Public Service — Oil and Gas

INTEREST IN COMMERCIAL LEASES, CONSTRUCTION CREATES BUZZ | BUSINESS & REAL E STATE 1B

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STEAMBOAT

PILOT&TODAY SUNDAY, MAY 6, 2012

Steamboat boys lacrosse notches 1st playoff win in team history SPORTS 9A

VOLUME 125, NUMBER 39 • STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, COLORADO • SteamboatToday.com

A Nitty Triplets born to North Routt heifer Weather makes calving season easy on ranchers Gritty ditty Matt Stensland

STEAMBOAT PILOT & TODAY

I

n the same minute that I read Thursday’s news release announcing Independence Pass would open a couple of weeks early on May 11, I had a flashback to one of my favorite Nitty Gritty Dirt Band songs, “Sarah in the Summer.”

Former Dirt Tom Ross Band memPILOT & TODAY ber Jimmy Ibbotson wrote the song, and I always thought it was one of the most romantic lyrics I ever had heard.

The song describes a musician (Ibbotson, I guess), coming off the road in Denver and making a beeline for his home in Aspen and the girl he loves. And if he was lucky, Independence Pass, representing a shortcut to Aspen, had shed its snow and was open for the season.

The key verse goes like this: “I’ve driven this road as a stranger I’ve driven this road as a friend I’ve driven this road as a slackjawed tourist And I’m drivin’ on it once again It might be cold and long and lonely But she’s waiting on the other side And I’m an hour closer to Sarah in the summer And joyfully I ride.”

So, here’s the deal with Independence Pass. Aspen is at the end of a dead-end road, Colorado Highway 82, all winter when the road over the 12,095-foot pass is closed. That means it’s possible to travel to Aspen much faster in summer when it’s possible to go over the pass from the Arkansas Valley.

Most years, Independence Pass isn’t cleared of snow and ready to drive until the Thursday before Memorial Day, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation. This year, that would have been May 24.

Opening the pass this year is no big deal. The CDOT news release sources the Colorado Avalanche Information Center as reporting that snowpack on Independence this year is zero percent of average.

Last year, the snowpack on the pass was 452 percent of average in late May, and CDOT employees worked overtime to get the pass open before Memorial Day. You might recall that the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band played a couple of notable free concerts at Howelsen Hill in the past 15 years, and the band has a full touring schedule this spring and summer. However, band photos seem to confirm Ibbotson still is missing from one of Colorado’s favorite country bluegrass bands.

No matter — I’ll always have a soft spot for Ibby’s Nitty Ditty about Sarah and Independence Pass in the summer.

PAGE DESIGNED BY VICKY HO

Warm and dry weather has resulted in an uneventful cattle calving season in Routt County with the exception of one, or rather three, surprises.

“First, we saw two, and we came back five minutes later, and there were three of them,” North Routt County fifth-generation rancher Matt Belton said Wednesday. “Holy cow. It was cool.”

Their 9-year-old Angus HerMATT STENSLAND/STAFF The Belton family saw a rarity at the ranch they lease along Routt County eford cross cow had given birth Road 129 when their 9-year-old Angus Hereford cross cow gave birth to two heifers to two heifers and lastly a bull, which was a little smaller and and a bull April 22.

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STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

VIDEO ONLINE Watch North Routt rancher Matt Belton talk about the cattle calving season this spring in a video with this story at SteamboatToday.com.

weaker than his sisters.

“She had them all on her own,” Belton said. “No trouble at all.”

What was even more unusual about the April 22 birth is

Officials study air quality Monitors to keep eye on conditions near oil, gas development sites

W

hen Routt County Environmental Health Director Mike Zopf arrived at an active oil well north of Hayden last month with a team of inspectors, he found STORY BY the air SCOTT FRANZ around the site to be crystal clear.

That was until he peered through a special camera.

“At first, we thought it was a very clean site. But when we looked through the viewfinder of an infrared camera, we could see venting at points we didn’t expect,” Zopf said as he described how the lens revealed streaks of emissions from oil tanks and from the flare on top of the well. The tool was being used by an inspection team with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

“At a different visual optical range, you can really see the emissions,” Zopf said.

Since 1971, air in Steamboat Springs constantly has been screened for small particulates that originate from such sources as wood-burning fireplaces, stoves and street sweepers. But emissions that originate from oil and gas wells in Routt Coun-

DENVER

SCOTT FRANZ/STAFF

Routt County Environmental Health specialist Jason Striker changes out the filter in an air quality monitor Thursday on top of the Routt County Courthouse in downtown Steamboat Springs. County commissioners are planning to add sensors on the roof and in western Routt County capable of detecting oil and gas emissions.

OIL AND GAS ISSUES IN ROUTT COUNTY

ty remain largely invisible and unmeasured.

As they anticipate a potential boom in oil and gas production, Zopf and

the Routt County Board of Commissioners hope that soon will change.

“We want to establish a baseline,” Zopf said. “We want transparency, and we want people to know what the current (air quality) conditions are and what the trends are. The intent here is to welcome reasonable oil and gas development that does not create adverse effects to our environment.”

A regional snapshot To establish a baseline of air quality in Routt County, Zopf and the commissioners are looking to install air monitors in western Routt County and on top of the courthouse in downtown Steamboat Springs. The devices would detect ozone, a byproduct of some oil and gas emissions.

See Air quality, page 12A

ELECTION2012

Nicole Inglis

STEAMBOAT PILOT & TODAY

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

The atrium of the North Routt Charter School was sunlit Saturday afternoon, illuminating the smooth surfaces of the beetle-killed pinewood that trims the new facility.

NICOLE INGLIS/STAFF The new building is a point North Routt resident and candidate forum organizer BJ Vale raises her hand on Saturday at the North Routt Candidate Forum to ask a question of Jessica Garrow, a of pride in the North Routt community and was the setcandidate for 3rd Congressional District CU regent.

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See Calving, page 5A

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INSIDE

that all of the calves got up and started feeding.

“She took all three right away,” Belton said.

Sometimes, the mother will just walk away, not knowing that she has left a baby behind.

“They can’t count, I guess,” Belton said. “She’s a good mother.”

The odds of triplet calves being born has been reported as one in 100,000.

“I’ve heard of it, but it’s very infrequent,” said Lee Meyring, a veterinarian at Steamboat Veterinary Hospital.

Meyring, who cares for the

EVENTS

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High of 62

Scan this code with your smartphone or visit SteamboatToday. com/events for a complete listing.

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ting Saturday for candidates of local and state political offices to meet with residents and to discuss issues ranging from the economy to natural resources.

BJ Vale, who has organized See Forum, page 5A

RIVER REPORT

OUTSIDE Page 11B

For more, visit SteamboatToday.com/election

Yampa River flow Saturday Noon 1,260 cfs 11 p.m.

1,530 cfs Average for this date 1,210 cfs Highest for this date 2,650 cfs, 1920 Lowest for this date 317 cfs, 1944 Streamflow reported in cubic feet per second at Fifth Street.

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A bill to allow civil unions for gay couples in Colorado must survive two more votes in the Republican-led House before it gets to the governor’s desk, but it appears closer than in any other year to becoming law.

If the legislation passes, Colorado would join more than a dozen states that allow gay marriage or civil unions. Hawaii and Delaware began allowing civil unions earlier this year.

The measure does not allow gay marriage but does grant gay couples rights similar to marriage, including enhanced inheritance and parental rights and the ability to be involved in a partner’s medical decisions.

So far, Colorado Democrats have been able to advance the bill past two Republican-led House committees. The finance committee approved the measure with a 7-6 vote Friday after the bill passed the House judiciary committee late Thursday.

Rep. Don Beezley was the only Republican to support the measure on the finance panel.

“For me, it really came down to that basic issue of fairness and doing the right thing,” Beezley said, echoing a similar comment made by Republican Rep. B.J. Nikkel, who joined Democrats on the judiciary committee in approving the measure.

The bill now goes before the appropriations committee. Democrats on that panel unanimously support the bill and need at least one Republican to vote yes for it to go to the full House.

Republican Rep. Cheri Gerou, a member of the appropriations committee, previously said she supports the measure.

Republicans have a 33-32 vote advantage in the House.

But given the committee votes, where Republicans joined Democrats, the bill could have See Civil unions, page 5A

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Steamboat Pilot & Today • Sunday, May 6, 2012

a breakfast serials story:

The Valley of no Return Havasu Canyon, an Arizona branch of the Grand Canyon, is famed for its natural beauty. However, it is less well-known that floods occasionally rampage through on their way to the Colorado River.

Two young people set out one afternoon in fall 1909 to visit Dead Man’s Falls north of the Supai Village.

A prank played on them by a young member of the Havasupais Indian tribe becomes potentially lethal when a flash flood cuts off their return.

For the next several days the pair must endure cold and hunger while attempting to make their way to safety; the situation grows yet more deadly when they discover they are being stalked by a hungry mountain lion.

This is a story of two young people from diverse backgrounds and of the lessons learned as they struggle for survival.

Teachers’ guide Vocabulary stern n. after part of a ship capsize v. overturn vertical adj. straight up opposed v. to be against something footing n. ground to stand on protruded v. stuck out Questions 1. look up the word portage in the dictionary. explain how the Indians and captain merriman “portage” the boat along the rapids. Why was this necessary?

2. Was the first rapids traveled successfully? explain.

3. can people go where bighorn sheep can go?

4. If the youngsters are trapped on the ledge, how can rescuers save them?

Written by John Tomerlin IllustrAted by mIchAel lAcApA

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN stOry sO FAr: Jamie and salia have spent another night beside the travertine falls. A family of bighorn sheep leads them to a trail across the cliff face. meantime, their fathers prepare to launch a boat.

The Trail The men carried the boat to the river’s edge, the captain and Trooper Albert on one side, Nila and Siyuja on the other. The supply of rope had been divided into two sections, the longer of the two attached to the boat’s stern, the shorter to its prow.

Albert and Siyuja would remain on shore to begin with, paying out rope as the boat entered the rapids; Manakita and the captain would go along the bank, holding onto the bow rope while Nila rode inside the boat, using a long pole to fend off boulders.

At first all went well, the boat nosing out into the current, catching the swell at the side of the first boulder, then sweeping down into the trough beyond it. Then everything went wrong.

The power of the river was too great to control. It seized the small craft as though in a giant fist, dragging it and the men holding the ropes down into the next trough, then up on a foaming crest of water, then over the tops of barely submerged rocks — and down again. Soon everyone was tangled in the ropes, struggling to stay afloat, and fighting to keep their small craft from escaping downriver.

Had the rapids gone on longer or been slightly more violent, all would have been lost.

But just as the boat was about to capsize, Nila and the rope holders with it, the river released

The Valley of no Return

them. Finding themselves in calmer water, the crew climbed on board, one by one.

“Stay close to the bank,” the Speaker gasped as the other men began to paddle. “And beware of the next rapids!” *** They had traced the sheep’s hoof prints to a ledge leading across the cliff face. The trail, such as it was, seemed impossibly narrow. “We’ll never get across here,” Jamie told Salia, who was looking weaker than ever. “We might as well go back.”

Salia shook her head. “Go on. I will follow.”

Jamie hesitated. “You’re sure you can make it?”

“Yes,” she said firmly. “I am sure.”

The thought of climbing across the nearly vertical rock face, far above the river, scared Jamie as much as any danger he and Salia had faced so far. He no longer knew if he opposed the idea for her sake or for his own.

“All right, then,” he finally said, making up his mind. “Let’s go.”

Jamie set off first to make sure of the footing. Bighorn sheep were incredibly good climbers; but where they could go, people could, too. At least, he hoped this was true.

They climbed out of the smaller canyon and soon were clinging to the cliff face, moving out above the river. Jamie inched ahead, arms outstretched, glancing downward only to pick the next spot to put his foot. He avoided looking down any farther, knowing he could become dizzy.

They’d gone only a short distance before the ledge they were walking on gave way to small

spurs of rock just large enough to step on. “You okay?” Jamie called over his shoulder, not daring to turn his head all the way for fear of losing his balance.

“Yes. Oh-kay.”

He found another outcropping of stone and placed his foot on it; he thought he felt it give slightly, looked down, and saw that he’d almost stepped in the wrong place. The next solid rock was a few inches lower. He moved his foot to it and shifted his weight, set to take another step. Then he stopped. There was no other step.

He couldn’t believe it. The trail couldn’t simply end here.

Sheep could climb, but they couldn’t fly — they must have gone somewhere!

Then Jamie saw where the trail began again. Another ledge protruded from the rock. And it was just wide enough to walk on. There was only one problem. The ledge began slightly higher than the last step he’d taken — about knee level — an easy jump for a sheep, but impossible for a human.

“What’s wrong?” Salia asked.

“I’m stuck!” Jamie admitted.

“I think we’re going to have to go back.”

She didn’t respond at once. “I can’t!” she said in a softer voice.

“We’ve got to. I can’t go any farther this way!”

“I ... don’t think ... I can turn!”

Jamie understood, what she was saying. Barely able, now, to cling to the face of the rock, they couldn’t turn around to see their way back down. They were trapped.

Jamie was wondering how much longer they could stand without falling when he heard voices. Someone was calling their names!

(To be continued)

Text copyright © 2002 John Tomerlin; Illustrations copyright © 2002 Michael Lacapa; Reprinted by permission of Breakfast Serials, Inc., www.breakfastserials.com

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Weekly Horoscope ARIES (March 21-April 19): Take your time on the 6th. Think matters through and make a good decision that will bring solid practical results. Instigate change on the 7th and 8th. Visiting a place you’ve never been before or meeting new associates will help you further your educational or professional goals. Love is magnified. Share your intentions and make a promise. Focus on accomplishment on the 9th and 10th. It’s important to do the work expected of you before asking for a contract or commitment from someone. Engage in something you enjoy doing on the 11th and 12th, but don’t get left picking up the tab. Your generosity will lead to undue stress and resentment. Stick to your budget.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): A stubborn attitude or making a big deal out of something will lead to a standoff on the 6th. Don’t ruin a good thing. On the 7th and 8th, take a closer look at your personal papers and any health concerns you have. Resolving financial or medical matters early will help to cut any down time or losses that might develop. You’ll have great social skills on the 9th and 10th.

Share your ideas, and you will drum up interest in a project that you want to get up and running. Travel is highlighted. An emotional matter that arises on the 11th and 12th must not interfere with a job that needs to be finished. Set your priorities and stick to your schedule.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Pay closer attention to what your peers, colleagues and medical or financial advisors are saying on the 6th. The information will help you make an important decision.

Mixed emotions will lead to questioning and a better relationship with the people you interact with daily on the 7th and 8th.

Sort out your money situation on the 9th and 10th, and you will know where you stand with regard to improving your current lifestyle. Home improvement projects will pay off. On the 11th and 12th, you can improve your reputation and your status if you contribute a little extra to a job or project you are working on. Detail will make a difference to the outcome.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): On the, 6th get involved in something that’s meaningful. Helping a friend or protecting the environment will be gratifying. Don’t let the changes going on around you on the 7th and 8th cause confusion. Do your best to finish what you start, and avoid complaints or criticism. On the 9th and 10th, emotional situations are likely to deteriorate if you aren’t negotiable, compromising or willing to consider doing things differently. Go over personal papers on the 11th and 12th, and look at your options regarding your overhead and cutting costs.

You will be granted a favor if you are blunt and willing to ask.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Avoid being talked into something that you really

don’t want to do on the 6th. Expect to face emotional problems that stem from someone’s overindulgence or overreaction. Get involved in activities that challenge you on the 7th and 8th. Mental and physical stimulation will lead to new beginnings.

A change of pace as well as surroundings will do you good. Put more emphasis on work and earning a living on the 9th and 10th, and you will advance. Less time spent making excuses and more time spent getting as much accomplished as possible will lead to victory. Excess and boasting will be the enemy on the 11th and 12th.

Size up your situation and incorporate moderation.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Discover new places or interests that will help you learn and expand your horizons on the 6th. Interacting with friends, relatives or people in your community will be enlightening. Don’t let love get you down on the 7th and 8th. You may want to keep your distance from someone who has the ability to cause you grief. Don’t jump to conclusions. You’ll have all the right moves on the 9th and 10th. Get out and join in activities that will help you get ahead, and network as much as possible. Someone from your past will have an interesting proposal on the 11th and 12th. Listen carefully, and you will be able to use the information you receive to get ahead.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Look over your past financial records on the 6th, and you will realize there is a better way to handle your money in the future. On the 7th and 8th, an opportunity to take an investment or size down your overhead is likely to develop if you talk to someone well informed financially. Consider making a move to a more affordable area of town. Someone will offer you good advice that will give you greater hope for the future on the 9th and 10th. Changes to the way you live will ease your stress. You deserve a break on the 11th and 12th. Get involved in something you find relaxing, enjoyable and conducive to romance and boosting your confidence.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Let things unfold naturally on the 6th, and you will find everything will fall into place.

A little creative input coupled with compromise will lead to a workable partnership that has the potential to bring high rewards. Don’t let your emotions lead to overspending or making promises that will be difficult to keep on the 7th and 8th.

Have fun, but don’t feel obligated to pay for others. On the 9th and 10th, greater opportunity will be yours if you discuss your plans with someone you feel has something to contribute. Too much of anything will lead to trouble on the 11th and 12th.

Keep things simple and cost efficient, and you will not end up feeling stressed or indebted to anyone.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): You’ll be impulsive, impatient and emo-

tional on the 6th. Evaluate your situation and make a point to do what’s in your best interest. Present, promote and be ready to take on any opposition you face on the 7th and 8th. Taking action will allow you to control your situation before someone else steps in and takes over. On the 9th and 10th, you’ll recognize what needs to be done in order to get ahead. Use your expertise to replace what’s faulty or missing, and you will impress someone of influence. If you focus on a personal relationship, you can change your life on the 11th and 12th. Lay out your plans for the future and what you have to offer emotionally and financially.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Make changes at home or to your investments on the 6th, and you will save money. Listen to what others have to say on the 7th and 8th, and you will discover a way to capitalize. Making alterations to your residence will bring added comfort and pleasure. Good fortune is heading your direction. On the 9th and 10th, an opportunity to cut your costs or make money will develop if you discuss your options with someone in a position to share information. Act fast and you’ll get ahead. A short trip on the 11th and 12th will allow you to look at more options or find out firsthand how you can turn a little something into a lot.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): On the 6th, don’t make a move that you haven’t thought through thoroughly.

Someone is likely to offer you an empty promise that will lead you astray. On the 7th and 8th, look into a job prospect that will allow you to utilize your skills. There is money to be made, which will allow you greater security, ease your stress and open doors. Someone from your past will help you make a connection on the 9th and 10th. An old debt will be paid back and a friendship from the past reunited.

Show emotion on the 11th and 12th, and you will have the privilege of knowing where you stand and how you can move forward.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): On the 6th, take an idea you have and explore the possibility of turning it into a lucrative venture. Don’t let anyone take advantage of you on the 7th and 8th. Emotional blackmail must not be allowed to manipulate you into something you don’t want to do. Protect your physical and financial well-being. On the 9th and 10th, get involved in an event or activity that will allow you to expand your awareness and find out information that will help you diversify what you have to offer. Love and romance are in the stars on the 11th and 12th. You can make a commitment that will enable you to plan for the future, save more money and alter the way you are currently living your life. ©2011 UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE

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Ozone ‘trending up in some rural areas’ Air quality continued from 1A

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Sitting in his downtown office Thursday, Zopf said the sites won’t be able to pinpoint the exact source of the emissions they pick up (there are many urban sources that contribute to the production of ozone), but the readings will give the county a chance to better understand the oil and gas industry’s effect on local air quality.

“With only about 40 wells here, we would just be establishing a database and a baseline,” Zopf said. “When we get these ozone monitors, I don’t anticipate us seeing a spike (in the gas) that would require an immediate reaction.”

When emissions that contain volatile organic compounds are emitted from an oil well, the combination of sunlight and heat can convert the compounds into ozone, a colorless toxic gas.

Up in the atmosphere, ozone is beneficial, Zopf said, but near the ground, it’s a respiratory irritant. He said a spike in the gas in rural areas can be attributed to an increase of oil and gas emissions.

“While ozone is trending down nationally, it’s actually trending up in some rural areas,” Zopf said. “We’re seeing it increase in these rural areas most likely as a result of oil and gas, and that’s a real concern.”

The invisible gas also is expensive to find and track.

Based on his initial research, Zopf said each ozone monitoring site would cost $70,000 to install and another $35,000 annually to monitor and maintain. County commissioners have asked the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, which regulates the energy industry, to fund the sites, but they haven’t heard whether the commission will pitch in.

“We’re not waiting on them,” Commissioner Nancy Stahoviak said Thursday. “We all feel this is a pretty important issue and maybe something that Routt County will have to fund itself.”

Zopf said commissioners also have mentioned the possibility of using infrared cameras to inspect sites and as educational tools for operators. Some local operators already use the technology to spot leaks.

But Zopf said a majority of wells in Routt County and Colorado are not regularly tested for emissions, which are estimated during the permitting process based on a well’s production level.

The higher the estimated emissions, the more steps an operator must take to mitigate them, he said.

Looking west Air pollutants don’t stop at county lines or political borders, and commissioners in Routt County specifically are looking west at Moffat County, where oil production is busier, and wondering what emissions are making their way across the border.

“It’s important to identify the sources coming into our county,” Stahoviak said, noting the combination of the sites in western Routt County and Steamboat Springs could help the county take comprehensive snapshots of its regional air quality. “Our borders with Moffat and Rio Blanco are long, so we’ll need to figure out the best place to put” an ozone monitor.

Stahoviak said Zopf is working to hire a consultant who would work with the county to figure out where to place the equipment.

Meanwhile, Garfield County installed its second ozone monitor. The county, which is rich in oil and gas production, has sensors in Rifle and Carbondale.

Environmental Health Manager Jim Rada said ozone has been measured since 2008 and is giving his department a sense of its normal and seasonal behavior.

“It really brings attention to air quality,” he said about the sites. “We continue to watch the data year in and year out and compare it against the standards

to make sure we’re in compliance.

