A federal government plan for drilling in energy-rich northwestern Colorado released Friday includes stepped-up protections for public land near Dinosaur National Monument.
The proposal would also ease limits on what time of year drilling rigs can operate if energy companies consolidate well sites to minimize environmental disruptions.
Seasonal restrictions on drilling are designed to protect wildlife during winter, nesting times and other periods when they’re more vulnerable.
Restrictions include measures to keep the night sky dark and limit noise and visual intrusions.
The 330-square-mile national monument, which straddles the Colorado-Utah border, includes dinosaur fossils, petroglyphs and the canyons of the Green and Yampa rivers.
The Western Energy Alliance, an industry group, expressed concern about how much surface area might be closed to drilling under the overall plan, requiring companies to use directional drilling to tap gas pockets.
There is a 30-day period for public protests and a 60-day period for state officials to review it. A final decision is expected this year.
Governor signs microbead ban into law
Gov. John Hickenlooper has made Colorado the third state to ban on tiny plastic particles from soaps and cosmetic products. The bill signed Thursday bans microbeads by 2020.
The microbeads turn up in face scrubs, acne treatments and toothpaste. The particles are too fine to be caught in wastewater treatment plants, and the plastic bits can pollute lakes and rivers.
The microbeads are about the size of fish eggs and can be swallowed by aquatic life.
The ban has the backing of large personal-care product manufacturers including Johnson & Johnson. Illinois and New York have already enacted bans, and other states are considering bans.
Environmental groups sue over Wolf Creek objections
Three environmental organizations say the U.S. Forest Service gave them the back of its hand to their objections to a plan to develop a year-round community at Wolf Creek Pass.
The San Juan Citizens Alliance, Rocky Mountain Wild and the San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council said Thursday they have filed two lawsuits in Federal District Court to force the Forest Service to supply agency records requested through the Freedom of Information Act.
The documents relate to a land exchange between the Forest Service and B.J. “Red” McCombs that would allow his development group to build The Village at Wolf Creek – hotels, townhouses, condominiums and restaurants.
The groups also say inadequate concern was given to protecting lynx habitat.
Colorado moves to standardize pot labs
Colorado is moving to establish the world’s first government standards for marijuana testing.
A bill approved 12-1 by its first committee in the state Legislature Thursday would create statewide laboratory standards for the state’s 18 pot-testing labs.
Currently the labs are certified by state health authorities, but they don’t have uniform rules for testing pot for potency and contaminants, as required by state law.
Lab owners say they need the standards because different labs now produce very different results. Existing pot tests generally just look for whether the drug is present, not how strong it is.
The bill was amended to remove hemp-testing standards. A separate bill advanced.
Staff and AP reports