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Tag: Environmental Policy

From hunting to fitness: How MAHA unites unlikely allies in Colorado
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, Commentary, State

From hunting to fitness: How MAHA unites unlikely allies in Colorado

By Gary Wockner | Commentary, The Colorado Sun Make America Healthy Again rings true to Coloradans across the political spectrum and can accelerate other conversations Amid the toxic partisan chaos dragging down the American political system, I’ve definitely moved toward the middle. Like me, the vast majority of Coloradans are registered to vote as “unaffiliated” with either party, and for whatever reason, likely hold values that are independent and varied, rather than strictly holding to one party’s line. It’s been fascinating to watch the growth of the “Make America Healthy Again” movement, or MAHA, nationally and here in Colorado, which seems to cross all over political boundaries as well. On Aug. 11, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal&nb...
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Colorado’s Air Quality Control Commission hearings show how small business voices are shut out
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado’s Air Quality Control Commission hearings show how small business voices are shut out

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project, Substack Government regulations differentially harm small businesses AND private businesses I wrote a newsletter (see the first link below if you want the context) a bit back about testifying in front of the Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC) about how unelected boards are not how our state should run. I did end up testifying* and I wanted to share the testimony of a gentleman who preceded me because what he said struck me as important. The gentleman's name is Jeff Kendall and he is the CEO of Bruin Waste, a private, family-run business on the Western Slope which picks up trash and operates some landfills. His testimony starts in the recording of the hearing (linked second below) at the 1:03:55 mark. I won't...
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Air-quality politics put Denver first and rural Colorado last
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Colorado Politics, Approved, Commentary, State

Air-quality politics put Denver first and rural Colorado last

By Tony Olivero | Commentary, Colorado Politics  As former rural lawmakers, we’re no strangers to the state trying to squeeze us into the same box as the Front Range. But Colorado’s latest regulations take things to a new level: not only are they completely unworkable for our communities, but the rules also reveal a hypocritical double standard that puts rural Colorado last. Starting on Wednesday, Colorado’s air quality commission is holding hearings on their roll out of Regulation 31, a mandate that forces even the smallest landfills to install costly methane capture systems, regardless of whether those systems make scientific, environmental, or economic sense.   The process to get here was rushed and the new rules lack clear written implementation procedures and ignore...
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Grand Junction says no to climate strings: City declines Urban Trails grant
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The Business Times, Approved, Local

Grand Junction says no to climate strings: City declines Urban Trails grant

By Brandon Leuallen | The Business Times Despite support from the Urban Trails Committee, the City of Grand Junction confirmed it is not pursuing a state-run climate grant that could have required new local policies, including a potential “vehicle climate fee.” At its July 9 meeting, the Urban Trails Committee, chaired by City of Grand Junction Mobility Coordinator Henry Brown, listed “support for Local IMPACT Accelerators grant” as its No. 1 action item. The grant is funded through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) program and administered by the Colorado Energy Office. The grant encourages local governments to adopt “transformative” policies that go beyond current state standards in areas such as transportation, building codes, l...
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Xcel’s costly coal exit: Public interest group warns plan could stick consumers with the tab
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Westword, Approved, State

Xcel’s costly coal exit: Public interest group warns plan could stick consumers with the tab

By Catie Cheshire | Westword One consumer protection group is calling for the Colorado Public Utilities Commission to shrink Xce's giant proposal. As Xcel Energy works to decommission coal plants across Colorado, one proposal is catching heat. Watchdog organization Colorado Public Interest Research Group believes Xcel’s proposal to replace the Comanche 3 coal plant in Pueblo will result in unnecessary costs to customers. The group's executive director Danny Katz, says the proposal is too big for southern Colorado as his organization calls on the Colorado Public Utilities Commission to pare back the proposal. According to Xcel’s filings with the PUC, the utility wants to replace energy production from Comanche 3’s coal units with a mix of wind, solar and natu...
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CPW Confirmation of New Wolf Pups Raises Alarms in Colorado Ranch Country
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State, Approved, kdvr.com