There are lots of pollution sources and lots of emission sources, but relatively speaking, we still have clean air.”

Rada said that since Garfield County started monitoring ozone, it had seen some areas exceed acceptable levels of the gas in early 2008, but he attributed that spike to an active wildfire season.

Costly to clean While Garfield County moves forward with its own ozone monitoring equipment, Zopf is thinking back to 1993, when Steamboat started an aggressive campaign to improve the quality of its air, which was threatened by particulate matter.

“The community spent well over a million dollars converting wood-burning fireplaces and stoves into gas,” he said. “We did a complete emissions inventory and tried to identify all of the sources that were contributing to the problem.”

Air filters were sent to a lab at the University of Nevada, and particles were traced back to fireplaces, restaurant grills, street sanding and the Hayden Station power plant. Then, the community worked to reduce those emissions. Zopf said that campaign serves as a reminder of how important air quality is in Steamboat and how costly it can be to bring it back from the brink.

“We have experience with being designated as a non-attainment area, and so the community spent a lot of money to come into compliance not only to improve public health and visibility but to avoid the regulatory pitfalls of noncompliance,” Zopf said.

“When we talk about oil and gas, we’re simply trying to draw the industry into using the best available control technology to minimize the impact of developing this resource because we don’t want to get to the point where there are adverse impacts to public safety and welfare.”

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Vol. 24, No. 165

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INSIDE: Cedar Knob Fire burns south of Maybell in Moffat County, may have been ignited by lightning • page 14

County defies state oil official

Picture-perfect landing

Commissioners approve Quicksilver well permit Tom Ross

Steamboat today

steamboat springs

The Routt County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday night defied an eleventh-hour admonition from the acting director of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission online and approved Read the letan oil well ter from the permit with Colorado oil and Gas Conservation requirements for water-qualCommission ity monitorwith this story at Steamboattoday. ing, which the com. board deemed necessary to protect 39 domestic water wells a mile away from the well in unincorporated Milner.

“We’ve been told we have an oil and gas commission that is putting stringent requirements on oil and gas operations. It simply is not true,” Commissioner Nancy Stahoviak said. “Protecting our water quality is a local concern. The (Oil and Gas Commission) has not helped us protect the water (wells) of Milner, which is why we are having to do it.”

A little more than an hour before the hearing was set to begin at 5 p.m., the commissioners received an email from Oil and Gas Commission Acting Director Thom Kerr urging them to not impose their own conditions of approval on Quicksilver ResourcSee permit, page 2

Phippsburg enacts rules Water restrictions in place; Yampa may follow suit Matt Stensland Steamboat today

steamboat springs

Mandatory water restrictions now are in place for the small South Routt community of Phippsburg, and nearby Yampa may follow suit.

The Phippsburg Water and Sanitation District announced the measures Monday, citing historically low flows in the

■ weather

■ Index briefs . . . . . . . . .12 Classifieds . . . . .28 Comics . . . . . . . .25 Crossword . . . . .25 directory. . . . . . .26 Happenings . . . . .6

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A flower in bloom provides the perfect place for a butterfly Monday afternoon in Steamboat Springs. This week’s forecast calls for sun and high temperatures in the upper 80s and low 90s.

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Chance of rain.

High of 86.

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Yampa River combined with a long-term forecast that predicts continued drought conditions.

“The restrictions are necessary to ensure that adequate water is available to serve the domestic needs of Phippsburg residents this summer,” Routt County Department of Environmental Health Director Mike Zopf said in a news release announcing the restrictions. “As you know, Phippsburg’s water

supply is dependent on flows of the Yampa River. As the river drops, we will find it increasingly difficult to process enough water for all uses.”

The restrictions are similar to ones enacted for Steamboat Springs municipal water users two weeks ago. The Phippsburg restrictions include: ■ Homes and businesses with See water, page 3

at a glance Phippsburg Water and Sanitation District water restrictions ■ Homes and businesses with oddnumbered street addresses can water their lawns and gardens on mondays, thursdays and Saturdays. Customers with even-numbered addresses can water on tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. No one is allowed to water Wednesdays.

■ No outdoor watering of any kind between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.

■ No vehicle washing at residences.

■ No washing of hard surfaces such as driveways and parking areas.

■ rIver report

Yampa River flow Tuesday Noon 97 cfs 11 p.m.

95 cfs average for this date 423 cfs Highest for this date 2,720 cfs, 2011 Lowest for this date 11 cfs, 1934 Streamflow reported in cubic feet per second at the Fifth Street bridge as provided by the U.S. Geological Survey.

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2 | Wednesday, July 11, 2012

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Permit continued from 1 es’ application for a permit to allow the company to drill an oil well on the Camilletti Ranch.

Kerr wrote that any plans to require Quicksilver to drill a well between the oil well pad and Milner to monitor groundwater quality would usurp his agency’s authority.

“I strongly encourage the county to refrain from attaching any technical conditions of approval to Quicksilver’s Camilletti 21-10 permit, including such conditions pertaining to water sampling and monitoring,” Kerr wrote.

But Commissioner Diane Mitsch Bush, plainly irritated with the timing of the email from Kerr, said the county has statutory authority over matters of land-use policy and a responsibility to its residents to protect their health, welfare and the environment. She added that she thinks the Oil and Gas Commission does not have an adequate number of inspectors to monitor thousands of oil wells across the state.

“The agency charged with protecting our air and water quality (in the context of oil and gas exploration) really doesn’t do it,” Mitsch Bush said.

Mitsch Bush said she thinks the county must take measures to protect domestic wells in Milner, about 11 miles west of Steamboat Springs, before any signs of contamination appear.

“What we are doing here is to build conditions that can mitigate impacts before they happen, including water quality,” she said. “Not after water wells in Milner are contaminated but before.”

Quicksilver has been through numerous and lengthy public hearings regarding the well at the county level, with one of them lasting until 12:45 a.m.

Quicksilver Senior Director

OIL AND GAS ISSUES IN ROUTT COUNTY

of Governmental and Community Affairs Steve Lindsey said after Tuesday’s meeting that his company would redress its objection to Routt County’s watermonitoring condition with the Oil and Gas Commission and would consider taking it to the Attorney General’s office if necessary.

“Our goal from the beginning was to work in a collaborative way, but I think there’s a fundamental disagreement with the county on the conditions of approval,” Lindsey said. “We want to work within the procedures of the (Oil and Gas Commission) so that it is consistent from the state to local level.”

Lindsey and Kerr suggested that the assurances Routt County seeks for protecting groundwater are provided by the state’s oversight of the proper cementing and casing of the well bore.

Lindsey said that once the well is pressurized, any leaks of drilling fluids, for example, would be readily apparent.

“The pressure is monitored, and you can identify any issue immediately,” he said.

Among the county commissioners, Kerr and Lindsey, there are differing interpretations about how the county has participated in the Oil and Gas Commission’s local government designee procedure, which calls for a representative of the county — in Routt’s case, county planner Chris Brookshire — to inform the Oil and Gas Commission board in writing when the county wants to add conditions of approval to a state drilling permit.

After the Camilletti permit application was deemed complete at the state level Nov. 7, Brookshire submitted comments explaining that the county was concerned about contamination.

She went on to assert that Quicksilver should develop monitoring systems to address those concerns, according to Kerr.

However, Kerr added that Routt County’s designee did not exercise its right to a hearing before the nine-member commission to demand that Quicksilver be required to monitor water quality.

“Why didn’t they do that?”

Lindsey asked rhetorically after the meeting.

Stahoviak said she looked up a Oil and Gas Commission assessment of the Camilletti well location in which Kerr indicated the Routt County local designee had not commented on the well, a statement that was inconsistent with his letter Tuesday.

“That really concerns me,” Stahoviak said.

In his letter, Kerr sounded equally concerned that the county’s decision to impose its own water-quality testing measures at the Camilletti well could interfere with his agency’s ability to carry out state policies on oil and gas exploration.

“The county’s imposition of a costly water-sampling plan will usurp the (Oil and Gas Commission’s) authority to minimize adverse impacts arising out of oil and gas development, will bypass the (Oil and Gas Commission’s) permitting regime and related safeguards, and will impede the state policy ‘to encourage, by every appropriate means, the full development of the state’s natural resources to the benefit of all of the citizens of Colorado,’” as required by state statute, Kerr wrote.

To reach Tom Ross, call 970-871-4205 or email tross@SteamboatToday.com

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VOLUME 125, NUMBER 30 • STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, COLORADO • SteamboatToday.com

Jarryd Hughes bursting onto snowboard cross scene SPORTS 10A

Fateful Owner questions pot legalization Kevin Fisher says move could jeopardize business model spin of the wheel J Jack Weinstein

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Rocky Mountain Remedies co-owner Kevin Fisher stands outside his Steamboat Springs business. As a business owner, Fisher said, he is concerned about the implications of legalization of recreational marijuana.

Issues in Routt County

mits recreational marijuana use would lead to increased federal intervention in Colorado.

“While we support adult access to cannabis in any form, we’re not sure supporting this initiative is right at this time,” Fisher said last week.

The Colorado Secretary of State’s Office announced last week that it had certified a ballot initiative that would decriminalize adult recreational marijuana use. Amendment 64 would allow adults 21 and older to possess as much as 1

ComplexRelationship

Local governments seek stronger voice in oil and gas exploration

S

weet crude oil and natural gas are never harvested in isolation in Colorado.

Their careful and often complicated withdrawal from the earth is regulated by 175 pages of state rules, a team of 15 inspectors and the local governments that preside over the land where the precious resources are sucked from the ground.

“It’s a highly regulated, highly technical, highly professional, science-driven industry, and our oversight is robust,” Colorado Department of Natural Resources spokesman Todd Hartman said. “These are serious operators who are very serious about the work they do, and they often live in the communities where they operate.”

But with the quality of air, water and the public health all potentially at stake, the relationship between the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, which regulates the state’s energy industry, and local governments in Colorado is being tested, and sometimes fractured, as oil and gas exploration increases and stretches into communities like Routt County and Steamboat Springs.

See Oil, page 7A

STORY BY SCOTT FRANZ STEAMBOAT PILOT & TODAY

VIDEO ONLINE Watch a video of the annual Sunshine Kids Winter Games week in Steamboat Springs with this story at SteamboatToday.com.

Sunshine Kids enjoy weeklong ski camp Nicole Inglis

EXPLORE STEAMBOAT

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

Large, dense snowflakes had just begun to fall Friday on Mount Werner as 26 children tossed around snowballs and laughed on the side of the NASTAR course at Steamboat Ski Area.

They wore sparkles, poodle skirts, pinwheels, ribbons and other bright decorations in celebration of Like us on the last day of Facebook the annual Sunand follow Steamboatpilot shine Kids Winter Games weeklong on Twitter. camp.

These children don’t need blue skies. They make their own light with their beaming smiles, spurred by the pure enjoyment they’ve found on the mountain during the past week.

Fourteen-year-old Isais Javier, a survivor of a form of bone cancer, said there’s no feeling like skiing.

“It feels like you’re flying,” Isais said. “It gives us a happier mood. You feel like you have hope because there are people helping you.”

Hope sometimes can be a tall order for the group of children, who have all been in treatment for some kind of cancer.

But Sunshine Kids, a nonprofit based out of Houston, See Sunshine, page 5A

See Ross, page 12A PAGE DESIGNED BY LAURA MAZADE

See Marijuana, page 5A

▲

ason Sandgren and Amy Guear will travel to Los Angeles from Steamboat next month where one spin of the “Wheel of Fortune” could change their fate, leading to marital bliss and a solution to their housing dilemma.

Or not.

SandTom Ross gren and PILOT & TODAY Guear are engaged, but the ceremony is on hold until they can afford to gather family members.

“We’re hoping to be able to afford a wedding soon,” Guear said. She has a winning smile.

“I fell in love the day I saw her,” Sandgren said. “I told myself, ‘I’ve got to be with her.’”

Possibly of even greater urgency to the couple than getting hitched is the fact that they must vacate by the end of April the condo Sandgren has rented for four years so that it can be remodeled.

“I have no work right now,” Sandgren said. “We have to move by the end of April, and I’m worried about the first and last month’s rent and the security deposit.”

He has worked as a dry-waller here for most of 16 years and has cooked in restaurants.

Guear (pronounced Gweer) is a certified watch technician who can refurbish expensive timepieces but can’t find that type of work here right now, either.

If this were a Hollywood movie, Sandgren said, Mark Wahlberg would play his part and hers would be played by Rachel McAdams (“Midnight in Paris,” how romantic!).

All their troubles could be solved and the path to matrimony paved with rose petals before the lease is up if Guear gets lucky in L.A. and is selected to play a non-televised version of the long-running game, “Wheel of Fortune,” with celebrity hosts Vanna White and Pat Sajak.

You read that last sentence correctly. You won’t be able to watch this 21st-century version of “Romeo and Juliet” on your flat-screen. It is non-televised.

That’s because Guear has been selected by the Colorado Lottery for the trip to California through a promotion connected to its $5 “Wheel of Fortune” scratch game.

She and three of her closest friends (she’s taking her parents —Christy and Don, of Afton, Wyo. — along with her beau) are among two winners from Colorado in the lottery’s multistate second-chance drawing.

Most of the lottery’s secondchance games, which require contestants to resubmit their los-

A state ballot initiative that would legalize marijuana possession for recreational use is getting a lukewarm reaction from the owner of Steamboat Springs’ largest medical marijuana dispensary.

Although he supports adult recreational marijuana use, Rocky Mountain Remedies co-owner Kevin Fisher said legalizing pot for all Colorado adults could jeopardize the business model he and other state dispensary owners have worked hard to create. Specifically, Fisher said he’s concerned approval of a system that per-

ounce of marijuana and grow six plants in their homes. It also would create a regulatory system.

Mason Tvert, co-director of the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, said federal intervention isn’t a concern. His group is the one that led the effort to get Amendment 64 on the ballot.

“The feds don’t enforce state statutes,” Tvert said. “They don’t have DEA agents on the streets arresting adults for possessing less than 1 ounce of marijuana. They don’t have U.S. attorneys going before federal judges to prosecute petty cases. Essentially, if this initia-

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To report home delivery problems, please call 970-871-4250 on Sunday from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. Missed papers will be delivered by 10:30 a.m.

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Renewed interest in energy exploration continues to pack town hall meetings permits,” Commissioner Monger said in January in response to the petition. “We probably have the strongest set of regulations in the state.”

2 powers The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, or COGCC, is not alone in overseeing energy exploration in Routt County.

Local governments regulate the industry during the permitting process for oil and gas wells, but their power seems to end at the impact energy exploration has on roads and public services. In Hayden, for example, a recent request by Shell Oil to drive heavy equipment trucks on a town road was denied because of safety concerns.

But the well sites the trucks travel to ultimately are regulated by the COGCC. The agency, which also is tasked with ensuring that operators follow state and federal water and air quality rules, polices the drilling operation from its impact on the environment to the types of fluids it injects into the ground.

The regulatory environment is complex, and foreign to many.

“There is a lot of misinformation about the industry and about the impacts, and we’re dealing with that along with addressing legitimate concerns,” Hartman said. “As drilling occurs in greater proximity to more people, then it can raise concerns, particularly in communities that don’t have a lot of history in oil and gas” exploration.

A vast field The COGCC polices the technical aspects of the drilling operation, including setbacks mandated for hydraulic fracturing operations. The commission’s team of 15 field inspectors, who each cover multiple counties, creates extensive digital histories of all of the wells in their jurisdictions.

But the field of wells the inspectors must cover is vast, and the numbers grow each month.

Some engaged Routt County residents question whether COGCC’s inspection team is large enough to monitor the compliance of the active wells that numbered 46,958 at the start of February and continue to grow each month. COGCC performed 12,239 field inspections across the state in 2011, down from 17,075 in 2010, according to the agency’s January staff report.

“It’s like your police force,” said Rodger Steen, co-chairman of the Community Alliance of the Yampa Valley’s Oil and Gas Committee. “The more people you have, the better your compliance is going to be.”

Kris Neidel, the COGCC field inspector assigned to Routt County, is based in Steamboat Springs but also inspects wells in Moffat, Summit, Grand, Eagle and Jackson counties.

Steen said because of the complexity of well sites, he doesn’t think there are enough boots on the ground to ensure all of the oil and gas operators are monitored sufficiently for spills and other hazards.

He said Routt County could use more specialized staff of its own to visit the wells more often.

“We believe there are inspection deficiencies here,” Steen said, noting the size of the inspection team relative to the number of wells in Colorado.

“The deficiencies can be minimized more and more with the addition of more specialized inspectors.”

Finding a balance The two bodies primarily responsible for regulating the industry have a complex relationship that today is being strained in some parts of the state as more drilling permits are issued along the Front Range and above the Niobrara Shale formation thousands of feet below the surface of Northwest Colorado.

Steen said that because what happens at a well site doesn’t always stay contained at the well site, local governments should assert more control in regulating such things such as air pollution and water quality, items the COGCC maintains are the state’s responsibility to monitor.

“The noise the wells make and the things they emit affect

Educating the public

COLORADO OIL AND GAS CONSERVATION COMMISSION GIS PROGRAM

The gray dots on this map of Colorado show all of the pending oil and gas permits in the state.

the entire county,” Steen said.

But state regulators and some oil and gas operators fear the addition of several sets of local regulations that differ from county to county could prove to be exhaustive and unnecessary, and ultimately would be pre-empted by existing state rules.

Still, Stephen Lindsey, Quicksilver Resources’ senior director of government and community relations, said it always is in the best interest of an operator to meet or exceed regulations.

“It’s a balance between an economic engine, jobs and tax revenue for the state and local government, and the concerns that local populations have about the activity,” Lindsey said about the regulatory environment.

His Fort Worth, Texasbased company will find out March 12 whether Routt County will approve a permit for a second exploratory oil well on Wolf Mountain about six miles northeast of Hayden. The county’s Planning Commission gave its approval last week.

Routt County hosts 43 active wells, and only one was drilled last year. The COGCC approved 10 well permits here last year. One permit currently is pending.

While Routt County’s Planning Department has a local governmental designee who works closely with the COGCC and operators like Quicksilver during the permitting process, the relationship between the COGCC, operators and leaders of other counties has not been as amicable.

Shades of gray Robbie Guinn, vice president of SG Interests, a Houstonbased oil and gas operator, said the line between the COGCC’s regulatory authority and that of local governments in Colorado has proven elusive to his company.

“That line is gray, and the courts have not defined it very well,” he said, noting it is costly litigation that so far has helped to clarify some of the cloudiness surrounding regulating authority in Colorado. “There needs to be more clarity.”

SG Interests operates in five states and maintains close to 30 active wells in northwest Gunnison County, Guinn said. His company has taken exception to Gunnison’s oil and gas regulations that require wells to operate at least 500 feet from water sources. COGCC rules put the setback from certain water bodies at 300 feet.

“One of the problems with local jurisdictions is if they have multiple sets of rules in addition to state regulations, the permitting process becomes so cumbersome that it is difficult to get a permit in a timely fashion,” Guinn said.

SG Interests last year sued Gunnison County’s commissioners, claiming the additional regulations they imposed, including the stricter setback from water sources and a longer permitting process, were preempted by state law.

However, Gunnison County celebrated a legal victory in January when a district court judge handed down a summary judgment that reaffirmed a county’s

oil and gas regulations are not assumed to be pre-empted by COGCC regulations, and that an operator must provide evidence that the rules hindered its ability to operate.

Guinn said Friday that the lawsuit is on hold while SG Interests and the county work to find other ways to “settle the matter.”

Barbara Green, a land use attorney who has represented Gunnison County, said the summary judgment and other court cases before it show there is plenty of room for counties to have a louder voice in the regulation of oil and gas exploration.

Because they are so unique and feel impacts from oil and gas exploration differently, counties should have unique regulations to mitigate any negative impacts of drilling, she said.

“It’s not like the oil and gas commission is over counties with their regulations,” she said.

“They are coequal when carrying out the will of the state, and in some cases (counties) are superior to the state body.”

She said what is clear is that no county has the authority to ban oil and gas operations completely, and their power to regulate the industry is derived from their land use codes. What is not yet clear is whether counties can ban oil and gas operations from certain zoning classifications or whether some county rules on the actual drilling process would be pre-empted by state law. She added that preemption of state law is never assumed and can be confirmed only if the operator can prove a county-imposed regulation creates an “operational conflict,” a difficult feat that requires an evidentiary hearing.

State steps in Gov. John Hickenlooper, who recently said the state’s 64 counties shouldn’t each have their own set of oil and gas regulations, on Wednesday signed an executive order to form a task force that will attempt to clarify the regulatory environment in Colorado.

According to the order, the 11-member task force will be represented by two members of the COGCC, as well as by leaders of the state Legislature and directors of such groups as the Colorado Conservation Voters and the Colorado Municipal League.

The group will work to harmonize regulatory authority over such items as noise abatement, air quality and setbacks, according to the executive order.

Steen said only time will tell if the new group will do anything to help protect the land, water and people of Routt County.

“The concept is good, but at this point, we really don’t know what the commission will do,” he said. “There’s no guarantee this will help. If they’re willing to bring (regulations) up to current technology and make the industry meet stricter standards, then I feel most counties will accept it. If they come up with no changes to the rules, then there will be no solutions generated to this problem.”

Operators like Guinn were quick to welcome the formation of the task force.

“I think it’s a positive step,” he said. “The state needs to

define (the regulatory) line. If it doesn’t, there’s going to be more and more litigation, which doesn’t answer the question.”

Not wasting time Counties aren’t waiting for the state to harmonize the muddled regulatory environment for them.

Routt County’s Board of Commissioners met with COGCC interim director Thom Kerr on Feb. 21 to discuss the county’s own desire for baseline water testing and quick responses to noise complaints, especially in rural Routt County, where piercing silence usually pervades.

“There’s an expectation from the public we can leap buildings in a single bound,” Commissioner Doug Monger said two weeks before that meeting. “There’s a misrepresentation that we have all this power, when the frustrating part is we have the power given to us by the state Legislature, and only that power.”

