a slow, systematic manner such that the needs of our communities are fully met. We hope that you will not allow mistakes of the recent past to be repeated. We urge you to not rush into oil shale leasing until more is known about the technology and the impacts a new oil shale industry will bring to our state.  

Sincerely,

Tresi Houpt
Garfield County Commissioner

Keith Lambert
Mayor of Rifle, CO

Mick Ireland,
Chair, Pitkin County Board of County Commissioners
on behalf of the entire BOCC

Michael Hassig
Mayor, Town of Carbondale

Scott Chaplin
Trustee, Town of Carbondale

Alice Hubbard-Laird
Trustee, Town of Carbondale

J. Russell Criswell
Trustee, Town of Carbondale

Townsend H. Anderson
City Councilor, Steamboat Springs

Ken Brenner
City Councilor, Steamboat Springs

Tod Tibbetts
Mayor Pro-tem, Silt

Dr. Teresa Coons
City Councilwoman, Grand Junction

Frank Breslin
Mayor, New Castle

Bruce Christensen
Mayor, Glenwood Springs

Doug Edwards
Mayor, Palisade

James R. Bennett
Trustee, Palisade

Judy Beasley
Trustee, Parachute

The letter describes Black Sunday in a nutshell. But that whole boom-bust economic disaster pales in comparison to the environmental disaster if oil shale actually happens.

The most important point of the letter is that the technology to develop oil shale does not yet exist and will still not exist when leasing begins in February 2007. Therefore we have no time to implement the Research and Development Demonstration Program before public lands are handed over to the oil companies. Local leaders are begging for more time.

The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel covered the hearing as Page 1 headline news. I’m not sure how long the link will last since they don’t archive their news stories.

Senators plumb oil shale potential in effort to solve U.S. energy crisis
By Gary Harmon

Squeezing oil from the shales of the North American West “could literally shake the world,” the chairman of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee said Thursday.

Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., said oil shale offers the hope of deceased dependence on imported fuels, especially from unreliable and threatening sources such as the Middle East, during a field hearing at Grand Junction City Hall.

Domenici, Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, stressed the need for the United States to develop its oil shale resources as a part of its efforts to gain energy independence.

The prospect of up to 1.8 trillion barrels of oil buried in the Green River Formation of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming “is indeed tantalizing to all of us,” Salazar told about 150 people packed into the City Hall auditorium, while as many as 100 more in a nearby room watched the hearing on television …

The greed – like oil – just oozes through the article. Except for Mesa County Commissioner Craig Meis, who blasted the Senators for what they are about to sacrifice at the altar of Big Oil.

‘We will not be a national sacrifice zone,’ Meis says
By Sally Spaulding

Northwestern Colorado plays a key role in supplying natural resources for the nation, but that’s no reason to make the area a national sacrifice zone, Mesa County Commissioner Craig Meis told members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee at a field hearing on oil shale in Grand Junction.

Meis encouraged coastal states to put forth their own contributions to the nation’s hunger for energy, adding that visitors to Colorado, like visitors to Florida and California, don’t take trips to see oil rigs.

Last month, representatives from Florida and California joined to defeat a House measure that would have allowed more drilling in federal waters starting three miles off the coast. Representatives argued the drilling would harm beaches and tourism.

Meis said Thursday that oil shale, in combination with the already staggering amounts of existing natural gas drilling in Colorado, could be too much for the state, which is also home to a thriving tourism industry.

“The needs of our country are too big for one portion of the country to provide,” Meis said. “We will not be a national sacrifice zone” …

 Okay. Just to review, here are some fun facts about oil shale development:

• The Shell Exploration and Research Company’s Mahogany Project facility northwest of Rifle is at least 4 years away from developing any commercial potential from oil shale. “Despite all the attempts to develop a shale oil industry in the US over the past 100 years, the fact remains that no proven method exists for efficiently removing the oil from the rock,” said Bob Loucks, former manager of Shell’s Piceance Basin shale oil project and author of “Shale Oil: Tapping the Treasure”.

• Nonetheless, the US government plans to lease public lands to Shell in February 2007 anyway, for R&D.

• Stephen Mut, CEO of Unconventional Resources, a division of Shell, guesses it would take 2-3 barrels of water to create one barrel of oil during Shell’s patented in-ground process.

• According to CO River Water Conservation District External Affairs Director Chris Teese, new water storage facilities take at least 20 years to complete: “We don’t have much storage room in the reservoirs we have now. And we didn’t build any new projects during the last boom either.”

• The 2005 RAND Study estimated that Shell’s oil shale plant would require construction of a $3 billion power plant (the largest in CO history), and would consume 5 million tons of coal each year and the greenhouse gasses that go with it.

• Finally, officials in Garfield, Mesa, and Rio Blanco counties are already struggling with the burdens of the current natural gas boom. The affordable housing shortage is so bad workers’ “man camps” are being constructed to house employees. Companies can’t find enough qualified workers to fill vital positions.

When you stop and think about it, there are so many reasons NOT to go down the road to oil shale development. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Oil shale development is insane.

After living with the gas well drilling insanity for the past 5 years, watching clean air and water protections abandoned, seeing the wilderness fill up with gas rigs and trucks, and our town filling up with workers who don’t give a damn about Silt because they either go home on weekends or on to the next job, I’ve reached my Superman moment. Local individuals, local officials, legislators, congressmen, have all tried their damnedest to slow down this madness, with little to no success. So what makes us think oil shale development will be any different?

This is a job for Superman. That’s right. Only Superman can stop the government from leasing public lands to Shell for oil shale development.

Where are you, Superman? 

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