CPW Confirmation of New Wolf Pups Raises Alarms in Colorado Ranch Country

By Heather Willard | KDVR Fox31 DENVER (KDVR) — State biologists shared a minimum count of pups for one of the newly-named packs in Colorado, marking the third pack to have confirmed pups after reintroduction. Colorado Parks and Wildlife announced Wednesday night that the One Ear Pack in Jackson County has a minimum of six pups, and shared video of the pups playing in a field. The video is linked in the video player above. Earlier this month, CPW shared footage from a game camera showing three wolf pups playing in a Routt County clearing. The news comes on the heels of the agency announcing it had named three packs this year after more wolves were reintroduced to the state from Canada. The other named packs in Colorado are the Copper Creek Pack, which was established in 2024 and i...
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CPW moves to kill second wolf from Copper Creek Pack after July depredation
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kdvr.com, Approved, State

CPW moves to kill second wolf from Copper Creek Pack after July depredation

By Heather Willard | Fox31 DENVER (KDVR) — Colorado Parks and Wildlife staff are in the field to kill a member of the Copper Creek gray wolf pack after repeated livestock deaths. The action comes nearly two months after CPW killed a gray wolf in Pitkin County connected to the same pack. CPW told FOX31 on Tuesday that its staff is in the field in Pitkin County, “undertaking additional lethal control efforts” that align with the agency’s and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s rules on chronic depredation and lethal removal of depredating wolves. Depredations, in this case, refer to a wolf stealing or killing a rancher’s product or livestock. The news comes on the heels of a calf depredation discovered on July 18. CPW stated that the calf appeared to have been injured ...
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Federal Climate Authority Faces Reckoning in EPA Overhaul
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National, Approved, The Epoch Times

Federal Climate Authority Faces Reckoning in EPA Overhaul

By T.J. Muscaro and Jackson Richman | The Epoch Times According to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, repealing these findings would be ’the largest deregulatory action in the history of America.’ The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on July 29 proposed a repeal of its long-standing “endangerment findings” of a connection between individual motor vehicle emissions and changes in the climate, according to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. It would repeal $1 trillion in regulations, saving $54 billion per year, according to the EPA. The repeal would “end 16 years of uncertainty for automakers and American consumers,” Zeldin said at an auto dealership in Indiana. “In our work so far, many stakeholders have told me that the Obama and Biden EPAs twisted the law, ignored precedent...
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Critics Warn of Blackouts and Rising Costs as Polis Accelerates Green Agenda
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State, Approved, completecolorado.com

Critics Warn of Blackouts and Rising Costs as Polis Accelerates Green Agenda

By Sherrie Peif | Complete Colorado DENVER — Information obtained by Complete Colorado shows that Gov. Jared Polis continues to double down on a 100 percent renewable energy plan for the state by 2040, despite late last year admitting his current plan is already on a dangerous course for energy ratepayers. In a letter obtained by Complete Colorado in October 2024, Governor Polis admitted he’s concerned Colorado is on track for the same large rate increases that are happening wherever “beneficial electrification” is tried, if the transition is not “carefully managed.” Yet, on July 16, the governor’s Clean Energy Office (CEO) held a Zoom meeting with as many 100 “stakeholders” to discuss further legislation in the coming year to push Colorado towards full decarbonization of the stat...
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Outdated Systems and Bureaucracy Stall Critical Water Projects in Colorado
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State, Approved, The Colorado Sun

Outdated Systems and Bureaucracy Stall Critical Water Projects in Colorado

By Jerd Smith | The Colorado Sun A new report says that using new technology, and streamlining processes are among factors that allow other states to issue permits much faster Colorado lags far behind neighboring states when it comes to keeping special permits critical to stopping pollutants from entering streams current, a new report says. Colorado’s backlog has, at times, surged to 70%, while six other states surveyed have fairly few lapsed wastewater treatment permits, according to the report, with Arizona and Oregon, for instance, showing permit backlogs of just 10%. The analysis was commissioned last year to help the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and state lawmakers understand why the situation has deteriorated and how it can be fixed. The per...
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