Commissioner Diane Mitsch Bush said that as the county rolls out a new template for approval of oil and gas permits, it is trying to avoid the costly and lengthy lawsuits that can arise when oil and gas operators think municipalities have overstepped their authority with local regulations. She said it continues to be a difficult task to find a balance between state and local control of the energy industry.

“If we regulate to our satisfaction, our regulations could be pre-empted (by state law) and lead to a court case,” she said. “But if you err on the side of being overly concerned about pre-emption, then you can end up with polluted air and watersheds.”

Still, she said she would rather support regulations to protect water and air quality rather than under-regulate.

Buying time As wells and horizontal drilling operations creep closer to their population centers, some Colorado counties and municipalities are buying more time to examine their regulations to ensure they are prepared to mitigate any impacts from the energy industry.

Boulder County and the city of Colorado Springs recently imposed moratoriums on accepting new permits for oil and gas drilling.

New oil and gas exploration is suspended in Colorado Springs until May, and in Boulder County until August. The city of Longmont is staying new oil and gas permits.

With the exception of Mitsch Bush, Routt County’s commissioners opposed a similar moratorium on new permits and instead expressed confidence in the regulations they already have in place.

However, an online petition that asked the commissioners to reconsider their opposition to a stay on new permits was signed by 3,431 Colorado residents, including 861 from Routt County, said Kyle Elston, the Stagecoach resident who started the petition.

“I think we have all the tools in our toolbox necessary to deal with the issues of oil and gas

Tisha Schuller, president of the Colorado Oil & Gas Association, said the renewed interest in energy exploration continues to pack town hall meetings across the state, especially along the Front Range.

She said counties without a recent history of energy exploration are concerned about the impacts of oil and gas production and often are moving to adopt new sets of regulations to address the concerns of their constituents.

“The No. 1 piece of misinformation about oil and gas regulations is that the oil and gas industry is unregulated,” she said. “That is a pervading sentiment. It’s really scaring people.

They bring their babies (to the meetings), and they are worried about their health. I want them to know the industry is regulated, and there are a number of controls.”

She said initial meetings in municipalities about oil and gas exploration tend to start out heated, but as the conversations continue, they become

e Th

B

t es

P

more fact driven and ultimately more meaningful.

“In the beginning, the meeting is dominated by misinformation,” she said. “But after about three meetings, the emotionally charged conversations turn to ones more about practical day-to-day engagement between the oil and gas industry and our community.”

She said the COGCC and COGA are adding more personnel to work with local governments.

“What I found is that a year ago, local government wasn’t even in COGA’s job description,” Schuller said. “This is quite a transformation for us as we recognize that this is where community members want to engage.”

Schuller acknowledged that no matter the strength of the regulations or the amount of outreach and education her organization conducts, there always will be opposition to the energy industry.

“Not everyone is going to want the development as their neighbor, and there are going to be disagreements,” she said.

“But that doesn’t stop us from wanting to engage.”

To reach Scott Franz, call 970-871-4210 or email scottfranz@SteamboatToday.com

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where to worship STEAMBOAT SPRINGS ALPINE RESORT MINISTRIES 1:30 p.m. Sunday at Vista overlook on Tower Run. Call Bill Montag at 276-7275.

HOLY NAME CATHOLIC CHURCH 524 Oak St., 879-0671. Saturday Mass at 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. (in Spanish); Sunday Mass at 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.; Mass at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday and 7:30 a.m. Wednesday and Friday; Communion Service at 7:30 a.m. Monday. On Holy Days, Mass is at 5:30 p.m.

CONCORDIA LUTHERAN CHURCH 755 Concordia Lane (Corner of Maple Street and Amethyst Drive — above high school football field), 879-0175. Sunday worship at 8 and 10:30 a.m.

Nursery services available during late service for infants and toddlers, birth to age 3. Sunday School is also offered at our late service for children age 3 through 5th grade. See www.steamboatlutheran.org for more information.

CHRIST COVENANT REFORMED CHURCH Sunday worship at 10 a.m. at the Perry-Mansfield Pavilion. Call Del at 879-5729.

BUDDHIST CENTER OF STEAMBOAT SPRINGS Meditation and Dharma talk are at 7 p.m. Mondays at 2550 Copper Frontage Road, No. 201, off of Elk River Road in Copper Ridge Business Park. Call 846-2699.

ECKANKAR, RELIGION OF THE LIGHT AND SOUND OF GOD Community HU Song is at 5:30 p.m. the second Thursday each month & Worship Service is quarterly on the fourth Sunday at 11 a.m. Both are at the Community Center. Singing HU, an ancient love song to God, silently or aloud, alone or in a group, is simply to uplift oneself spiritually. Call 846-8956.

ST. PAUL’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH Ninth and Oak streets, P.O. Box 722. Sunday, 8 a.m. Holy Eucharist (no music); 10:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist (music/child care) in new church; 9:15 a.m.

Sunday School— all ages; HAR MISHPACHA “The Mountain Family”Jewish Congregation of Steamboat Springs. Call 879-2082 for information.

BAHA’I FAITH Call Sandy at 846-9994.

CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS Church phone: 879-0220; 879-0224. Sunday meetings: 9 a.m. Sacrament Meeting; 10:20 a.m. Sunday School and Primary; 11:10 a.m. Priesthood, Relief Society, Young Men and Young Women. 1155 Central Park Drive.

ANCHOR WAY BAPTIST CHURCH — SBC 40650 Anchor Way, Steamboat II, 879-7062. Bible study and Sunday school 9:15 a.m.; worship at 10:15 a.m.

EUZOA BIBLE CHURCH Meets at 10 a.m. Sundays at 32305 R.C.R. 38 in Strawberry Park. Nursery provided. Call 879-0123 or visit www.euzoa.com.

SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH 970-871-4927, 347 12th St. Saturday services 10 a.m.-noon with worship at 11 a.m.

STEAMBOAT CHRISTIAN CENTER 879-0063. The Log Church across from the Fairfield Inn on Hwy 40. Saturday service 6 p.m. Sunday service 10 a.m., Spanish service 7 p.m. www.steamboatchristian.com CONGREGATION OF JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES Meetings held at 3000 Elk River Road. For more information, call 879-4075. English speaking congregation — Public meeting and Watchtower Study, 1 p.m. Sunday. Bible study, ministry school and service meeting, 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Spanish speaking congregation — Public meeting and Watchtower Study, 10 a.m. Sunday. Bible study, ministry school and service meeting, 7 p.m. Wednesday.

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH 879-1446 or 870-9583. One mile north of U.S. Highway 40 on Elk River Road west of Steamboat. Sunday services: 10 a.m. Sunday School (all ages welcome); 11 a.m. morning worship; 6:30 p.m. evening worship.

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE CHURCH The Christian Science Society worships at 10:30 a.m. Sundays and at 5:30 p.m. on the first and third Wednesdays of the month. For more information, e-mail cssteamboat@gmail.com.

UNITED METHODIST CHURCH Eighth and Oak streets, 879-1290. The regular Sunday worship service is at 9 a.m.“Elevate” Contemporary Service is at 10:45 a.m. Sunday School and nursery offered at 10:45 a.m.

CHURCH OF CHRIST 879-6670. 1698 Lincoln Ave. Sunday — Sunday School, 9:30 a.m.; Worship, 10:30 a.m.

CHURCH OF THE MOVEMENT OF SPIRITUAL INNER AWARENESS (MSIA) Mondays 7 to 9:30 p.m. half hour peace meditation, plus video tape seminar by John-Roger — discussion following. Call for location and more information 879-3157. Counseling and ceremonies available.

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS EVANGELICAL FREE CHURCH Meets at Christian Heritage School in Heritage Park.

Sunday worship is at 9:30 a.m., followed by Discipleship classes for all ages at 11:15 a.m. Call 879-3021; www.steamboatfreechurch.com.

SK8 CHURCH Sk8 Church is a non-denominational church that provides multiple environments throughout the week for personal and community growth, but our main gathering is High School+ Older Sk8 Church at 6 p.m. Thursdays at 2851 Riverside Plaza No. 260. Visit steamboatsk8church.com or call 970-846-0635.

NORTH ROUTT COMMUNITY CHURCH Meets at 9 a.m. on the second and fourth Sundays of the month at Moon Hill Schoolhouse.

HAYDEN

HAYDEN CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH - UCC 202 E. Jefferson Ave., Hayden, 276-3510. Sunday Worship at 10:30 a.m. and youth group at 6 p.m.

HAYDEN CHURCH OF CHRIST 301 E. Jefferson, 276-7268. Sunday Worship 11 a.m.; Bible Study 10 a.m., Ladies Bible class 12:30 p.m.; and Evening Worship Service at 7 p.m. Wednesday Bible study at 7 p.m.

MISSION OF GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH Harvest Dr. and Cactus Street. 276-3111. Sunday service, 10:30 a.m.; Sunday evening and special services as announced.

PENTECOSTAL CHURCH OF PHILADELPHIA Opens its doors for the entire Latin community of Steamboat Springs. Located at 1698 Lincoln Ave. (one stop after Dream Island on the bus route). 7 p.m.

Wednesdays and 6:30 p.m. Sundays. 702-445-9736.

SOUTH ROUTT

GRACE EV. LUTHERAN CHURCH WISCONSIN SYNOD Services are held on the second Sundays of the month. Worship and Bible study at 6 p.m. Call 7362491 or 638-4647.

SOUTH ROUTT BIBLE CHURCH Highway 131 Oak Creek, 736-8422. Sunday worship, 9:30 a.m.; Prayer and share, 11 a.m. Wednesday; AWANA Youth Program 6 p.m.

ST. MARTIN OF TOURS CATHOLIC CHURCH Sharp and Williams, Oak Creek, 879-0671. Mass is at 11 a.m. Sundays.

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH Yampa, 638-4622. Sun¬day 9:45 a.m. Sunday School; 11 a.m. morning worship; 7 p.m. evening worship. Wednesday service from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

YAMPA BIBLE CHURCH Sunday school 9:45 to 11 a.m.; Sunday morning worship 11 a.m.; prayer meeting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays.

McCOY COMMUNITY CHURCH 653-4302, McCoy. 9:30 a.m. Sunday school and Bible study. 10:30 a.m. Church services.

For changes to these Worship Listings, please call 871-4243 or email ltamucci@steamboatpilot.com

20626370

Oil continued from 1A

Finders Keepers consignment store opens in Steamboat | Business & Real E state 1B

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Solutions sought for Tier 2 sports funding problems SPORTS 9A

SUNDAY, APRIL 15, 2012

Volume 125, Number 36 • Steamboat Springs, Colorado • SteamboatToday.com

County’s wildfire costs mount A different type of Dry, warm conditions draw comparisons to active 2002 fire season Matt Stensland

STEAMBOAT PILOT & TODAY

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

TOM ROSS/FILE

The Wolverine Fire burns a mountainside in the Routt National Forest in August 2005. In the foreground are the charred remnants of trees that fell victim to the Hinman Fire in 2002.

An early wildfire season amid extremely dry conditions has local officials drawing comparisons to Routt County’s last big fire season of 2002.

“Right now I think it’s prudent of us to prepare for the worst and hope for the best,” said John Twitchell, district forester for the Colorado State Forest Service.

That was his message Tuesday to a group of local officials trained to relay information to the public during incidents such as plane crashes and fires. With an agenda focused on the wild-

fire season, the meeting was packed.

An unusually dry and warm spring has provided an early start to the 2012 wildfire season, beginning March 15 when an agricultural burn got out of control along U.S. Highway 40. Since then, there have been at least 10 other wildfires that started as agriculture burns. A fire reported while the public information officers were meeting Tuesday ended up burning an estimated 225 acres of vegetation on ranch land along Routt County Road 31 before being brought under control.

“Something different about See Fires, page 5A

C A R D B O A R D S TAY S C L A S S Y

visitor in counties

Yampa Valley Data Partners: Drilling crews leave small economic footprint Scott Franz

STEAMBOAT PILOT & TODAY

STEAMBOAT TODAY

Chris Oxley has watched oil activity in Moffat County ebb and flow for many years. The executive director of Craig’s Chamber of Commerce said Thursday that pipeline projects and oil drilling has filled area hotels, trailer parks and rooms in private residences. It also has brought a buzz of activity to town.

But she said the buzz doesn’t tend to last long, and the economic impact of the oil rig workers who sleep and stay in Craig when exploration activity ramps up is smaller than many realize.

“The biggest effect it is going to have here is on government in terms of the taxes collected, mineral royalties and the severance tax down the road,” Oxley said about oil and gas activity overall.

Oxley said she and about 11 other business leaders met Tuesday with Moffat County Natural Resources Director Jeff Comstock for a roundtable discussion that wasn’t supposed to

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Steamboatpilot on Twitter and like Steamboat Pilot & Today on Facebook.

focus exclusively on oil and gas.

But with companies like Shell Oil and Quicksilver Resources continuing to explore the Niobrara Shale formation below Northwest Colorado, she said that’s where the conversation quickly turned.

Oxley said the feedback she got from business owners from lodging, retail, real estate and construction companies at this week’s meeting reaffirmed her long-held belief that drilling crews continue to have a minimal economic impact in Craig.

“We don’t see a big impact on retail sales. Sometimes we get an impact on our lodging, but even that can minimal,” she said. “Most of these (drilling crews) work on a per diem, and most of them try to maximize their money so they have dollars to take home.

See Impact, page 12A

Fight about budget previews fall races Henry C. Jackson THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON

JOEL REICHENBERGER/STAFF

▲

The Griswolds from the National Lampoon movie series fly down the Cardboard Classic run and brace for impact with the cushions at the end in their station wagon. Darcie Scheuring, right in white hat, was joined by Tony Scheuring, Regina Scheuring, Hilary Stojak, Katrin Iken and Mike Nagao in the wild ride. Visit SteamboatToday.com for a photo gallery and a video of the event.

Bull sale nets its highest numbers ever at $112,000 Crowd of more than 100 turns out for Saturday’s event at Routt County Fairgrounds Nicole Inglis

STEAMBOAT PILOT & TODAY

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

On the drive of U.S. Highway 40 west of Steamboat, the sight of several spindly-legged calves gamboling in the pastures indicates that the calving season already has begun in Routt County.

But it’s never too early for ranchers to start thinking about next year’s generation of livestock.

More than 100 turned out for Saturday’s North Western Colorado Bull Sale on Saturday afternoon at the Routt County Fairgrounds, which netted the highest ever sales at $112,000.

In its 10th year, the North PAGE DESIGNED BY MICHAEL SCHRANTZ

Western Colorado Bull Sale has grown to 35 bulls coming from 13 consignors from across the region.

Marsha Daughenbaugh, Community Agriculture Alliance executive director, said most of the bulls will stay in Routt, Moffat and Rio Blanco counties and will populate the region with strong calves in the coming years.

“I think it’s some of the best bulls we’ve ever had,” Daughenbaugh said before the sale.

The average price for a bull at this year’s sale was $3,200, up $500 from the sale’s 2011 average. In 2011, the prices were up $500 from the year before.

See Bull sale, page 5A

INSIDE Classifieds. . . . . . . . 3B Comics. . . . . . . . . 14B Crossword. . . . . . . 14B Happenings. . . . . . . 2A Milestones. . . . . . . . 3A

ROUTT

Obituaries . . . . . . . . 3A Outdoors. . . . . . . . . 4A Sports. . . . . . . . . . . 9A Viewpoints. . . . . . . . 6A Weather. . . . . . . . . 12B

COUNTY’S

NICOLE INGLIS/STAFF

More than 100 people gathered Saturday afternoon at the Routt County Fairgrounds for the 10th annual North Western Colorado Bull Sale, which netted $112,000 from 35 bulls, the highest ever.

OUTSIDE

SKI REPORT

Snow . and rain.

High of 44.

Midmountain base Summit base Trails open Lifts open Total snow*

Page 12B

Freshman Republican Rep. Joe Heck sees no reason to back down after voting for a Republican budget plan that combines deep spending cuts in safety-net programs for the poor with a dramatic overhaul of Medicare and steep drops in tax rates.

The blueprint “is not perfect, but it’s something that is on the table to start moving forward and say, ‘Look, we face serious challenges, not just today, but over the next decade,’” Heck said after a job fair in his suburban Las Vegas district. A top target of Democrats this November, Heck is certain that seriousness about addressing the federal deficit will win over voters, especially in his state, hit hard by home foreclosures and record unemployment.

In Colorado, Democratic Rep. Ed Perlmutter is determined to use the spending plan crafted by the House Budget Committee chairman, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., as a campaign issue.

“It’s a winner (for Democrats) because that budget is such a loser,” said Perlmutter, a suburban Denver congressman facing a challenge from a wellknown name — Joe Coors Jr., scion of the brewing company.

Democrats and Republicans in Congress can’t agree on a budget, but there’s no disagreement about using Ryan’s to highlight an election-year divide.

President Barack Obama has called the GOP budget a back-

DELIVERY PROBLEM? 27 inches 45 inches 37/165 6/16 226 inches

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Obama

Romney

ward “radical vision” and “thinly veiled social Darwinism” that would let many people struggle while the rich benefit. Republicans say their plan is a sober approach to dealing with outof-control government spending and higher taxes in an era that demands fiscal austerity.

The debate underscores the broader dispute between the two parties about the role and size of government.

From town halls to job fairs to meet-and-greets with voters during Congress’ two-week recess, Democrats and Republicans focused on the budget in a preview of the seven-month campaign to November. The economy and jobs are voters’ priorities, and how the budget debate plays out could prove critical in the fall, with control of the White House, Senate and House at stake.

Obama and likely GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney have both signaled that the budget plan will be an element in their race.

The House plan would make deep cuts to government programs. Everything from food stamps to transportation is on the chopping block. It calls for shrinking the current six See Budget, page 12A

LOOK InsIde for

12A |

LOCAL

Steamboat Pilot & Today • Sunday, April 15, 2012

a breakfast serials story:

The Valley of no Return Havasu Canyon, an Arizona branch of the Grand Canyon, is famed for its natural beauty. However, it is less wellknown that floods occasionally rampage through on their way to the Colorado River.

Two young people set out one afternoon in fall 1909 to visit Dead Man’s Falls north of the Supai Village. A prank played on them by a young member of the Havasupais Indian tribe becomes potentially lethal when a flash flood cuts off their return.

For the next several days the pair must endure cold and hunger while attempting to make their way to safety.

This is a story of two people from diverse backgrounds and of the lessons learned as they struggle for survival.

Teachers’ guide Vocabulary debris n. rubble, ruin compress n. a pad to reduce inflammation or swelling embankment n. an earthwork used to prevent flooding or hold up a road travertine n. a mineral consisting of a massive usually layered calcium carbonate formed as deposits from spring waters or hot springs prow n. forepart or bow of a ship ancestors n. forefathers) effect n. consequence, result prospectors n. explorers, miners Questions 1. Why is this chapter well named – “River of Dark Spirits”?

2. Why might Jamie have wanted to stay in this canyon?

3. What do you think Mr. Manakita has told his friends Nila and Siyuja?

4. How are Mr. Manakita and Captain Merriman different from each other?

5. How has the government policy of taking land from the Indians damaged their tribe?

6. Captain Merriman feels the conflict between performing his duty and doing what is right. Explain each side of the dilemma.

The Valley of no Return

Written by John Tomerlin

Salia’s injury and the need to find help, he thought he’d be content to remain here awhile.

ILLUSTRATED BY MICHAEL LACAPA

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

***

STORY SO FAR: After being trapped in Havasu Canyon by flood waters, Jamie and Salia must walk the length of the valley to reach the Colorado River.

On the way, Salia is injured by a mountain lion.

River Of Dark Spirits Jamie and Salia stood on a sandbank at the mouth of Havasu Creek and watched the mighty Colorado flow past.

Swollen with water pouring down from the side canyons, the river had become a dark and churning mass, great liquid swells dragging whole trees and chunks of nameless debris in its sweep. On either side rose towering stone walls, sheer faces of multi-layered rock whose changing colors painted millions upon millions of years of geological history.

As dangerous as it was majestic, this river could easily inspire dread in the people who lived near it, thought Jamie.

After pausing to rest, Jamie and Salia set out eastward following a narrow sand embankment at the base of the south wall of the Grand Canyon. Later, when they stopped again, Jamie changed Salia’s bandage. He noticed less inflammation around the claw marks; the poultice seemed to have helped. He made a new compress with more of the shredded root they’d brought with them, and bound it in position.

“Ready?” he asked. When Salia nodded he helped her stand, then lent her his arm for support as they went on.

For several hundred more yards the bank remained wide enough for them to walk on dry land; after that it became narrower and was broken in places, forcing them to wade waist-deep through swiftmoving water.

“How much farther?” Salia asked the next time they stopped to rest.

“Not far, I think.” Jamie had studied his father’s maps and knew Bright Angel Canyon lay ahead of them, but how far he wasn’t sure. “Maybe a mile ... or two,” he added.

But they’d gone less than that when the embankment came to an end.

It stopped at the mouth of a side canyon, a small opening where a stream joined the bigger river. Jamie waded out a few steps and looked up. He saw a series of terraces, “steps” formed from large boulders whose tops had been hollowed out by falling water. He helped Salia climb to the first of these shelves, and they slumped down to rest, exhausted.

Any other time, they could have enjoyed the beauty of their surroundings. They had come upon a “traver-

tine” formation, a set of miniature waterfalls carved by water rich in limestone.

The mineral had filtered out and coated everything with a smooth, marble-like substance that made each pool sparkle a clear, emerald green.

The rocks beside the pool where they sat were warm, and Jamie and Salia stretched out full-length to rest. The soft splash of water was peaceful. Higher up the rift Jamie saw green plants and a few small trees; if it hadn’t been for

The rescue party found little of use at the former army campsite, only the shell of a wooden boat that had been wrecked in the rapids below Bright Angel. Its prow was smashed, and there were wide gaps between the planks.

“There’s got to be a way to get downriver,” the captain said desperately.

“Perhaps there is, “ the Speaker said, examining the ruined boat.

“There’s no ‘perhaps’ about it!” the captain said, losing his temper for the first time. “My son’s life is at stake!”

Manakita didn’t respond at once.

Instead, he called the man named Nila to him, and began giving him instructions; when he was finished, both Nila and Siyuja started back up the canyon at a fast jog.

“What did you tell them?” the captain demanded. “Where are they going?”

The Speaker sat against the gunwale of the damaged boat and looked at the captain. “My daughter’s life also,” he said softly.

“What? Well, of course — I meant her, too.”

“We Havasupai know much about the loss of children, Captain. We have lost ours to hunger, to illness, and there have been other times when our valley has flooded. There is no safety for those who are forced to live in one small place ... who have been driven off the land of their ancestors, as we have been.”

Captain Merriman understood what the Speaker meant. He knew the effect his report was likely to have on the tribe.

Prospectors would come pouring into the canyon as soon as they heard about the silver; and if this happened, the Indians were almost certain to be driven out.

They’d be sent to live in unfamiliar and inhospitable territory, as so many other tribes.

For the first time, Captain Merriman felt a twinge of guilt over what his duty forced him to do.

(To be continued)

Text copyright © 2002 John Tomerlin; Illustrations copyright © 2002 Michael Lacapa; Reprinted by permission of Breakfast Serials, Inc., www.breakfastserials.com

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Study acknowledges crews only part of overall impact Medicare politically dicey Impact continued from 1A “I really do think there’s a disconnect between what people are expecting the impact to be and what it actually is. We’ve already got all of this activity and all of these trucks and this drilling, and people are saying, ‘Nothing is happening to my business.’”

A Yampa Valley Data Partners report released this month supports the notion that Northwest Colorado business owners shouldn’t expect drilling crews to inject significant revenues into their businesses.

However, the study acknowledged that drilling crews are just one piece of oil and gas development’s overall economic impact.

A minimal impact Scott Ford, a local economic analyst and an adviser for Yampa Valley Data Partners, said his recent analysis of the three phases of well development and his discussions with Shell Oil officials who are working in the region led him to predict that the economic impact of drilling crews who work in Routt and Moffat counties will continue to be minimal.

In a study he did for Data Partners’ second-quarter economic forecast, he concluded that if 10 wells were in development annually in Routt or Moffat, spending by the crews who build and develop them would support only an additional 6.2 jobs split between the retail/trade and accommodations/food service industries.

“They are a very different kind of visitor,” Ford said about drilling crews.

He noted many of them are subcontracted by oil companies, don’t live in the communities they work in and receive a per diem for their food and lodging. They also work long

days and don’t have much downtime.

“They’re very focused on their work, and their economic impact on a community is probably substantially less than we would think,” Ford said. “They have an incentive not to spend their per diem or spend very little of it if they can get away with it.”

Ford said his study assumed wells take 90 to 100 days to complete and utilize crews of six to 10 people who sometimes work 12 hours per day for two weeks straight to complete their task before being replaced by another crew.

His economic forecast stated that if drilling activity in Moffat County is as busy as it was in 2006, spending by drilling crews would result in $18,821 in sales tax revenue for Craig and $18,221 for the state of Colorado.

But some business owners in Craig, especially in the lodging industry, are adamant the economic impact of the crews help keeps them afloat.

Filling rooms When a well needs to be punched in Moffat County, Craig’s Candlewood Suites can fill up pretty quickly.

“And when something breaks at a mine or a power plant, or drilling ramps up, we can suddenly have an awesome year in terms of sales,” said Tammie Thompson-Booker, the hotel’s director of sales.

“I’m a firm believer in the positive impact the community receives from the energy industry.”

Drilling crews also are frequent guests at Craig’s Holiday Inn. Sales and marketing director Renee Campbell said her hotel didn’t project 2011 would be a particularly good revenue year, but strong bookings related to oil and gas exploration in the fall months

made it one.

Lodging executives like Thompson-Booker and Campbell usually see their bookings thrive when Moffat is ripe with new oil and gas projects and drilling crews need a place to stay.

Thompson-Booker said that because Craig isn’t much of vacation destination, her hotel that specializes in long-term stays always is at the mercy of the business activity around it.

She said workers must be having some sort of impact beyond their hotel bills.

“I just can’t believe they don’t feel there is that much of an economic impact,” Thompson-Booker said. “These workers have to eat. They have to gas up their vehicles. Some of them bring their wives and families out here.”

Campbell has a different view. She acknowledged that while it’s easy for her to see the benefits of ongoing development to her business, she’s heard from other business owners in Craig who aren’t reaping the rewards of energy development.

“We see (drill crews) fill our rooms, but I’ve talked to some restaurant and retail owners near us recently and they tell me they aren’t seeing any benefit from it,” she said.

Measuring growth The oil and gas industry has long touted energy exploration’s economic impact on communities that comes from more than just drilling crews.

Tisha Schuller, president of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, said the economic impact of oil and gas grows as an oil play progresses.

“Early in a play, during the exploration phase, visiting drilling crews will increase hotel, restaurant and retail business,” she wrote in an email. “As a play evolves into

“They’re very focused on their work, and their economic impact on a community is probably substantially less than we would think. They have an incentive not to spend their per diem or spend very little of it if they can get away with it.”

Scott Ford Local economic analyst and adviser for Yampa Valley Data Partners

development, communities will experience increased local employment and the addition of new businesses to support longer-term business plans.

This will have a positive effect on housing, job creation, and the creation of local businesses.

“Local oil and gas production will directly increase local tax revenues and all local economic development activities will increase the regional tax base.”

But back at the Chamber of Commerce in Craig, Oxley said it’s difficult to determine just how much economic growth can be attributed to oil and gas at a given time.

“In 2006-07 we started to see oil and gas activity gear up, and we saw some growth,” she said. “People naturally wanted to attribute it to oil and gas work. But at the same time you have pipeline crews coming through, or the power plant has an outage, and you start seeing more activity that’s not necessarily related to oil and gas. We had a lot of different activity in a lot of different sectors that contributed to that feeling of ‘Wow, the economy is really going to break loose because of oil and gas development.’”

To reach Scott Franz, call 970-871-4210 or email scottfranz@SteamboatToday.com

Budget continued from 1A income-tax rate system to just two and lowering the top rate to 25 percent from the current 35 percent.

The most politically dicey element is the change in Medicare, the $500 billion-per-year health insurance program for older people. Both parties are keenly aware that this group votes in high numbers and cares passionately about the program.

Republicans would leave the plan alone for retirees and those nearing retirement. For younger people, Medicare would be reshaped into a voucher-like system in which the government would subsidize people’s health care costs. Republicans say that would drive down costs by giving beneficiaries a menu of competing options. Democrats say government payments won’t keep up with the rapid inflation of medical costs, leaving many struggling to afford the care.

Heck’s district has its share of seniors at retirement communities. The 50-year-old former state senator won his seat in 2010 by just 1,748 votes and faces a strong challenge from the speaker of the Nevada Assembly, John Oceguera. He calls the Ryan plan, passed just two weeks ago, one of the keys to victory.

“The Ryan budget and the Medicare issues are big for people,” Oceguera said. “We would like to get information out about how damaging that could be to people’s personal lives. It’s going to affect a lot of folks.”

Heck focused on job creation and the economy during his remarks at the job fair he organized. He didn’t mention the House GOP budget, but said he is confident voters will support it when they learn more.

Nate Williams, a 22-yearold unemployed electrician who attended Heck’s job fair, said he had thought he had heard of Ryan’s plan but wanted to hear more about how to create jobs.

In a swing district in Michigan, Republican Rep. Dan Benishek was greeted at a town hall by a group of seniors holding signs saying “Save Medicare.”

They pressed the freshman lawmaker about the GOP budget’s proposed cuts.

“We’ll have a significant change to benefits unless we do something about” Medicare, Benishek told constituents, while standing by his budget vote.

At a town hall event in New Hampshire, GOP Rep. Charlie Bass faced similarly pointed questions. He told voters some of what’s been publicized about the plan has been mischaracterized. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Mo., who defeated 17-term Democratic Rep. Ike Skelton in 2010, also faced questions from constituents about the plan’s effect on Medicare.

All three, in seats Democrats would like to win this fall, can expect Democrats to bring up the issue over and over again.

Perlmutter said he’s heard from several voters about the Ryan plan. Republicans see his district, split nearly evenly among Republicans, Democrats and independents, as one of their best pick up opportunities in the fall. They’ve recruited Coors to run against him.

At an event in a grocery store, Perlmutter’s constituents showed why both sides feel they can get traction on the budget issue in the fall.

Glen Erfman, a 56-year-old U.S. Postal Service employee from Lakewood, Colo., quizzed his congressman on the budget plan and called it “terrible.”

“My main issue with Congress is, they’re out to do all they can to cut everything for regular people but not rich people,” Erfman said.

Steps away at the same event self-employed 62-year-old Rick Piggott, also from Lakewood, said Democrats needed to give the plan much more serious consideration.

Comment& Commentary

Viewpoints

steamboat

piloT &TodAy

Routt County’s newspapeR of ReCoRd sinCe 1885

Editorial Board Scott Stanford, general manager Brent Boyer, editor Tom Ross, reporter Karen Massey, community representative Jeff Swoyer, community representative

Steamboat Springs, Colorado • Sunday, April 22, 2012 SteamboatToday.com

6A

commEntary

Contact the editorial board at 970-871-4221 or editor@SteamboatToday.com

Watching out for wolves

our viEw

Motion not same as action

Jason Clark

For the Steamboat Pilot & todaY

sad,” we inadvertently may be setting him or her up for the language an abuser uses. Abusers can take advantage of a child’s desire to help and make people happy by telling the child that if he or she does “this,” it will help the abuser not be sad.

Explain to your child the difference between a secret and a surprise. Secrets create exclusion.

When a child becomes familiar with the isolating experience of maintaining a secret with one person, he or she may be more susceptible to abuse. Abusers often ask a child to keep a secret.

Instead, use the word “surprise” for joyful events in your family that you’re looking forward to.

Identify who to trust. Children need to know about trustworthy adults in their lives with whom they can talk when they’re confused or scared about the behavior of another person.

Always report suspected abuse immediately to law enforcement.

Taking proactive steps with our children gives them tools to avoid the unwanted advances of a sexual predator. But nothing we do is more important than assuring our children of our never-ending, never-leaving, alwaysthere-for-them love.

As a parent of five children younger than 16, I am grieved by the shocking news that struck our community this week. Allegations of sexual abuse always are heartbreaking, and my heart and prayers go out to the victims and their families. The suspect was someone who enjoyed a position of trust and authority, making his alleged actions even more horrifying. As Undersheriff Ray Birch stated in a Steamboat Today article, abusers often are “wolves in sheep’s clothing” (“Local sex assault charges relate to 1 victim,” April 21). Discovering that the suspected abuser lived among us is a sobering reminder that most abusers are friends or relatives of the victim, leaving parents and grandparents wrestling with hard questions of their own. Among those questions is the issue of how to talk to our children about sexual abuse, giving them an opportunity to tell us if anything troubling has happened.

If you want to talk to your children about the issue of sexual abuse, pick the time and place carefully.

Choose a place that is private and comfortable for your child. Never talk to your child in front of a suspected abuser.

Talk about secrets and promises. Explain that surprises are joyful, happy times, but secrets can hurt people. If an abuser has told the child that “this” is their special secret and extorted a promise from the child not to share the abuse with anyone, the child will need to be reassured that nothing bad will happen to him or her by opening up to you.

Sadly, at times, abusers may threaten children with harm if they talk about the abuse. Children need to know that they are safe with you and that it’s always OK to tell you a secret, even if they made a promise.

Assure children that they are not in trouble. Keep your emotions in check. Children are quick to pick up on our own emotions and often will respond the way they think we want them to respond. When we are using a serious tone and expressing through our body language that something serious is happening, children need to know that they are not in trouble.

Be direct without embarrassing your child. If you notice unusual behavior, address what has caused concern. For example, “I am concerned because I heard you say _____ and I want you to be safe.”

Use questions. A helpful transition might be, “I’m going to ask you some important questions, and I need you to tell me the truth so that I can help you be safe. Can you do that for me?”

■ Has anyone ever asked you to take some or all of your clothes off ?

■ Have you ever seen someone else with their clothes off ?

■ Has it ever hurt when you went to the bathroom?

■ Has anyone ever asked you to touch their private parts (places you cover with your underwear)?

■ Has anyone ever touched your private parts?

If your child answers “yes” to any of these questions, follow up with some more specific questions: who, where, when, can you tell me about it, etc.

I am thankful for the many people in this town — teachers, coaches, youth workers — who invest their time and care in our children.

Despite the way that the man at the center of this investigation may have broken trust with those around him, not all professionals are suspect. At the same time, if anything causes your intuition to kick in and to feel that something isn’t right, don’t hesitate to pursue those concerns with more questions. Child abuse is a crime, and any suspicions should be reported to law enforcement immediately.

Melinda Clark is the mother of five and executive director of the Steamboat Springs Pregnancy Resource Center since 2009.

Jason Clark serves as pastor of First Baptist Church of Steamboat Springs and is the volunteer chaplain for the Routt County Sheriff’s Office.

W

e warily gave our approval when in late February Gov. John Hickenlooper created a task force assigned to “help clarify and better coordinate the regulatory jurisdiction between the state and local governments over oil and gas operation.”

We said it was appropriAt Issue ate for the governor’s office to Findings by get involved in the ongoing fricthe governor’s tion between state officials and task force local governments and to provide assigned to the latter with clarity about how much jurisdiction they have over clarify the drilling within their boundaries. roles of state But as we feared, that really didn’t and local happen. governments After reading summaries of in permitting the findings, we think they can energy be summarized as a call for little more than improved communicaexploration tion. We think Colorado’s county and municipal governments need Our VIew more help than that to answer Very little of their constituents’ questions. substance Routt County residents want has been answers about how far county accomplished. commissioners can go to apply their own zoning regulations to safeguard public health, homes and businesses, as well as how much the state is doing to protect air and water quality in areas of energy exploration.

We think the task force could have looked into the politically charged question of whether existing penalties are being adequately applied to energy companies that run afoul of regulations.

According to a report by the Earthworks Oil and Gas Accountability Project, which relied on Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission documents for its research, relatively few fines are being imposed. In 2010, 319 notices of alleged violations were issued to 93 operators, but just 10 operators received penalties. The numbers of alleged violations went down to 230 in 2011 and penalties were issued to 22 operators.

Officials have said in public hearings here that they tend not to issue fines if alleged violations promptly are addressed.

We think the task force could have looked into whether it needs to recommend that the governor direct the Oil and Gas Commission to be more proactive in applying fines for the intended purpose of deterring practices that allow violations to occur.

The Oil and Gas Commission employs 15 field inspectors and a supervisor to visit oil and gas drilling and production sites and ensure that state regulations are being met. It’s reassuring, to a degree, that one of those 15 inspectors is based in Steamboat Springs.

However, the Earthworks report, which was published last month, found that in 2010 there were 43,000 active wells in Colorado and 16,228 inspections were carried out. Those numbers show that more than half of the wells aren’t inspected annually.

We think the task force could have urged the governor’s office and the state Legislature to consider new ways to make energy companies fund a more robust inspection.

The task force urged local governments to assign a “local government designee” to communicate directly with Oil and Gas Commission officials.

And that’s a good idea. But Routt County already has acted on that invitation from the Oil and Gas Commission and has a very competent person in place. The task force recommendation that the Oil and Gas Commission hire additional local government designee coordinators could speed up those interactions, but it’s hardly a substantive change.

As the novelist Ernest Hemingway once said, don’t mistake motion for action.

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Question

of the Week Last week: Should the Steamboat Springs School District cover a $30,000 shortfall to fund transportation costs for Tier 1 and Tier 2 sports next year?

Your views (430 votes):

“Yes. I think sports keep kids from distractions, such as bad substances.”

Anala Sokolowski

“Yes. Sports give students different opportunities outside of school and teaches them life lessons.”

Yes: 57% I don’t know: 6%

Hunter Anderson

No: 37%

This week: Do you agree with the Routt County Board of Commissioners’ vote to enact fire restrictions in Routt County?

“No. The school has educational purposes to pay for, and sports come after school.”

Shelby Downey

commEntary

Proactive action to protect children Melinda Clark

For the Steamboat Pilot & todaY

Sexual abuse is a tragedy.

Always. The statistics are overwhelming: One in four women and one in six men will be victims of sexual assault in their lifetimes. Forty-four percent of sexual assault victims are younger than 18. About 80 percent of victims are abused by an acquaintance (relative, spouse, dating partner, friend, pastor, teacher, boss, coach, therapist, doctor, etc.). The charges filed this week against a former Steamboat resident remind us that we live in a precarious world, where the most vulnerable among us are at risk.

Often, that threat comes from someone they know. How can we protect our children from sexual predators?

Explain to your child that his or her body is good but that some parts are private. Don’t discuss sex or sexual organs in embarrassed, awkward ways that will make your child think that you’re unwilling or unprepared to answer his or her questions.

Teach proper names for private parts. Factual language will give your child tools to ask and answer questions and to tell about any possible abuse. Be sure your child knows which parts of his or her body are private. Perhaps describe this as “what’s covered by a swimsuit or by your

underwear.” This description is helpful for younger children.

Older children should know that other parts of the body also be could touched inappropriately.

Let your child know that he or she can tell you if anyone touches him or her in private places or in ways that make him or her uncomfortable — no matter who that person is or what the person has told your child.

Explain the difference between “good touch” and “bad touch.”

Be clear with adults and children about the difference between what’s acceptable and what’s inappropriate. Children need to know that while they may often enjoy being hugged, snuggled or tickled, sometimes they don’t want to be, and that’s OK. Little ones should be taught to say “stop” or “all done,” and adults should be taught to always honor that request from a child. This may be challenging for relatives, and a child’s refusal to hug grandpa is not an indictment. But if children learn from a young age that they can be in control of their bodies and their desires, they will have the ability to say “no” to unwanted touch as they grow older. (If your child doesn’t want to hug grandpa that day, how about a high five?)

Don’t ask your child to be responsible for your emotions.

When we innocently ask a child for a hug “because Mommy is

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Editorial Board Scott Stanford, general manager Brent Boyer, editor Tom Ross, reporter Karen Massey, community representative Jeff Swoyer, community representative

Steamboat Springs, Colorado • Sunday, May 6, 2012 SteamboatToday.com

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Contact the editorial board at 970-871-4221 or editor@SteamboatToday.com

Public loud and clear on sandhill crane hunt

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Withholding severance tax revenues punitive

Thomas Litteral

For the Steamboat Pilot & todaY

T

here is more than a little irony that in the same week state lawmakers shot down a bill that would make it tougher for Colorado residents to put constitutional amendments on the ballot, a Republican state representative from Sterling pushed forward a bill so punitive and At issue counterproductive that even his local control own party won’t get near it. and severance Routt County would be taxes among those hurt by Rep. Jerry Sonnenberg’s House Bill 1356, which as originally proposed our view would withhold mining and house bill energy-related severance tax 1356 is revenues for counties that “in punitive for any way restricted or delayed counties like the ability of an oil and gas producer to” exercise its rights routt. to extract oil and gas.

In other words, Sonnenberg thinks local governments that do anything other than give a blanket green light to energy exploration should be punished financially. In Routt County, that could mean the loss of more than $500,000 each year the county receives in severance tax revenues for coal mining operations.

The county deposits that money into its Road and Bridge Department fund and uses it to maintain the rural roads the coal industry relies upon to haul its product.

Fortunately, HB 1356 appears dead on arrival, even with potential amendments that would limit the scope of the bill to counties that place moratoriums on oil and gas drilling. That’s as it should be. But Sonnenberg’s measure — whether a political stunt — underscores the fierce battle playing out in Denver and Washington, D.C., about who has the final say in energy-industry regulation.

We’ve previously advocated for a commonsense approach that allows local governments like Routt County a powerful voice in safeguarding public health and safety within their boundaries. The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission currently holds most of the cards when it comes to regulatory jurisdiction, and now, the feds appear poised to jump headlong into the fray. The Obama administration announced Friday proposed rules for oil and gas drilling on public lands, specifically as it pertains to fracking.

With many interests at play and significant money at stake, it probably shouldn’t come as a surprise that Sonnenberg proposed such a draconian bill. But what fellow lawmakers like Randy Baumgardner should remind him is that counties like Routt use severance tax revenues to maintain the infrastructure needed for industry to continue to operate. That means that not only is HB 1356 punitive, it’s also counterproductive.

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Question

of the Week Vote in this week’s poll by visiting Steamboattoday.com or by scanning this code with your smartphone

Last week: Do you support the proposed sandhill crane hunting season in Northwest Colorado?

Your views (603 votes):

“No, only because I don’t think there is any really sport in hunting them. They’re big, they don’t fly well and they don’t taste good. At least hunt something that’s a challenge.”

David Kelley

“No. It just seems kind of messed up because you would just be killing to kill. That’s not what hunting is about.”

Yes: 27% i don’t know: 4%

Skyler Farnham

No: 69%

This week: Do you think energy-related severance taxes should be withheld from counties that place restictions or morotoriums on oil and gas production?

“These birds were considered endangered for years, and they were just taken off that list. Their numbers are still pretty low.”

Miller

lEttErs to thE Editor Facts are facts After attending the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission meeting about the proposed hunting of sandhill cranes, we were dismayed at the lack of science presented and at the preconceived and biased conclusion apparent with the department’s presentation and issue paper.

I have a biology degree and a Ph.D. and was disappointed with the lack of scientific biological data presented. The data that showed extreme swings in the population first was used as evidence and then, when questioned, was said to be a rough estimate.

The issue paper indicates the 10-year average for the area is 634 cranes, but that average is misleading because the population swings within the data are significant.

In the issue paper, the author attributes opposition to the proposal as emotional from bird lovers fundamentally opposed to crane hunting without acknowledging the emotions of crane hunters as equally passionate, such as a love of hunting, fear of losing hunting rights and hatred of anyone opposed to their position. Emotions are emotions, and facts are facts. Unfortunately, we had too many emotions and too few facts.

The science is not there to show that hunting is an appropriate thing to do at this time. There is no biological data to approve this proposal — only the emotional needs of the hunters and a few anecdotal comments from local landowners who claim crop damage. The hunting season will not change the crop damage. We pay landowners for crop damage from elk, deer, etc.

Colorado hunters can hunt midcontinent cranes in Colora-

do on the Eastern Slope — many hunters travel there already to hunt pheasant and other nonmountain birds.

Parks and Wildlife’s own website lists county occurrence in Colorado as mostly unknown, including Moffat County. Routt County is listed as the only county where the occurrence is fairly common, with Rio Blanco and Mesa county occurrences as rare.

Parks and Wildlife does not even post up-to-date or accurate information.

We were surprised at the extremely emotional and inaccurate commentary from Tom Willman in the Steamboat Pilot & Today (“Welcome to SteamBoulder,” April 29). In his commentary, he denigrated what should be a scientific argument to name calling — “SteamBoulder” — and ridiculing “ultimately ignorant folks” who “mean business ... and are working every day to take away your hunting privileges and rights ...” If those statements aren’t emotion edging to hysteria, we don’t know what fear mongering is. He indicated that people were deaf to the facts, but only the facts as he saw them. People like facts that support their opinions and needs and not other facts.

We personally have observed cranes in Routt and Moffat counties for many years and have seen and heard very few cranes in our watching areas — Routt County Roads 42 and 44 and near Steamboat Springs Airport. Has the number declined this past winter? We need to know this.

We think Colorado Parks and Wildlife needs to provide a comprehensive scientific study before allowing any hunting of this species and provide biological data that the hunt is necessary and not meeting an emotional need. Emo-

tions are emotions, and facts are critical to this proposal.

Lynn Kelley, Ph.D., and Jim Kelley Steamboat SpringS

Thanks for helping Stu and Sue Fishman again want to thank all their friends who in March donated enough funds to give 350 orphans full dental care in Nepal in April. Stu serves on the board of Global Dental Relief, the organization that brings free dental care to impoverished children of Nepal, northern India, Vietnam, Guatemala and, beginning in 2013, Kenya.

Since 2001, Global Dental has hosted more than 916 dedicated dentists, hygienists, dental assistants and nonmedical volunteers. Volunteers have treated more than 61,267 children with first-time and ongoing dental care. Volunteer dentists, hygienists, assistants and non-medical volunteers deliver treatment and preventive care in dental clinics that serve children in schools, orphanages and remote villages.

A special thanks to B. and J. Hannon, R. Restell, D. Kerr, A. Geery, N. Dobras, D. and G. Zedeck, C. and G. Pon, I. and L. Dubinsky, P. Kellenbeck, J. and S. Downes, E. Spangler, L. and R. Danter, M. and I. Edelman, R. and T. Doogan, R. and B. Schuellein, L. and D. Grant, R. and P. Morgan, V. and A. Rudolph, J. Cote, E. Archer, B. Walker, A. and A. Swartz, G. and A. Skolnik, J. Cino, I. Feld and D. Capps. For more information, visit www.globaldentalrelief.org.

Stu and Sue Fishman Steamboat SpringS

Hunting has a long tradition in Northwest Colorado and is a publicly acceptable tool used by wildlife managers. When a species becomes a nuisance like the bears roaming around our towns, wildlife managers can adjust the “take” to help reduce the numbers. When a wild species becomes less than wild and has a population explosion like that of Canada geese, wildlife managers once again can adjust the “take” and use hunting as a tool to reduce the population, and in the bargain, the hunters get additional opportunity. A similar example is that lightcolored geese have been wildly successful in the breeding grounds in Canada, and hunters throughout the flyways are given extra seasons and bag limits, even here in Colorado.

When animals exceed the carrying capacity of their summer or winter habitats, wildlife managers once again can use hunting as a method of controlling the herd numbers. Our local population of elk is especially subject to winter ranging limitations, a key in maintaining a healthy herd. This is science-based management.

Sandhill cranes are not in excess numbers. They have yet to occupy or nest in the full range as in previous years in Colorado. This is shown with the Colorado Breeding Bird Atlas project results. I am one of the volunteer surveyors. Sandhill cranes in Northwest Colorado have not exceeded the carrying capacity of the habitats they occupy, there is no notable crop damage because of cranes and they do not threaten livestock. In fact, cranes are great foragers of hay crop-damaging insects.

So in that regard, cranes are very beneficial to our local ranchers.

The question about whether to hunt the Rocky Mountain population of greater sandhill cranes should be based on whether there is a biological need to hunt the cranes.

At this point, there is no scientific or biological argument that we need to control the number of local or migrating sandhill cranes in Northwest Colorado.

Sandhill cranes do add to the bounty of our natural resources in Northwest Colorado. Hundreds of local children thrill to the sight and sounds of these large impressive birds. Hundreds of locals and tourists get the thrill of observing the pair bonding, the calls, the gentle flight or the staging spectacles in the spring and fall.

When a nesting crane pair is found near an educational center, they become a showpiece of conservation practices to show how to have compatible agricultural operations and low-disturbance observations by students of all ages. It is a privilege for a landowner to host a nesting sandhill crane pair, and often, the land steward goes to great lengths to protect the pair as was done on Haymaker Golf Course.

Hundreds of people have signed a petition to ban the hunting of sandhill cranes in Northwest Colorado. In informal polls and more formal polling in this newspaper, there is resounding resistance to hunting sandhill cranes for sport. For those voicing opposition on either side, please be respectful and understand this is a specific issue, not a forum for or against hunting. This is about a very watchable, highly regarded and highly valued bird species. The public is speaking loud and clear; they are not in support of “taking” cranes. I would urge the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission to strongly consider the vast majority of opinions of those interested in this issue and not allow additional hunting of sandhill cranes in Northwest Colorado.

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piloT &Today

Routt County’s newspapeR of ReCoRd sinCe 1885

Editorial Board Scott Stanford, general manager Brent Boyer, editor Tom Ross, reporter Karen Massey, community representative Jeff Swoyer, community representative Contact the editorial board at 970-871-4221 or editor@SteamboatToday.com

our viEw

At 1st glance, Shell impresses

S

hell Oil is yet to have its first public hearing on its first proposed exploratory well in Routt County, but the encouraging impression the company made during a community open house last week should serve as an example for other energy operators seeking to do business here.

At iSSue We’re not naive. Shell is a shell oil’s local huge multinational corporation operations sophisticated enough to know it must connect with the communities where it seeks to drill for our view oil. But that doesn’t mean we community can’t be grateful for the manner open house in which the company appears was positive to be conducting its business in first step in Northwest Colorado. company’s During a midday event Wednesday at the Steamboat routt county Springs Community Center, Shell presence. executive Matt Holman and a team of 15 company employees representing many facets of its operations matter-of-factly described their plans for Northwest Colorado. Holman made his company’s intent crystal clear — they want Routt County to allow Shell to drill three exploratory wells this year — while also clearly stating their intent to obey all 60 oil and gas permit guidelines adopted by the county. Holman also said they’ve met with the Community Alliance of the Yampa Valley, a citizens group particularly concerned with the potential impacts of energy exploration in Routt County, and agree to 13 additional conditions suggested by its members. Shell does not plan to use the hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, technique in its initial three exploratory wells, Holman added.

Given the angst in communities across Colorado about energy exploration and its potential impacts, we appreciated the tone of Shell’s introduction to Routt County. Wednesday’s meeting was a good way to preface the company’s entry into the public review process. However, we still must let that process bear itself out.

Energy drilling has a long history in Routt County, but never before has it garnered the interest and passion of residents as it has today. That’s a good thing. We’ve previously commended the Routt County Board of Commissioners for its reasoned and cautious approach to local regulations on the energy industry.

So while we were impressed with Shell’s apparent openness and bridge-building with the community last week, the company ultimately must be judged by its actions, not its words. If its words are any indication, we’re off to a good start.

Steamboat Springs, Colorado • Sunday, May 27, 2012 SteamboatToday.com

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Question

of the Week vote in this week’s poll by visiting steamboatToday.com or by scanning this code with your smartphone

Last week: What are you doing for Memorial Day weekend?

Your views (240 votes):

Limit letters to 600 words. all letters must include the phone number of the writer so that the authenticity of the letter can be verified. email letters to editor@ steamboatpilot.com or send them to Letters at P.o. box 774827, steamboat springs, co 80477. by submitting letters to the editor, you grant the steamboat Pilot & Today a nonexclusive license to publish, copy and distribute your work, while acknowledging that you are the author of the work. You grant the steamboat Pilot & Today permission to publish and republish this material without restriction, in all formats and media now known or hereafter developed, including but not limited to all electronic rights.

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Steve Balgenorth, circulation director

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“We’re doing the Memorial Day ceremony with the American Legion VFW, and that consumes my whole weekend.”

Jim Stanko

Leaving town: 23%

TribuNe media services

“Jim Stanko is not branding (cattle), so I’m going to our cabin.”

CJ Mucklow

i don’t plan that far ahead: 14%

This week: Do you plan to travel to Craig on Tuesday to see Mitt Romney?

“I’m going rafting Saturday, and then we’re going to Steamboat Lake, and we’re going fly fishing and then having a barbecue with our friends.”

Lana O’Neil

lEttEr to thE Editor Share the road Many years ago, advocacy groups from across the country started a campaign to ask all of us to be respectful and safe around bicyclists on the highway. We know the slogan, we see the signs and we are preached to repeatedly by our bicycling friends about being sensible and patient while passing bicyclists. I admittedly am one of those people who get somewhat annoyed by bicyclists riding side by side, but I understand the attraction of our county roads, and I understand why bikes tend to gather on Routt County Road 14, so I stay respectful and safe while grumbling to myself.

However, this year I repeatedly am finding that although many cyclists demand motorists share

the road, they refuse to give the same courtesy. In the past two weeks, we have received the cattle that we run on pastures on both sides of C.R. 14 for the summer.

We slowly are moving the cattle to the pastures that they will live on until fall. On four separate occasions, we have moved a set of cattle down C.R. 14. None of these drives have measured more than one mile, and we have been sensitive to try to schedule the moves during slower traffic times.

On three of our four cattle drives this year, we have come across different bicyclists who just flatly refused to sit quietly while we tried to drive the cows past them. On one occasion, we were told among a flurry of obscenities that we were wasting this particular bicyclist’s day off, so he refused to stop and proceeded

to stampede 120 head of yearling cattle over the top of us and through a fence.

All that we ask is that when encountering a cattle drive, bicyclists stay quiet and patient and allow us to softly drift the cattle past them. It might take a couple of minutes, but it will keep the cattle and cattlemen much safer. Much like bicyclists ask all drivers to stay quiet, patient and wait for a safe place to pass — which sometimes takes a couple of minutes but keeps everybody safer — we ask the same.

Basically, I challenge all cyclists to give the same respect and courtesy that they demand and, to put it in your own words, share the road.

Jason Patrick

Steamboat SpringS

commEntary

Obama should seize high ground Thomas L. Friedman

During a recent discussion in Seattle with a group of educators, one of them surprised me when she pointed out that even though their state did not win President Barack Obama’s education “Race to the Top,” that program was critical in spurring education reform in Washington state. As I listened to her analysis, the thought occurred Friedman to me: I wonder how Barack Obama would do if he ran for re-election on all the things he’s accomplished but rarely speaks about.

Barack Obama is a great orator, but he is the worst president I’ve ever seen when it comes to explaining his achievements, putting them in context, connecting with people on a gut level through repetition and thereby defining how the public views an issue.

Is there anyone in America today who doesn’t either have a pre-existing medical condition or know someone who does and can’t get health insurance as a result?

Yet two years after Obama’s health care bill became law, how many Americans understand that once it is fully implemented, no American with a pre-existing condition ever again will be denied coverage?

“Obamacare is socialized medicine,” the Republican Party repeats.

No, no — socialized medicine is what we have now. People without insurance can go to an emergency ward or throw themselves on the mercy of a doctor, and the cost of this uncompensated care is shared by all those who have insurance, raising your rates and mine. That is socialized medicine, and that is

what Obamacare ends. Yet Obama — the champion of private insurance for all — has allowed himself to be painted as a health care socialist.

Think about this: Obama didn’t just save the auto industry from bankruptcy. Two years later, he also got all the top U.S. automakers to agree to increase mileage for their vehicle fleets to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025, from 27.5 mpg today. As Popular Mechanics put it, this “is the largest mandatory fuel economy increase in history.”

It will drive innovation, save money and make America less dependent on petro-dictators. Did you know Obama did this?

Finally, how did Obama ever allow this duality to take hold: “The Bush tax cuts” versus the “Obama bailout”? It should have been “the Bush deficit explosion” and the “Obama rescue.” Sure, the deficit has increased under Obama.

It largely was to save the country from going into a Depression after a Bush-era binge that included two wars — which, for the first time in our history, we not only did not pay for with tax increases but instead accompanied with tax cuts — plus a 2003 Medicare prescription drug bill that we could not afford, then or now. The idea that Bush gets to skate off into history as a “tax-cutter” and not as a “deficit buster” is a travesty. You can’t just blame Fox News. Obama has the bully pulpit.

But Obama is running even with Mitt Romney also because of what he didn’t do. As the former Obama budget director Peter Orszag notes, to get the economy moving again, what we’ve needed for the past two years is a plan of “combined boldness” — another stimulus focused on infrastructure that would grow jobs and enhance productivity combined with a credible, bipar-

Are gay ‘rites’ a black thing now?

Clarence Page

Staying put: 63%

The New York Times

Letters policy

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tisan plan for trimming future growth in Medicare and Social Security and reforming taxes to get our long-term fiscal house in order, as the economy improves.

In short, we needed more stimulus paired with some version of the Simpson-Bowles deficit plan. It is highly unlikely that you could “get one passed without the other, and you shouldn’t want to anyway,” Orszag said. Together they would launch the U.S. economy.

Obama, in fairness, tried a version of this with his “grand bargain” talks with the House speaker, John Boehner, but when those talks failed, Obama made a huge mistake. He should have gone straight to the country and repeated over and over: “I have a plan that will create millions of jobs and send the stock market soaring, and the Republicans are blocking it.”

Instead, Obama retreated to his left base, offered a stimulus without Simpson-Bowles and started talking about “fairness.” The result has been a muddled message that has alienated independent/center-right voters who put him over the top in 2008. Don’t get me wrong: I want fairness, but fairness that comes from a growing economy and comprehensive tax reform, not from redividing a shrinking pie.

In sum, Obama’s campaign right now feels as though it were made in a test tube by political consultants. It’s not the Obama we admire. Rather than pounding the country with “I have a plan” — a rebuilding stimulus plus Simpson-Bowles — which would be an Obama-like message of hope, leadership and unity that would put him on higher ground that Romney can’t reach because of the radical GOP base, Obama is selling poll-tested wedge issues. I don’t think it’s a winner for him or America.

Conservatives warned, often with glee, that President Barack Obama’s support for same-sex marriage would spark a backlash from African-Americans. But less than a month later, guess what? Polls show black voters dramatically swinging the other way, closer to Obama’s view.

Black voters, for reasons heavily related to conservative religious views, have been more conservative about Page same-sex marriage than national averages — until now. New polls indicate that Obama’s gay-marriage support may do more to help the cause than hurt his popularity.

A new ABC/Washington Post poll released Thursday found a new high of 59 percent of African-Americans who said gay marriage should be legal.

That’s up from an average of 41 percent in polls leading up to Obama’s announcement that his position had “evolved” into support for the right of gays and lesbians to legally marry.

That surge among black voters helped push support among Americans overall to 53 percent, a dramatic increase from six years ago when only 36 percent thought so.

The polltakers cautioned that the results were based on a relatively small sample of black voters, a fact upon which conservative critics pounced. Yet statewide polls taken by Public Policy Polling have found a similar pro-gaymarriage swing in Maryland, North Carolina and Pennsylvania before and after Obama’s pronouncement.

Almost all of the movement was driven by black voters.

The state to watch is Maryland, where voters will be asked in November to approve or repeal a new state law that legalizes same-sex marriage.

A poll released Thursday by PPP finds 55 percent of black Maryland voters now say they will support the new law, and only 36 percent oppose it. That’s a complete flip since March, when 56 percent told PPP they would vote against the measure.

Overall, 57 percent of likely Maryland voters said they will vote for the referendum, and only 37 percent intend to vote against it, the poll shows. That’s a big gain since a poll in March found the measure winning by a much closer 52 percent to 44 percent margin. Again, almost the entire shift came from African-Americans.

“The media’s been asking the wrong question,” said Dean Debnam, Democratic pollster and president of Public Policy Polling. “The big issue isn’t how Obama’s stance will affect his re-election hopes. It’s how Obama’s stance will move public opinion on gay marriage.”

More questions: Why has black voter opinion moved so quickly? Will it continue to do so? I can think of several reasons for this opinion evolution.

Much of it has been building for years. Today, we see an array of black leadership as diverse as Colin Powell and Jay Z lending their support to Obama’s position.

There are those who think, as I do, that the conservatives overreach when they call gay marriage a “war against marriage.” One outstanding example: My wife and I have just celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary, I am happy to report, without any noticeable scratches inflicted on our marriage by the rights of gays and lesbians to enter the same marital rites.

Still, black Americans are divided about the issue as much as other Americans are. There will be some, no doubt, who choose — as one caller told my friend Barbara Reynolds, a columnist for The Root website and an ordained minister — “I can stay home and ... vote for Jesus.”

But many more, I think, will decline to scrap their other political concerns for the sake of this single issue. After all, not voting is the same as casting a vote for whomever — or whatever — you would have opposed.

Comment& Commentary

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piloT &Today

Routt County’s newspapeR of ReCoRd sinCe 1885

Editorial Board Scott Stanford, general manager Brent Boyer, editor Tom Ross, reporter

Steamboat Springs, Colorado • Sunday, July 15, 2012 SteamboatToday.com

6A

lEttErs to thE Editor

Contact the editorial board at 970-871-4221 or editor@SteamboatToday.com

Putting on pressure our viEw

County’s stand is admirable

I

n defying the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission last week, the Routt County Board of Commissioners took a courageous and defining stand for the protection of area water quality as well as the principle that communities ought to have a powerful voice in how At issue the energy industry operates Quicksilver at the local level. resources well Despite a strongly wordpermit ed letter from the director of the Oil and Gas Commission our view — the state agency charged Commissioners with regulating the oil and gas industry throughout Colto be lauded orado — recommending that for strong Routt County not attempt stance in face to “usurp the COGCC’s of powerful authority” by mandating industry water-quality monitoring conditions for a Quicksilver interests.

Resources oil well north of Milner, the three Routt County commissioners moved forward unanimously with the special conditions.

Commissioner Nancy Stahoviak, a Republican from South Routt, matter-of-factly summed up the commissioners’ reasoning.

“We’ve been told we have an Oil and Gas Commission that is putting stringent requirements on oil and gas operations. It simply is not true. Protecting our water quality is a local concern. The (Oil and Gas Commission) has not helped us protect the water (wells) of Milner, which is why we are having to do it.”

Regulatory authority over the energy industry has been a hot-button issue in Colorado in recent months, and Routt County is hardly the first to seek its own path through the jurisdictional quagmire. We previously admonished Gov. John Hickenlooper’s oil and gas task force for failing to provide any real answers to the question of who has what say over energy industry exploration at the local level.

So kudos to the Routt County commissioners for deciding they will take responsibility for ensuring safe and responsible oil and gas development here, even when it means going toe to toe with powerful energy interests. Specific to Quicksilver Resources’ permit for an exploratory well on the Camilletti ranch north of Milner, the commissioners think the conditions put in place by the state’s Oil and Gas Commission simply don’t go far enough in protecting groundwater supplies from potential harm. The county’s own conditions mandate that Quicksilver drill a water-quality monitoring well between its proposed oil well and the unincorporated town of Milner, where 39 domestic water wells provide drinking water to residents.

The Oil and Gas Commission and Quicksilver Resources say a water-quality monitoring well is unnecessary given other safeguards in place to protect against contamination. They may be right. But we prefer to err on the side of caution, particularly when it comes to the long-term health of an invaluable resource like groundwater. We’re pleased the commissioners feel the same way.

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Question

of the Week Vote in this week’s poll by visiting Steamboattoday.com or by scanning this code with your smartphone

Last week: Was the Routt County Sheriff’s Office right to call off the 32nd annual Hot Air Balloon Rodeo because of fire danger?

Your views (426 votes):

“We have people in these positions because we trust them to make the right decisions, and we should back them up.”

Susan Colfer

“Yes, I think that they called it right. Calling it off was a good idea. Anytime that there is going to be a fire danger right now, you have to be really careful.”

Yes: 52%

Betsy Johnston

No: 48% This week: Do you support the county’s decision

to move forward with a water-quality monitoring condition for a Quicksilver Resources oil well permit despite the advice the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission?

“I didn’t agree with them, but I don’t know enough about the circumstances and requirements, so I have mixed emotions on it.”

John Marshall

commEntary

Farm Bill as a wildfire tool Sen. Mark Udall

For the Steamboat Pilot & todaY

Wildfires are an unfortunate fact of life in Colorado. But we are entering the age of super-fires, where factors such as drought, climate change and fire suppression combine to build fires that are larger and more frequent as well as more difficult and expensive to combat.

We already have seen that this year, with the High Park Udall Fire quickly growing from a lightning strike to one of the three largest blazes in Colorado history. Within two weeks of one another, the Waldo Canyon and High Park fires broke the record for the most costly fires in terms of homes lost. I have been monitoring these and the other fires burning in Colorado actively to ensure firefighters on the ground have all the federal resources they need.

However, confronting wildfires involves more than fighting the blazes while they are burning. In the 10 years since the Hayman Fire of 2002 — Colorado’s largest wildfire — Coloradans have seen firsthand that the devastation from a wildfire does not end when the last ember is extinguished.

One of the biggest legacies of the Hayman Fire has been its long-term impact on the water supply for Denver and Aurora. Destructive wildfires lay waste to vegetation and allow ash, debris and sediment to flow directly into reservoirs during the next rainfall. Severe fires also tend to sterilize the soil, making it difficult for forests to come back. This lack of new vegetation increases soil erosion and creates areas prone to severe flooding.

Responsible and proactive forest management is critical to confronting the long-term effects of large blazes and the ramifications they have in the long haul on Colo-

rado’s precious water supplies. The cost of forest restoration is nothing compared to the price tag for fighting wildfires, restoring lost homes and businesses and cleaning and maintaining water-storage facilities after each fire. If forests are the lungs of our land, as President Franklin Roosevelt said, then think of the Farm Bill as preventive care to avoid an emergency room visit.

That is why I have worked hard to make the 2012 Farm Bill, which my colleagues and I passed in the U.S. Senate last month, an important tool in managing our forests. Forests protect 70 percent of Colorado’s drinking water — and much of the water that we send downstream to other states in the West. Our high-mountain storage also protects other downstream users in Colorado, including our farmers and ranchers who depend on a reliable and high-quality water supply to produce our food and fiber.

The bipartisan bill contains not just policies that support agriculture and nutrition programs but also proactive measures I supported to help prevent catastrophic wildfire, by giving the U.S. Forest Service flexibility and funding to treat areas decimated by bark beetles and renewing stewardship contracts to encourage private-public sector partnerships to keep forests healthy. It also includes common-sense conservation programs that help agencies like the Natural Resources Conservation Service at the Department of Agriculture to help mitigate the impact of wildfires on our water supply.

The fact that wildfires are expected to become more common and the severe effect they can have on our water supply underscore just how important forest health is to all of Colorado, not just those living in the wildland-urban interface. The smartest thing we can do to protect our public resources is to be proactive about managing our forests and spend taxpayer money

in wise ways.

The agencies on the front lines need support and funding to better manage forests and reduce the likelihood, severity and longterm effect of wildfires. That is why I successfully fought to include a bipartisan amendment that strengthens our response to the bark beetle epidemic. We can relieve the immediate risk to human health and safety by removing beetle-killed trees from high-risk areas, including around residential areas, roads, trailheads, campgrounds, power lines and, very importantly, from the edges of critical watersheds.

The Farm Bill gives the Forest Service additional flexibility to treat beetle-killed areas and also allows work to continue on stewardship contracting, where the Forest Service partners with private companies to keep forests healthy. More than a thousand acres on the Front Range are treated every year under stewardship contracts, providing local jobs and protecting communities while removing forest products from federal land, improving wildlife habitat and reducing fuel loads for wildfire.

Efforts to restore forests, including agencies and private landowners thinning tree stands and reducing ground fuels, go a long way in protecting our water supplies and the systems that keep them clean. While the benefits of mitigating wildfire are countless, we ought to be aware of how unhealthy and improperly managed forests affect the water we depend on for drinking, agriculture and just plain living.

Working together, we can implement the Farm Bill to achieve these important goals.

Mark Udall is the senior senator for the state of Colorado. He serves on the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and is chairman of the Subcommittee on National Parks.

Those readers who did not get Sen. Rand Paul’s June 20 letter about the United Nations’ effort to control small arms worldwide — especially in the U.S. — read on.

He quotes Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as saying “the Obama administration will be working hand-in-glove with the U.N. to pass a new U.N. Small Arms Treaty.” You all know what that means — registration and eventual confiscation of our guns, as happened in Britain a few years ago.

Paul said 67 percent of the Senate (apparently the House is not involved) must ratify a treaty before it goes to the president for actual execution. Paul urges that we gun owners pressure our senators to vote against ratification. Let’s do it.

Although President Barack Obama declared in favor of the Second Amendment during the last campaign, he since has proven cavalier about his promises and his respect for the Constitution.

I am sure our left-wing, socialistleaning leader would happily issue an executive order to approve such a treaty if he thought he could get away with it. Thankfully, the Constitution requires Senate vetting and ratification. Maybe a new conservative hand on the tiller of our ship of state after Nov. 6 would dissolve the issue?

Omar M. Campbell Steamboat SpringS

Pet-friendly reminder Steamboat Springs is one of my favorite destinations, but during a recent visit, I found three dogs that had been left in parked vehicles during the course of just four days. In light of this, please allow me to remind readers that animals never should be left in parked vehicles, which can become death traps in a matter of minutes during warm weather.

On a 78-degree day, the temperature inside a car parked in the shade can soar to between 100 and 120 degrees in minutes, and on a 90-degree day, the temperature can reach 160 degrees in less than 10 minutes. Leaving the windows cracked (or even halfway down) and/or leaving water in the vehicle will not keep animals comfortable or safe.

With only hot air to breathe, dogs can succumb to heatstroke in as little as 15 minutes, resulting in brain damage or death. Symptoms include restlessness, excessive thirst, heavy panting, lethargy, lack of appetite and coordination, dark tongue and vomiting.

Please, when it’s even a little warm outside, leave animals at home. If you see a dog left in a car, have the owner paged at nearby stores or call 911 immediately — the dog’s life depends on it.

Daphna Nachminovitch

Vice preSident, cruelty inVeStigationS department people for the ethical treatment of animalS

Letters policy limit letters to 600 words. all letters must include the phone number of the writer so that the authenticity of the letter can be verified. email letters to editor@ steamboatpilot.com or send them to letters at P.o. box 774827, Steamboat Springs, Co 80477. by submitting letters to the editor, you grant the Steamboat Pilot & today a nonexclusive license to publish, copy and distribute your work, while acknowledging that you are the author of the work. You grant the Steamboat Pilot & today permission to publish and republish this material without restriction, in all formats and media now known or hereafter developed, including but not limited to all electronic rights. Solely by way of example, such rights include the right to convert the material to Cd-rom, dVd and other current and hereafter developed formats, the right to place the article in whole or in part on the internet and other computer networks, and the right to electronically store and retrieve the work in electronic databases.

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Routt County’s newspapeR of ReCoRd sinCe 1885

Editorial Board Scott Stanford, general manager Brent Boyer, editor Tom Ross, reporter Shannon Lukens, community representative Scott Ford, community representative Contact the editorial board at 970-871-4221 or editor@SteamboatToday.com

Steamboat Springs, Colorado • Sunday, August 5, 2012 SteamboatToday.com

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CommEntary

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our viEw

vote in this week’s poll by visiting SteamboatToday.com or by scanning this code with your smartphone

Lawsuit should give clarity

Last week: Would you have approved the 0.25-percent sales tax to help fund the winter airline program if you knew available seats would decrease by 11 percent? Your views (559 votes):

T

he inevitable happened last week, and not a moment too soon. The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission’s lawsuit against the city of Longmont means local governments, the energy industry and the state might finally get some clarity about who has what say in regulating oil and gas At Issue development in Colorado.

Oil and gas Many who have followed the lawsuit growing rift between the Oil and Gas Commission, whose role is to regulate the oil and gas indusour vIew try in Colorado, and the councourt ruling ties and municipalities struggling should give with how best to manage enerneeded clarity gy development in their comto regulatory munities knew the battle over issues. regulatory authority ultimately would be decided in a courtroom. Indeed, Routt County has played a role of its own in the debate. Our county commissioners were emboldened recently in a battle of words with the Oil and Gas Commission about a county condition that Quicksilver Resources must employ water quality monitoring wells if it wants to drill an exploratory well near the unincorporated town of Milner.

A similar water quality monitoring rule imposed on the oil and gas industry by new city of Longmont regulations helped lead the state Attorney General’s Office, acting on behalf of the Oil and Gas Commission, to file suit in Boulder County Court last week. In a nutshell, the state is arguing that the city of Longmont — and presumably other cities and counties who have taken it upon themselves to enact regulations or conditions above and beyond those imposed by the Oil and Gas Commission — overstepped its bounds and has usurped the authority of the commission.

We’ve previously supported Routt County’s efforts to take responsibility for safeguarding the health and safety of its residents and resources, and we’ve also been critical of the lack of clarity in regulatory authority of the energy industry in Colorado. Further, we’re not convinced the Oil and Gas Commission has the staffing and resources to effectively regulate the energy industry. Gov. John Hickenlooper’s task force earlier this year did nothing to resolve the issue, so now the courts will.

We don’t expect an answer anytime soon, and we imagine the loser in the Longmont case will appeal to a higher court. That means it could be years before Colorado sorts through the rules governing energy development.

Pennsylvania communities got their answer late last month when a lower court ruled in favor of seven municipalities that sued their state over a new law that required cities and towns to allow drilling even in areas where local zoning rules would prohibit it.

We tend to think the Pennsylvania court got it right — local governments should have regulatory authority over oil and gas issues in their own backyard. But whatever the outcome, it will be beneficial to everyone involved to have clarity.

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Laura Mazade, evening editor

Scott Stanford, general manager

Meg Boyer, advertising director

Brent Boyer, editor

Laura Tamucci, creative services manager

Nicole Miller, assistant editor

Steve Balgenorth, circulation director

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No, I didn’t approve it in the first place: 48%

I don’t understand the airline program: 6% Yes, it would be worse without the tax: 14% No, the tax was supposed to increase seats: 32%

This week: Do you think local law enforcement agencies should step up efforts to ticket cyclists for violating Colorado law?

“No, I would not support the tax. It just doesn’t seem like we are getting value for our money.”

Carrie Bono

“It’s easy to look back with hindsight and think you would not do it. But I would have to say I would still support it.”

Tinker Tiffany “I would always vote for a small tax increase that would fund something that would drive our local economy. As long as there is a guaranteed result of the tax increase I would vote for it again, but if we are truly going to lose 11 percent of the seats that is disappointing.”

Billy Van Ness

lEttErs to thE Editor Fair coming up The Routt County Fair and Junior Livestock Sale at the Routt County Fairgrounds is just around the corner. The Junior Livestock Sale is Aug. 18 and starts with the barbecue at 3:30 p.m. The livestock sale is a great opportunity for businesses, individuals and groups to show their support of youths and agriculture in this county.

When you purchase an animal at the livestock sale, you will receive a high-quality product and are giving financial aid to Routt County’s youths. It is estimated that more than 80 percent of the money earned from the Junior Livestock Sale is put toward higher education or building future livestock enterprises.

By purchasing, you are investing in the future of our Routt County youths and their endeavors in agriculture.

The animals you purchase are high-quality 4-H and FAA beef, lamb, goat and pork. They meet or exceed the quality of meat you buy in the store, and you can be assured you will get a quality product. Furthermore, you decide how you want your meat processed — how many servings per package, thickness of the steaks, etc. The Livestock Sale is conducted in an auction format, with each child showing his or her animal while bidding is taking place. It is completely hassle-free for the buyer — you simply pay for your animal that night or choose the billing option and pick a processing plant. The animal will be picked up the next day by the processing plant, and all you have to do is call to specify your needs for cutting and delivery.

Most commonly, people use their purchases for home consumption, but others give the meat as gifts to friends or business associates. Some people buy with a group of friends or partner with a business associate and divide the meat. If you want to support the sale but do not want the meat, at the time of purchase you can donate the animal back to various 4-H groups. The animal is then resold with the proceeds going to the group of your choice.

There is also a buy-back program available. In the past, buy-

5A

ers have donated meat to organizations such as the Senior Citizens Center, The Haven, Horizons Specialized Services, Advocates Building Peaceful Communities and the LIFTUP of Routt County food bank.

Last year we had some supportive businessmen who raised the floor price on all livestock, which helped all kids who sold an animal. If you cannot make the sale but would like to bid on an animal, we can help with that.

Although we are very fortunate to have outstanding supporters of youths and agriculture in our community who have purchased at the Junior Livestock Sale for many consecutive years, we are still in desperate need of more support. In the past few years, the average price for an animal at the Routt County Livestock Sale has been significantly lower than in neighboring counties. Each member who shows an animal has a great deal of time and money invested in his or her project. This includes animal purchase price, feed, veterinary expenses and supplies.

Some kids have had to make the decision to not have an animal, as they were unable to make any money after their expenses. This is an unfortunate reality for not only Routt County youths, but for the future of agriculture.

Won’t you help make a difference this year? We need your support at the Junior Livestock Sale. If you have questions, call 970-879-0825.

Libby Meyring and the 2012 Junior Livestock Sale marketing committee

Rigid rules I have been remodeling a house in Oak Creek. As part of pulling a building permit, the Town of Oak Creek requires that a water meter be installed.

I have found the Town of Oak Creek’s rigidity to unwritten rules very difficult to work with and counterproductive. Note that water meters are still not read to affect billing, and the town — as it has for decades — still only has vague plans to someday bill based upon water usage.

The first issue is that the town requires the property owner to purchase at full retail price not just the meter, but also a full set of “appurtenances” for $379.32. The appurtenances include $104 for a brass shutoff vale and a brass check flow that do not meet NSF/ANSI 61 standards for lead.

States like California and cities like New York City already require NSF 61-compliant parts. It takes effect nationally in January 2014. Because it is already required in major population centers, plumbing manufacturers already sell NSF 61-compliant parts. In fact, local plumbing distributors already stock only NSF 61-compliant parts.

I did not want to install parts known to have lead when I could just as easily install new lead-free parts I purchased locally. The Town of Oak Creek required that I install the highlead brass parts they provided.

Other regional water districts told me they are more flexible and would accept different shut off and check valves as long as they worked properly and the water district could easily replace the water meter if need be.

I have gone before the Town Board and described these issues. Town Board members promised to “investigate” but in two months have made no progress.

Considering the health issue of lead, I think it is wrong that the Town of Oak Creek insists that I, and those who follow, install many high-lead parts.

Considering the wide variety of situations that will be encountered in trying to retrofit water meters into homes plumbed with no expectation of water meters and the need of water meters to be protected from freezing temperatures, I think the town’s insistence of installing their configuration adds a needlessly difficult challenge to the homeowner.

Thus, I caution Oak Creek homeowners to be prepared for difficulties if starting a home improvement project that requires a building permit.

Scott Wedel

Oak Creek

Letters policy Limit letters to 600 words. all letters must include the phone number of the writer so that the authenticity of the letter can be verified. email letters to editor@steamboatpilot.com or send them to Letters at P.O. box 774827, Steamboat Springs, cO 80477. by submitting letters to the editor, you grant the Steamboat Pilot & Today a nonexclusive license to publish, copy and distribute your work, while acknowledging that you are the author of the work. You grant the Steamboat Pilot & Today permission to publish and republish this material without restriction, in all formats and media now known or hereafter developed, including but not limited to all electronic rights. Solely by way of example, such rights include the right to convert the material to cd-rOM, dvd and other current and hereafter developed formats, the right to place the article in whole or in part on the internet and other computer networks, and the right to electronically store and retrieve the work in electronic databases.

Chick-fil-A and fried rights Clarence Page

Tribune Media ServiceS

Some countries fight their culture wars with guns, bombs or knives. This summer, we Americans do it with chicken.

Chick-fil-A, the national restaurant chain known for its tasty chicken sandwiches and waffle fries, has become a litmus test of your respect for gay rights.

This development erupted after its president Dan Cathy, long known Page for conservative religious views, said in a radio interview that his company backs “the biblical definition of the family unit,” not same-sex marriage.

Outraged, Chicago Ald. Joe Moreno responded that he would not allow a Chick-fil-A to come to his gentrifying Northwest Side ward. Mayor Rahm Emanuel seemed to back him up with, “Chick-fil-A’s values are not Chicago values.”

I agree with Moreno and Emanuel on same-sex marriage, but I hotly oppose their disregard for the First Amendment. It forbids government from “abridging the freedom of speech.” In other words, we are free to advocate for same-sex marriage, and opponents are just as free to oppose it.

Open debate gets messy sometimes, but it works. During the past couple of decades, it has resulted in a nationwide opinion swing and new laws in some states in favor of same-sex marriage with a success that amazed even my cautiously optimistic predictions.

But the worst thing you can do in politics and other forms of life is to live down to your critics’ worst stereotypes of you. Mayor Rahmbo and Co. managed to do what any thought was impossible in these polarized times.

They brought liberals and conservatives together, if only to rebuke the heavy hand of government threats to Chick-fil-A based solely on the views of the company’s boss.

In fact, it’s worth noting that Cathy has come under fire from gay rights organizations for more than his personal views. The WinShape Foundation, a social service organization started by Don’s dad, the chain’s founder Truett Cathy, and funded mostly by the chain’s profits, “has donated millions of dollars to organizations that demonize LGBT people on a daily basis,” according to the Human Rights Campaign, the country’s largest gay rights organization.

But whether you agree or not with the Supreme Court’s position that money is a form of speech, the foundation’s donations are their right to decide, too.

That simple fairness argument led to a big pushback from Cathy’s supporters like Fox News host and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

The former Baptist pastor and ex-presidential candidate’s call for a “Chickfil-A Appreciation Day” on Wednesday resulted in what the company described as their busiest day ever at their franchises.

The chicken wars sizzle on. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation backed calls for a counterprotest, a “National Same-Sex Kiss Day” two days after what some critics were calling “hater appreciation day.” That announcement sparked a bit of confusion as to whether it would be OK for protesters to order chicken with the smooching.

But in fairness, we should not judge everyone at Chick-fil-A by the views of their top boss. Lauren Silich, owner of Chicago’s only Chick-fil-A franchise, wants to tell Emanuel in person, she said in a press release, that she is dedicated to “serving all of our guests with honor, dignity and respect,” and to “building leaders for future generations, regardless of sexual orientation or beliefs.” To this Chicagoan, at least, her “Chicago values” don’t sound so bad.

I hope Chick-fil-A’s folks at the top get the message.

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steamboat

pilOT &TOday

Routt County’s newspapeR of ReCoRd sinCe 1885

Editorial Board Scott Stanford, general manager Brent Boyer, editor Tom Ross, reporter Steve Hitchcock, community representative Win Dermody, community representative Contact the editorial board at 970-871-4221 or editor@SteamboatToday.com

our viEw

L

Loud and clear

ocal governments and residents may not be able to prevent oil and gas exploration from taking place in Routt County, but they can insist that such development is done responsibly. Kudos to the Routt County Board of Commissioners for sending that message loud and clear to Shell At issue Oil last week. oil and gas The county commissioners’ development pointed words to Shell Oil officials who failed to supply necour view essary information in a timely fashion about their company’s routt county special-use permit application sets an to drill an exploratory well near appropriate Yampa Valley Regional Airport tone for set an appropriate tone for how dealings with local governments should deal energy with oil and gas companies in companies. the coming years. Not only did Shell Oil fail to provide specifics about truck traffic to the proposed well site, it also brushed aside the county’s conditions for measures such as wildlife protection and surface water and air pollution monitoring.

“Why should we encourage bad behavior?”

Commissioner Nancy Stahoviak said last week.

“This shows a total lack of respect for the county and Board of County Commissioners. We’re not going to start permitting drilling in this way. It’s a bad practice.”

Shell Oil’s special-use permit application isn’t the first the county has seen this year, but it is representative of what’s expected to be an increasing number of energy plays in our backyard as oil and gas companies seek to tap into the unknown fuel supplies of the Niobrara shale deep below the surface of Northwest Colorado. And while the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission establishes many of the requirements for oil and gas developers, there are elements of local control that can and should be seized by entities like the Routt County Board of Commissioners. Those elements include impacts to roads and wildlife as well as air- and water-quality monitoring.

Now is the time to set the standard in Routt County for how oil and gas companies will be received here. The commissioners’ action last week, which resulted in a second tabling of Shell Oil’s permit application, sent the clear and appropriate message that we’re paying attention and that our public officials intend to stand up for local interests.

where to write Routt County

U.S. District 3 ● State House District 57 ● State Senate District 8 President Barack Obama 202-456-1111 www.whitehouse.gov/contact U.S. Sen. Mark Udall (D) 202-224-5941 www.markudall.senate. gov/?p=contact_us U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet (D) 202-224-5852

www.bennet.senate.gov/ contact U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton (R) 202-225-4761 http://tipton.house.gov/ contact-me/email-me State Sen. Jean White (R) 303-886-3538 senatorwhite2@gmail.com

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Steamboat Springs, Colorado • Sunday, October 23, 2011 SteamboatToday.com

6A

Question

commEntary

of the Week Last week: Do you plan to vote in favor of Referendum 2B, a 0.25 percent sales tax to supplement the winter air service program at Yampa Valley Regional Airport?

Your views (887 votes): Yes: 49%

“Yes. I think it’s important to have direct flights into Steamboat.”

Jordan Worden

Wendy Zwaan

This week: Do you think Routt County should be responsible for paying the more than $9,000 that the town of Hayden was billed for improvements to the water system at Yampa Valley Regional Airport?

“It’s going to bring more people to town, and more people that I want to see.”

Will Cheesebro

commEntary

Party of pollution Paul Krugman

The New York Times

Last month, President Barack Obama finally unveiled a serious economic stimulus plan — far short of what I’d like to see, but a step in the right direction. Republicans, predictably, have blocked it. But the new plan, combined with the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations, seems to have shifted the national conversaKrugman tion. We are, suddenly, focused on what we should have been talking about all along: jobs.

So what is the GOP jobs plan?

The answer, in large part, is to allow more pollution. So what you need to know is that weakening environmental regulations would do little to create jobs and would make us poorer and sicker.

Now, it would be wrong to say that all Republicans see increased pollution as the answer to unemployment. Herman Cain says that the unemployed are responsible for their own plight — a claim that, at Tuesday’s presidential debate, was met with wild applause.

Rick Perry and Mitt Romney have, however, put weakened environmental protection at the core of their economic proposals, as have Senate Republicans. Perry has put out a specific number — 1.2 million jobs — that appears to be based on a study released by the American Petroleum Institute, a trade association, claiming favorable employment effects from removing restrictions on oil and gas extraction. The same study lies behind the claims of Senate Republicans.

But does this oil-industrybacked study actually make a serious case for weaker environmental

protection as a job-creation strategy? No. Part of the problem is that the study relies heavily on an assumed “multiplier” effect, in which every new job in energy leads indirectly to the creation of 2.5 jobs elsewhere. Republicans, you may recall, were scornful of claims that government aid that helps avoid layoffs of schoolteachers also indirectly helps save jobs in the private sector. But I guess the laws of economics change when it’s an oil company rather than a school district doing the hiring.

Moreover, even if you take the study’s claims at face value, it offers little reason to think that dirtier air and water can solve our current employment crisis. All the big numbers in the report are projections for late this decade. The report predicts fewer than 200,000 jobs next year, and fewer than 700,000 even by 2015.

You might want to compare these numbers with a couple of other numbers: the 14 million Americans currently unemployed and the 1 million to 2 million jobs that independent estimates suggest the Obama plan would create, not in the distant future, but in 2012.

More pollution, then, isn’t the route to full employment. But is there a longer-term economic case for less environmental protection?

No. Serious economic analysis actually says that we need more protection, not less.

The important thing to understand is that the case for pollution control isn’t based on some kind of aesthetic distaste for industrial society. Pollution does real, measurable damage, especially to human health.

And policymakers should take that damage into account. We need more politicians like the courageous governor who supported environmental controls on a

Jonah Goldberg

TribuNe media services

“Yes. I think we need to have the best flights that we can possibly afford.”

No: 51%

Biden sticks to playbook

coal-fired power plant, despite warnings that the plant might be closed, because “I will not create jobs or hold jobs that kill people.”

Actually, that was Mitt Romney, back in 2003 — the same politician who now demands we use more coal.

How big are these damages? A new study by researchers at Yale and Middlebury College brings together data from a variety of sources to put a dollar value on the environmental damage various industries inflict. The estimates are far from comprehensive since they only consider air pollution, and they make no effort to address longer-term issues such as climate change. Even so, the results are stunning.

For it turns out that there are a number of industries inflicting environmental damage that’s worth more than the sum of the wages they pay and the profits they earn — which means, in effect, that they destroy value rather than create it. High on the list, by the way, is coal-fired electricity generation, which the Mitt Romney-that-was used to stand up to.

As the study’s authors say, finding that an industry inflicts large environmental damage compared with its apparent economic return doesn’t necessarily mean that the industry should be shut down.

What it means, instead, is that “the regulated levels of emissions from the industry are too high.”

That is, environmental regulations aren’t strict enough.

Republicans, of course, have strong incentives to claim otherwise: The big value-destroying industries are concentrated in the energy and natural resources sector, which overwhelmingly donates to the GOP. But the reality is that more pollution wouldn’t solve our jobs problem. All it would do is make us poorer and sicker.

“I wish (critics of the administration’s jobs bill) had some notion of what it was like to be on the other side of a gun or (to have) a 200-pound man standing over you, telling you to submit [to rape].”

— Vice President Joe Biden, Tuesday, University of Pennsylvania “At a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarized, at a Goldberg time when we are far too eager to lay the blame for all that ails the world at the feet of those who think differently than we do, it’s important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds.”

— Barack Obama, Jan. 12, Tucson, Ariz.

Joe Biden is not a big effing deal, as he might say.

In fairness, few vice presidents matter, and Biden suffers by comparison to his immediate predecessor.

As you know, the current vice president says dumb things, funny things, weird things. He talks like the sort of guy who sits right next to you on the bus even though there are plenty of empty seats — just so he can explain how squirrels aren’t mammals.

Indeed, in many respects, he’s as close as American politics gets to a wacky sitcom character who’s a couple fries short of a Happy Meal.

Remember when he told us how President Roosevelt went on TV to reassure America after the 1929 stock market crash? It wasn’t until later that someone reminded him that no one had TVs in 1929, and that FDR wasn’t president. Remember when he insisted that in Delaware, “You cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin’ Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. ... I’m not joking”?

He wasn’t joking then, and he’s not joking now when he says that if you oppose the president’s jobs bill, you’re OK with more rapes and murders.

No wonder he thinks many Republicans acted like “terrorists” during the budget negotiations last summer.

And speaking of terrorists, my complaint about Biden always has been that he gets to behave like the late PLO leader Yasser Arafat. By that, I mean Arafat got a free pass from many in the West because he would only say horrible things in Arabic while he would talk peace in English.

Biden’s double standard allows him to enjoy a kind of political immunity that only encourages asinine impunity.

When he says outrageous, idiotic and reprehensible things, the mainstream press and the Democratic Party shrug, even smile, and say, “Oh, that’s just Joe.” And if he says something nobody can ignore, he’s always allowed to take it back because everyone knows he has as much control over his mouth as Pakistan does over its tribal regions.

Like all vice presidents, part of his job is to carry water for his boss, and he carries more water than Gunga Din. “In my wildest dreams,” he proclaimed of the stimulus, “I never thought it would work this well.”

Biden has repeated his insinuation that if you’re opposed to yet another stimulus to pay for municipal workers, you’re OK with the fact that “murder will continue to rise, rape will continue to rise, all crimes will continue to rise.”

When his boss doesn’t want him to repeat his crazy talk, Biden dutifully zips his yapper. Not this time.

Why? Because this is part of the White House’s overall strategy to demonize the opposition. It’s from the same playbook that has Obama insisting that Republicans are for “dirtier air, dirtier water,” and are woefully deficient in decency and honesty.

Joe Biden is Barack Obama’s loyal pet, and like even the most loyal dog, he sometimes has an accident on the carpet. But he still does his master’s bidding when asked.

And that is the one way Biden matters. He is a reflection of his boss, and an accurate one at that.

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Meeting exposes differing attitudes Oil and gas group completes review Tom Ross

PILOT & TODAY STAFF

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

Routt County’s oil and gas working group made quick work of its chores Wednesday, but the night’s discussion brought out the differing approaches some longtime residents and industry representatives would bring to regulating energy exploration here.

The working group needed less than two hours to Like us on plow through the Facebook and follow task of making Steamboatpilot final comments on on Twitter. a list of 23 conditions that could be added to the list of standards applied to oil drilling permit applications. The Routt County Board of Commissioners will begin to analyze them in a work session at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.

However, the theme that emerged from the night’s roundtable was the desire of some working group members to gain the cooperation of energy companies in affording extra protection to the county’s natural resources. Industry representatives on the panel wondered out loud why Routt County would go beyond what they say are already well-established state regulations enforced by the ColSee Oil and gas, page 2

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JOHN F. RUSSELL/STAFF

Crews work to construct the frame of a large tent for the annual MusicFest in the northwest portion of Knoll Parking Lot off Mount Werner Circle. MusicFest is a package travel tour that draws thousands of fans of the Texas Americana music genre for six days of concerts with 40 bands, parties and skiing. This year’s MusicFest begins today, and a portion of the parking lot will be closed through Jan. 13.

‘Fellowship of music’

MusicFest kicks off 27th year in Steamboat Nicole Inglis

Online

PILOT & TODAY STAFF

Listen to music from bands playing during MusicFest with this story at SteamboatToday.com.

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

It was about this time of year in 2008 when David Beck first came to Steamboat Springs. It was the week of MusicFest, an annual Americana and Texas music festival and group ski trip that draws

thousands of music fans from Texas, as well as bands from across the world.

Beck’s father, the bassist for Robert Earl Keen, was playing

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the festival, and all the 19-yearold Beck wanted was to do the same.

“I saw all the music and saw everybody playing and how big a party it was,” he said. “And I wanted to go back, but I didn’t want to go back and not play it.”

That desire was coming to fruition Wednesday afternoon

as he pulled out of Lubbock, Texas, and headed for Steamboat with his band, Sons of Fathers.

“Now, to come back with my group, it’s really, really awesome. It feels good,” Beck said.

“It’s a fellowship of music and partying.”

See MusicFest, page 2

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Quicksilver: Regulations in best interest Oil and gas continued from 1

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orado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.

“Treat Routt County — see what we’re all about and see what we can do,” said Paul Stettner, of the Community Alliance of the Yampa Valley. “If you can ease the impact, that’s what we’re trying to get done.”

Steve Lindsey, senior director of governmental affairs and community relations for Quicksilver Resources, which has drilled one well in western Routt County and is pursuing several more, told the group that strong regulations are in his company’s best interests.

“Our desire is to have as robust a set of regulatory (provisions) as we can because it

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helps us as an operator,” Lindsey said.

And when it came to submitting comments on proposed conditions dealing with everything from managing visual impacts to the permissible density of well heads within a finite drilling area, Lindsey pointed out that state regulations already cover those areas.

“It gets into a fundamental question of, if the state has purview over setting density (for example), does the county even

MusicFest continued from 1

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have any” standing in the matter, Lindsey said.

“The answer is ‘yes,’” former County Commissioner Ben Beall replied. “We don’t want impacts to our wetlands, to our floodplains, and somehow, we’ve got to get there.”

Sarah Jones, of the Yampa Valley Sustainability Council, urged the commissioners to think about the impacts of energy development in the county in time should the exploratory efforts of 2012 blossom into a full-blown production scenario.

“It’s Routt County’s job to look at long-term impacts and take those into account. It’s our responsibility to look at what’s being protected cumulatively well after well after well,” Jones said.

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With a foundation in gospel, roots rock and Texas soul, bassist Beck, guitarist Paul Cauthen and Sons of Fathers will play MusicFest on Friday for those with credentials to the five-day festival of 40 bands and performers. The festival passes sold out long ago.

But MusicFest makes a point to expand beyond the giant tent set up in the Knoll Parking Lot that’s exclusive to participants.

Tonight, Sons of Fathers will perform with Texas rock ’n’ roll band Uncle Lucius at a special show at the Old Town Pub to kick off the weekend. There is a $5 cover, and the music starts about 9 p.m.

John Dickson, owner of MusicFest producer Dickson Productions, said one goal of the weekend is to give back to the community that offers the thousands of participants the benefits of local lodging, skiing, restaurants, nightlife and latenight buses.

“It’s such a genuine town, and we’re glad to be here, and we really enjoy the local support,” he said.

The big thank-you to Steamboat, he said, comes in the form of four free outdoor shows on the new permanent base area stage in Gondola Square this weekend.

Midnight River Choir, Kyle Park and Turnpike Troubadours will play free outdoor shows at 2:30 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

On Monday, the annual Cajun Cookout will bring back Corb Lund and the Hurtin’ Albertans, as well as the traditional base area performance from Jack Ingram.

Bringing the festival even closer to the local community is the addition of local singer-

Public show schedule Today: MusicFest acts Uncle Lucius and Sons of Fathers at the Old Town Pub ($5, 9:30 p.m.)

Friday: Midnight River Choir at the Steamboat Stage in Gondola Square (free, 2:30 p.m.)

Saturday: Kyle Park at the Steamboat Stage in Gondola Square (free, 2:30 p.m.)

Sunday: Turnpike Troubadours at the Steamboat Stage in Gondola Square (free 2:30 p.m.)

Monday: Cajun Cookout with Corb Lund and the Hurtin’ Albertans and Jack Ingram at the Steamboat Stage in Gondola Square (free, 1:30 p.m.)

By the numbers Participants: ~ 5,000 Staff: ~ 100 Bands: 40 Lodging properties used: 46 Number of items John Dickson helped pack into welcome baskets for participants: 85,000

“It’s such a genuine town, and we’re glad to be here, and we really enjoy the local support.”

John Dickson Owner of Dickson Productions

songwriter Trevor G. Potter as featured MusicFest performer this year. His name sits on the same bill as acts such as Reckless Kelly, Shooter Jennings and the Band of Heathens.

But there are several young up-and-coming acts that Dickson said are going to light up the weekend, including Sons of Fathers.

“That is a band that needs to be seen and heard,” he said.

And in the van on the way to Steamboat, Sons of Fathers guitarist Paul Cauthen already was geared up for their first-ever MusicFest.

“We’re about to rock some faces, that’s what we’re trying to do,” Cauthen said.

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INSIDE: Possible energy exploration in Steamboat prompts City Council to request draft regulations • page 12

Another storm on the way 8 to 16 inches of snow forecast at ski area through Friday Scott Franz

PILOT & TODAY STAFF

sTEamBoaT sPRINGs

A storm system that was forecast to arrive in Northwest Colorado on Wednesday night from the Oregon coast has the potential to dump 8 to 16 inches of snow on Mount Werner and the surrounding mountains before it starts to clear Friday morning, the National Weather Service in Grand Junction forecast Wednesday.

Like us on The forecast Facebook office issued a winand follow Steamboatpilot ter storm warning for Mount Werner, on Twitter.

Rabbit Ears Pass and the surrounding mountains Wednesday afternoon that continues through 9 a.m. Friday.

Ellen Heffernan, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said Northwest Colorado would see periods of snow through Friday morning while an energetic and moist flow from the Pacific Northwest covers Steamboat Springs.

Forecasters predicted Wednesday afternoon that the Yampa Valley and downtown SteamSee storm, page 2

‘The crude is sweet’ Quicksilver finds oil in Niobrara Shale Tom Ross

The possibility that the Niobrara Shale lying more than a mile beneath Northwest Colorado will yield enough oil to be profitable seems more like-

ly this week after top executives with Quicksilver Resources confirmed their first horizontal well on Wolf Mountain in Routt County has demonstrated it is capable of producing 500 barrels of oil per day.

“It’s very early but meaningful,” Quicksilver Vice President

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Correction Cody Winters’ name was misspelled in the story “Ski cross, boarder cross athletes get top finishes” on page 21 of Wednesday’s Steamboat Today.

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Tom Ross/sTaff

Quicksilver’s Pirtlaw oil well on Wolf Mountain as seen Friday from the air. Of the three dark cylindrical storage tanks in the right of the frame, one is used for storing well fluids and the other two are devoted to storing oil, according to a company official. The pump jack at the well is not operating, according to the same source.

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A bit of snow.

High of 46.

Page 19

Midmountain base Summit base Trails open Lifts open Total snow*

33 inches 33 inches 129/165 15/16 90.25 inches

*Total snow at Steamboat Ski Area since Oct. 7 as measured at midmountain. For up-to-date road conditions, including Rabbit Ears Pass, call 511 or visit www.cotrip.org.

of Finance John E. Hinton said Wednesday.

The price of crude oil fell 12 cents Wednesday to $100.59.

Quicksilver Senior Director of Governmental Affairs and Community Relations Stephen Lindsey said that during a visit to the well pad a few days ago,

the pump jack on the Pirtlaw well on Wolf Mountain was not being operated, a sign it is not in full production. However, the well has given Quicksilver executives a sense of what might be to come.

See Quicksilver, page 3

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Mineral rights owners could reap profits

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JOHN F. RUSSELL/FILE

Steve Lindsey, the senior director of government and communication affairs with Quicksilver Resources, leads county officials on a tour of an oil well on Wolf Mountain on Oct. 26. Quicksilver thinks its project in Northwest Colorado has the potential to produce as much as 500 million barrels of oil.

that more than 12 million barrels of oil have been recovered from older, vertical wells drilled between 1960 and 1980. Data about production in those old wells suggests to Quicksilver that they were inadequately stimulated, suggesting modern technology could produce greater yields.

Five hundred barrels per day is five times what the older wells produced, Darden said.

“That’s what gave us confidence in the beginning to take this acreage, and it’s being borne out in our vertical tests and currently our new horizontal tests,” Darden told the analysts.

Reporting on the conference call, the Web page Investopedia reported that the Pirtlaw well cost about $8.5 million but that going forward, Quicksilver expects costs to drop to $6.5 million to $7 million per well.

The conference call also suggested that the owners of the

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Proposed site

20787767

What: Routt County Planning Commission reviews Quicksilver/ Camilletti oil and gas drilling permit application When: 5:30 p.m. today Where: Commissioners Hearing Room in the Routt County Courthouse Other: Application includes water body access approval for access road crossing of Cheney and Little Cheney creeks one mile north of Milner. Application is scheduled before Routt County Board of Commissioners on Feb. 21. It would be Quicksilver’s second oil well in Routt County.

Proposed Camilletti well

Proposed access

40

ER PIN E AL DG LO

Milner

Source: Quicksilver Resources

mineral rights leased by Quicksilver could profit from the Niobrara. Darden told analysts that his company got in early in the Thunderhead Project and that it has a low-cost basis in the 210,000 acres under lease “with an average net revenue interest of 81 percent.”

Hinton confirmed that means in aggregate, mineral rights owners would realize 19 percent of the revenue from future wells.

Finally, Darden turned to an old expression to describe the quality of oil the Thunderhead Project is expected to yield.

“The crude is sweet,” he said, which means the oil has low sulfur content, making it more valuable. And the ratio of natural gas to liquid petroleum is very low at 2,000 to one.

With oil prices high and natural gas prices low, that’s the place to be for an energy exploration company.

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Hinton confirmed the transcript of a conference call Quicksilver executives held with financial analysts tracking the oil industry earlier this month: They think the Thunderhead Project in Northwest Colorado has the potential to produce a half-billion barrels of oil.

“We’ve (leased) over 930 square miles. It has a thick Niobrara section with a large oil reserve target,” Quicksilver Chairman of the Board Thomas F. “Toby” Darden told analysts monitoring the conference call. “From our vertical testing across the block, we have determined that the entire section is oil charged. We think there’s an oil reserve target to Quicksilver’s acreage of around 500 million barrels of oil if we’re able to exploit it effectively.”

Hinton told the Steamboat Today on Wednesday that it’s premature to speculate on whether the estimated oil reserve of 500 million barrels will prove out.

“There’s a lot of work to be done to prove if that entire acreage will produce” to that level, he said.

Steamboat-based energy industry consultant John C. Lamb said Wednesday that the numbers discussed by Quicksilver suggest the Niobrara Shale belt could be productive.

“It isn’t necessarily an oil boom, but it’s certainly very positive for the future of the Niobrara in Northwest Colorado,” Lamb said.

He contrasted that the estimated reserve of 500 million barrels is substantially less than the 750 million barrels found in the vicinity of Rangely after World War II. The Rangely field was drilled in an era when technology wasn’t as sophisticated as it is today, Lamb pointed out. The conference call unveils how Quicksilver engineers have done their homework on earlier efforts to extract oil from the ground beneath Routt County by studying production from 80 vintage wells.

Quicksilver’s research shows

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Steamboat Springs is jumping on the oil and gas regulation bandwagon.

The city, like Routt County, soon will work on developing its own regulations specific to oil and gas development.

The City Council unanimously and without discussion Tuesday approved giving city staff the go-ahead to begin drafting regulations regarding potential energy exploration within city limits.

City Attorney Tony Lettunich presented an update to City Council members about local oil and gas issues. The county has been working to draft revised conditions for all oil and gas permit applications. The work is being done because of the growing interest in the region and its Niobrara Shale layer. Quicksilver Resources reported recently that its well on Wolf Mountain in Routt County was producing 500 barrels of sweet crude oil per day.

“It’s hard to anticipate exactly what will happen, but the hope is we won’t be in the crosshairs of drilling,” Lettunich said Tuesday.

Lettunich told the City Coun-

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cil that Steamboat has limited regulatory authority as long as those rules don’t prohibit oil and gas exploration. He said local regulations also can’t conflict with those from the state.

State setback provisions require 350 feet between drilling operations and buildings, schools, jails and related structures in high-density areas, Lettunich said. He said the same setback existed for other designated areas, such as parks.

For the sake of the presentation, he said both setbacks were assumed.

Lettunich explained that after applying those setback provisions, there still was the poten-

tial for oil and gas exploration in several areas of the city. They include the areas directly north, south and west of Steamboat Springs Airport; northwest of the Steamboat Springs Cemetery; north of Colorado Mountain College’s Alpine Campus; west and south of Howelsen Hill; north of Steamboat Boulevard; north of Burgess Creek Road; and between Ski Trail Lane and Laurel Lane west of Steamboat Ski Area.

In addition to the state setback provisions for high-density areas and designated outdoor activity areas, Lettunich See Energy, page 13

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“We are beyond thrilled that the children visiting our shelter can now enjoy the magic of reading Like us on in this welcoming, Facebook peaceful library,” COURTESY PHOTO and follow Steamboatpilot Director of Advo- The Sheraton Steamboat Resort donated more than 600 children’s books and cates Diane Moore $650 for furniture to create Eliza’s Library at Advocates Building Peaceful Communities. on Twitter. said in the release. Pictured is the group of Sheraton employees who helped with the project.

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No timeline for drafting city regulations said there were setbacks up to 2,600 feet from public water systems, such as Fish Creek Reservoir and the infiltration galleries to the Yampa River.

He added that the city’s watershed protection ordinance, which the City Council adopted in 2007, requires a permit in anticipation of mining or drilling near public water supplies.

Lettunich suggested moving forward with a city regulatory system similar to the county’s, and the City Council agreed.

He said Planning Director Tyler Gibbs has been in contact with the county about drafting similar regulations.

“They have suggested that it might be good for the city to adopt a permitting plan and conditions similar to those the county is working on so there would a uniformity of regulatory scheme in this area,” Lettunich said.

Gibbs said Wednesday that there’s no specific timeline for drafting city oil and gas regulations. But he said the Planning and Public Works departments would be working with city attorneys to create regulations similar to the county’s that don’t duplicate what the state already requires.

“The question will be, ‘Is there something important to the city that isn’t addressed by those entities that the city

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should do?’” Gibbs said. “I think we’ll get those together fairly promptly.”

He said any regulations would have to be approved by the City Council.

Also Tuesday: ■ City Council member Scott Myller asked whether city staff could pursue extending the Yampa River Core Trail west of Steamboat. Parks, Open Space and Recreational Services Director Chris Wilson said staff would start meeting with residents about whether they’d be interested in selling property to the city for right of way needed for the trail extension.

“I would let people know that we’re just looking at routes and we’d like their support,” he said.

City Council member Cari Hermacinski added that the city wouldn’t take eminent domain action to acquire property.

■ Kim Weber, the city’s budget and tax manager, has been promoted to finance director as part of a reorganization of city departments. The reorganization was a strategic initiative that will save the city more than $53,000 next year, according to city officials.

■ Bike skills park planner Blair Seymour told the City Council that the Directional Development Foundation, the group proposing to build the bike park on the Bear River Parcel, had $14,000 to design, construct and maintain it for a year. Seymour added that cash and in-kind contributions from Steamboat Ski & Bike Kare and Ski Haus would provide maintenance at the park for beginner and intermediate riders for an estimated six to 10 years.

The City Council previously had asked to see financial data before approving a modification to the Bear River Parcel to add the bike park as a permitted use there.

To reach Jack Weinstein, call 970-871-4203 or email jweinstein@SteamboatToday.com

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Thom Kerr, the interim director of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, told a group of about 80 people at the Routt County Courthouse on Tuesday night that baseline testing of groundwater quality is in the best interest of energy exploration companies.

“There’s no greater tool that any operator can have than baseline testing” to establish pre-existing groundwater quality before it begins exploratory drilling operations, Kerr said. “It’s not in our rules, but we push it every way we can.”

Kerr was in Steamboat Springs to meet with the Routt County Board of Commissioners in a public hearing during which local officials asked him to respond to 41 questions that pertained to an expanded set of conditions commissioners are contemplating adding to the review of new applications for oil and gas drilling permits.

Commissioner Diane Mitsch Bush during the past eight months, and as long ago as 2010, consistently has advocated for requiring energy exploration companies to pay for frequent groundwater testing in order to establish a basis for protecting underground aquifers and domestic wells from possible contamination.

On Tuesday night, Mitsch Bush heard Kerr say that in some special circumstances, the Oil and Gas Commission has required baseline testing even though, as a whole, that program is presented to the energy industry on a voluntary basis.

That seemed to be news to Commissioner Mitsch Bush.

“Let me be sure. You do require baseline testing for certain

OIL AND GAS ISSUES IN ROUTT COUNTY

areas?” she asked Kerr.

“Yes,” he replied. “We take recommendations from local governments. We did it in the Raton Field (in southeastern Colorado), and we did it in the Piceance (Basin near Rifle). We think it’s a tremendous tool.”

The Oil and Gas Commission required baseline testing in wells drilled in the San Juan Basin near Durango because of the types of soil there and the presence of historic wells that opened up potential conduits to aquifers. In the most stringent cases, testing was required before drilling, again after a year, then at three years and finally six years after a well is drilled.

Commissioner Nancy Stahoviak asked Kerr whether the Oil and Gas Commission might commit some of the $4 million it maintains in its annual budget for an environmental response fund to Routt County so that it can establish a baseline-testing program. She received a qualified “maybe” in response.

“What we’d rather talk about is working as a partnership,” Kerr said. “We don’t see that as an unreasonable request, but we might be tight and say, ‘We want to do it under our control.’”

Kerr said that in Routt County, existing water wells and historic oil wells are a good indication of long-term groundwater quality.

“We look at water wells in a one-mile radius” of new drilling permit application sites, and

“we look at the deepest wells,” Kerr said. “We also look for (reports of) water in the logs of oil wells that have already been drilled. The 299 (oil and gas) wells that have been drilled in Routt County are a great source of information.”

Spills and fines Commissioner Doug Monger observed that the Oil and Gas Commission seems to rely heavily on self-reporting from the energy industry to reveal any problems like chemical or petroleum spills on drilling sites and asked Kerr whether he felt that practice was adequate.

Kerr made an analogy between his field staff and the enforcement of traffic regulations by relatively small numbers of patrol officers.

There are instances, he said, when Oil and Gas Commission inspectors are made aware of minor spills at drilling rigs by the operators and, if they are corrected in a timely fashion, no violation is filed nor is a fine pursued.

During public comment, members of the audience questioned that policy.

Roger Steen, of the Community Alliance of the Yampa Valley, observed that across a number of industries, regulations backed by fines have proven necessary to gain industry compliance.

Stuart Orzach said the analogy to traffic offenses made him uneasy since his observation is that a majority of drivers are breaking traffic laws most of the time.

Orzach asked Kerr to elaborate on instances of spills that were large enough to merit a fine.

Kerr responded that there have been cases when energy companies allowed the chemical benzene to contaminate springs and received fines of $300,000 to $600,000.

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INSIDE: Saturday’s Mardi Gras Masquerade Ball to raise autism awareness, funds for local services • page 11

OIL AND GAS ISSUES IN ROUTT COUNTY

2nd well pursued at Wolf Mountain Tom Ross

STEAMBOAT TODAY

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

Quicksilver Resources officials hope to take a two-phase approach to drilling their second well beginning late this month on Wolf Mountain about six miles northeast of Hayden.

Online Quicksilver Read Quicksilver already drilled Resources’ perone well on mit application Wolf Mounwith this story at SteamboatToday. tain Ranch in com.

2011. The first well has yet to go into full production.

The second well would be drilled within a mile of the first.

The new well ultimately could be drilled to a depth of 7,800 feet in the Niobrara Shale formation.

However, a first phase would be drilled to a depth of 1,200 feet using a 60-foot surface rig.

Quicksilver expects that phase to begin by March 22, pending issuance of permits. The company plans to complete the first phase by March 31 but no later than April 4. After that date, the operation would shut down for the balance of the grouse mating and chick-rearing season.

See Quicksilver, page 2

■ INDEX Briefs . . . . . . . . .10 Classifieds . . . . .21 Comics . . . . . . . .17 Crossword . . . . .17 Directory. . . . . . .19 Happenings . . . . .6

Lotto. . . . . . . . . .19 Movies . . . . . . . . .7 The Record. . . . .10 Scoreboard. . . . .19 Sports. . . . . . . . .14 ViewPoints . . . . . .8

MATT STENSLAND/STAFF

Strawberry Park Elementary School 7-year-old Will Cowman visits with 100-year-old Doak Walker Care Center resident Anna Wichern on Wednesday. Students from the school regularly visit the residents at the Doak.

A shot in the arm

At Doak Walker Care Center, boredom and loneliness are the enemies Matt Stensland STEAMBOAT TODAY

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For 100-year-old Anna Wichern, living at the Doak Walker Care Center has allowed her to continue doing one of her favorite things.

“I love children,” Wichern said Wednesday while visiting with Strawberry Park Elementary School student Will

Cowman, 7. “It’s such a joy, and they bring happiness. They rejuvenate me.”

Wichern said she never thought she would live to see

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100, but being around children helped make it possible.

“There are people that just glow when these children come up and greet them,” said Joanne Cannon, a 96-year-old resident of the Doak Walker Care Center.

Visits from children can offer plenty of variety and spontaneity, which officials said are important characteristics in long-term care environments

where boredom, loneliness and helplessness are treated like enemies. To combat them, the staff at “the Doak,” as it’s affectionately known, offers a wide range of activities to give a sense of purpose for residents.

“The residents have an opportunity to give back instead of always being on the receiving end of care,” Doak See Center, page 3 See details on Page 2

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That first phase of drilling is dependent on a one-time variance to grouse restrictions, which typically are observed beginning March 15 through July 30, according to a report by county staff planner Chris Brookshire.

Area Wildlife Officer Jim Haskins, of Colorado Parks and Wildlife, confirmed Wednesday that his office had approved of the variance and the two-phased drilling plan.

“We call it a one-time variance because we don’t want them to get the impression we will grant it every time they ask,” Haskins said. “But the first reason we approved it is that the area (of the well pad) really isn’t in critical grouse habitat. Quicksilver has been willing to live by the restrictions” even when that is the case.

Second, he said, Quicksilver has proven to be a willing partner on wildlife issues, and his agency is aware that Quicksilver needs to begin a second well on Wolf Mountain to meet the terms of its contract there.

Quicksilver acknowledged in its project description for the new well that the proposed pad site and access road are located within a conservation easement on Wolf Mountain Ranch that is held by The Nature Conservancy. The report goes on to acknowledge that Colo-

If you go What: Routt County Planning Commission meeting When: 6 p.m. today Where: Commissioners Hearing Room in the Routt County Courthouse Details: There will be a public hearing regarding an application from Quicksilver Resources for a county permit to drill its second exploratory oil well on Wolf Mountain Ranch. The application is scheduled before the Routt County Board of Commissioners on March 12, when a final decision on the permit could be made.

rado Parks and Wildlife and the Routt County Purchase of Development Rights fund contributed to funding for the easement.

“In recognizing the elevated level of public interest in this property, Quicksilver has undertaken numerous planning and mitigation measures in order to ensure that the conservation values of Wolf Mountain Ranch are not significantly impacted,” the project description reads.

The first phase of the new well would use water-based fluids, and no fracking is involved, according to Brookshire’s report. Surface casing also would be set and cemented in the first phase, Brookshire wrote. After the initial drilling, the rig would be removed from the site.

The final drilling operations are proposed to begin in August. A conventional rotary

“In recognizing the elevated level of public interest in the property, Quicksilver has undertaken numerous planning and mitigation measures in order to ensure that the conservation values of Wolf Mountain Ranch are not significantly impacted.”

Quicksilver project description for new well on Wolf Mountain

drill about 165 feet tall would complete the drilling process using oil-based fluids.

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, would be used during the well’s second phase. Quicksilver indicates it could use different types of well-stimulation methods to realize the best result at the well. With that in mind, the company included in its report a blanket description of the various base fluids it eventually might end up using at the well, including a waterbased fracture, gelled butane or propane, native oil, nitrogen/CO2 (potentially used with water or oil) and other yet-tobe-identified fracking technology methods.

Quicksilver proposes to use a closed loop drilling system to avoid the need for fluid waste pits at the new well pad.

To reach Tom Ross, call 970-871-4205 or email tross@SteamboatToday.com

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comment& commentary

Viewpoints Steamboat Today • Wednesday, March 7, 2012

8

editorial

I

The devil is in the details

t’s appropriate that Gov. John Hickenlooper’s administration is getting involved in the jurisdictional issues between local and state governments when it comes to regulating oil and gas development, but we fear Hickenlooper’s at issue recently announced Oil and gas task force is nothing task force more than a political maneuver favoring the energy industry. our view Routt County is Governor among the dozens of missing Colorado counties wadopportunity to ing through the complexity of oil and gas help counties regulations at the state like Routt wade through level while simultaneously struggling to deciregulatory and pher how much conjurisdictional trol they can exert at issues. the local level. Some local governments have enacted moratoriums on new oil and gas drilling operations; Routt County’s Board of Commissioners voted, 2-1, against a similar step last year. And some, like Gunnison County, have taken the issue of local control to the courts to decide.

It’s against this backdrop that Hicken-

looper announced last week the formation of a task force to “help clarify and better coordinate the regulatory jurisdiction between the state and local governments over oil and gas operations.” Taken at face value, it appears to be a wise and prudent move by the governor. As oil plays on the Niobrara Shale formation increase throughout Colorado, communities like ours find themselves struggling with how best to protect their environment and natural resources while also reaping the potential economic benefits of energy exploration.

We’re optimistic that both can be accomplished, and we think local governments must be given a powerful voice when it comes to the activities that take place on land within their boundaries.

But we also understand that a county-bycounty patchwork of laws governing energy exploration poses its own problems.

Hickenlooper’s task force is supposed to “identify and strive to reach agreement on mechanisms to work collaboratively and coordinate state and local jurisdiction regulatory structures for the purpose of benefiting Colorado’s economy and public health, the environment and wildlife, and to avoid duplication and conflict of state and local jurisdic-

tion regulations of oil and gas activities and to help foster a climate that encourages responsible development.” Issues the task force is supposed to address include setbacks of oil and gas operations; floodplain restrictions; noise abatement; operational methods; air quality; and traffic management, among others.

But what appears to be missing from the task force is equal representation. The task force will include one representative from both the Colorado Petroleum Association and the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, and two representatives from the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, a state agency already considered by many to strongly favor the industry it’s supposed to oversee. Colorado Conservation Voters, an environmental group, gets one spot on the task force. All other task force seats are for government organizations, officials and representatives.

It’s disappointing that Hickenlooper appears to have whiffed on a great opportunity to help counties like Routt wade through a regulatory environment that lacks clarity, and do so in a way that doesn’t jeopardize local governments’ ability to protect their resources while still encouraging responsible energy exploration.

The opinion of Steamboat Today is expressed only in the space above.

commentary

For the Steamboat Today

Are projects that make climate change worse — like the Keystone XL pipeline — in the national interest? Not if short-term expedience creates long-term disaster. The 1,711-mile long, yard-wide Keystone pipeline would transport oil from underneath Alberta’s boreal forests to refineries in Oklahoma and Texas. The oil most likely would be exported from there.

One long-term cost of the pipeline is its contribution to raising the Earth’s temperature. Burning fossil fuel carried in the pipeline produces carbon dioxide.

Dr. James Hansen, who heads NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, calculates the Keystone pipeline will carry enough tar sands oil to raise the level of carbon dioxide on Earth by 200 parts per million (ppm). Eighteen American scientific organizations support the consensus view that excess carbon dioxide, which is at its highest level in the last 800,000 years (392 ppm), is warming our planet.

An increase in the Earth’s temperature causes climate change, which has many negative effects.

For example, climate change has enlarged the range of disease-bearing insects that once thrived only in warmer

climates. In Africa, malaria kills a child every 30 seconds. Climate change will expand the habitat of the tropical mosquitoes that carry malaria, adding 80 million cases annually to that toll. In 1933, malaria infected 30 percent of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s inhabitants. Spraying of DDT, which no longer is considered safe, eradicated malaria in the U.S. by 1951. However, if climate change produces the warming and torrential rains that exacerbate stagnant water pools, malaria could return.

Another example of an increase in the spread of disease caused by climate change is dengue fever. Before being eradicated here, it infected half a million Texans in 1922. On the rise in other countries, dengue is expected to revisit the American Southwest and areas stretching to Chicago, where one of its carriers, the Asian tiger mosquito, has migrated.

Lyme disease — carried by ticks — is becoming more prevalent as our climate warms. From 2000 to 2006, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported between 17,000 and 24,000 cases each year. At the close of 2009, the CDC reported 29,959 cases.

Let’s compare. The Keystone pipeline will produce 5,060 to 9,250 full-time equivalent, temporary, non-local jobs dur-

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Unwanted consequences of Keystone pipeline Holly Wilde and Russ Doty

Do you have something to say about a story we’ve written?

ing the two-year construction phase as calculated by Cornell University’s Global Labor Institute — a realistic number lower than the inflated 20,000 claimed by Keystone supporters. Thus, the pipeline will produce $253 million to $555 million in wages. Compare that with the $534 million-plus cost of treating 6,000 added U.S. cases of Lyme disease every three years.

Within three years or less, global warming-related health costs will begin to outweigh wage benefits of the Earth-warming Keystone project.

Burning fossil fuels also detrimentally impacts agriculture and fuel costs.

For example, excess carbon dioxide created from burning more fossil fuels will increase dryness in Colorado. Scientists at the USDA and elsewhere note a 10 percent to 17 percent decline in wheat, corn, soybean and rice yields for every 1 degree Celsius rise in temperature during growing periods. As temperatures rise, our ability to raise food will diminish.

TransCanada, Keystone’s developer, indicates that some oil now refined for domestic production will be diverted to the pipeline for export to more lucrative markets overseas. As a result, according to the GLI, 15 Midwestern states will See Wilde and Doty, page 9

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INSIDE: Routt County girls, boys high school basketball players named to all-league teams • page 17

Some city Dancing on edge workers could see pay raises Steamboat to study job reclassification Tom Ross

STEAMBOAT TODAY

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

Planner Seth Lorson will leave his position with the city of Steamboat Springs on Friday after nearly four years to take a similar but higher-paying position in Fort Collins.

Lorson’s new job opportunity comes at a time when the city is beginning to take a close look at the expanded roles its employees have taken on during lean economic times.

Deputy City Manager Deb Hinsvark told her audience at the Steamboat Springs Chamber Resort Association Business Outlook Breakfast on Wednesday that as city officials look ahead to the 2013 budget process, they are paying close attention to whether some employees’ roles have expanded to the point they deserve to have their jobs reclassified with a commensurate pay increase.

“One of the things we will really focus on in the coming year is to try to bring some equilibrium back to our pay plan,” HinsSee City jobs, page 2

Correction

Drilling draws a crowd 2nd Northwest Colorado Oil & Gas Symposium explores fracking, water quality Scott Franz

The Steamboat Springs School District has voted not to seek funding for allday kindergarten from the Steamboat Springs Education Fund Board. That information was unclear in the editorial “Allocate revenues based on merit” on page 8 of Wednesday’s Steamboat Today.

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Dancer and choreographer Carrie LaPlante performs in a belly-dance piece in a rehearsal for Steamboat Dance Theatre’s 40th annual concert. Performances are at 7 p.m. today through Saturday and at 12:30 p.m. Saturday in the Steamboat Springs High School auditorium. Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for students and seniors and $20 for reserved seating and are available at All That Jazz. View a photo gallery from the concert rehearsal at SteamboatToday.com.

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Discussions about energy exploration in Northwest Colorado continue to fill large rooms in Routt County.

Speaking in front of more

than 200 people in the Hayden Secondary Schools auditorium Wednesday night, Steamboat Energy Consultants President John Lamb briefly discussed the mechanics of hydraulic fracturing and what happens after sand, water and chemicals are injected deep into

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the earth.

Environmental scientist Bill Stearns told the same audience that a phonebook is not a good place to find a qualified baseline water testing consultant.

And Michael Warren, the energy liaison for Colorado Department of Parks and

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Wildlife’s Northwest Region, outlined the ways in which energy companies are reducing their impact on Western Slope wildlife.

The three speakers were among six who spoke during See Oil and gas, page 3 For more Home Improvement Deals, see page 2

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|3

Routt, Moffat officials attend discussion www.ElkRiverRetreat.com Oil and gas continued from 1

OIL AND GAS ISSUES IN ROUTT COUNTY

ration and its potential impact on Northwest Colorado municipalities. Moderator Greg Dixson said he would like the community to ask more questions and continue thinking about the issue.

“The fear (of oil and gas) and being nervous about it is going to subside” as we get more answers, he said.

Seeking answers Wednesday’s forum was attended by government officials from Routt and Moffat counties, oil and gas operators and interested residents. As he left the high school, Sam Haslem said he was encouraged by the ongoing dialogue surrounding energy exploration in Northwest Colorado.

“We’ve been wrestling with a lot of oil and gas issues for years,” said Haslem, a longtime

Hayden resident. “People came here tonight to learn, and they are concerned. I enjoyed listening to what everyone had to say.”

Steamboat resident Dan Bell, who serves on the Community Agriculture Alliance’s board of directors, said he appreciated the diversity of the symposium’s panel.

“I think we need to get ahead of the game and get as much information as we can while we still have a chance to think about it,” he said. “Answering a few questions leads to more questions, but it’s all part of the process.”

Other members of the audience included landowners from Hayden and Craig who are eager to have drilling commence on their properties.

“We’re looking forward to the drilling,” said Craig resident Betty Cozzens, who is expecting Quicksilver Resources to drill on land she owns near Hayden. “We’re kind of new to this process. We wanted to hear a little more about what we can expect.”

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John Lamb, Steamboat Energy Consultants president, speaks Wednesday night at the second Northwest Colorado Oil & Gas Symposium in Hayden.

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the second Northwest Colorado Oil & Gas Symposium, hosted by Yampa Valley Data Partners and the Community Agriculture Alliance. Despite their knowledge and familiarity with oil and gas issues, none of the speakers was able to answer the question many in the audience had: Is there going to be a major play for oil in Routt County?

“I get asked that all the time,” Routt County Planning Department Director Chad Phillips said as he addressed the crowd.

“I don’t know. I do know that we need to prepare for it just in case we do have one.”

Phillips said the Planning Department has been busy since November considering drilling applications and updating the county’s conditions of approval for oil permits.

He talked about how local governments and the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, which regulates the energy industry, interact as they oversee drilling operations.

He said one of the Planning Department’s ultimate responsibilities is to maintain Routt County’s rural and Western character.

During a Q-and-A session at the end of the symposium, Phillips was asked what a baseline water testing program in Routt County would look like and who would pay for it.

“I’m just guessing that if a program like that was put in place, we don’t have the budget for it, so presently (the cost) would be put on the applicants,” he responded. “The (baseline water testing program) is something we will look into, but we haven’t gotten there yet.”

Organizers of the symposium said Wednesday’s speeches were intended to continue educating the public about energy explo-

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INSIDE: Steamboat Elementary School Challenge Fund nearing 30 percent of its $100K fundraising goal • page 11

OIL AND GAS ISSUES IN ROUTT COUNTY

County approves new well Oil, gas hearing goes beyond midnight Tom Ross

STEAMBOAT TODAY

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

The Routt County Board of Commissioners voted, 2-1, early Wednesday morning to grant a permit for Quicksilver Resources to drill a new well overlooking the Yampa River on Wolf Mountain west of Steamboat Springs.

Commissioner Diane Mitsch Bush dissented, saying the proposal did not conform with elements of the county master plan and zoning regulations.

“I cannot say with surety that this will not adversely affect public health,” Mitsch Bush said.

The company intends to begin drilling the first phase of the new well no later than April 4, then vacate the well pad and complete the bore hole to a depth of more than 7,000 feet in August.

As midnight approached Tuesday, the commissioners and representatives of Quicksilver Resources continued the laborious task of settling on the details of conditions of approvals for a second oil well on Wolf Mountain northeast of Hayden.

Entering the seventh hour of the public hearing, about 25 members of the audience remained in See Oil and gas, page 2

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JOHN F. RUSSELL/STAFF

Steamboat Springs Fire Rescue firefighters Brian Shively, left, and Scott Hetrick inspect a fire truck at the Steamboat Springs Central Fire Station on Tuesday afternoon. At Tuesday’s Steamboat Springs City Council meeting, city officials discussed the possibility of selling the current police headquarters and fire station at 840 Yampa St. and constructing a new public safety campus in west Steamboat.

Yampa plan progresses

Steamboat City Council discusses plan to move downtown police, fire station Scott Franz

STEAMBOAT TODAY

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

Steamboat Springs voters could have a big say about the future of Yampa Street in November.

City officials hope to ask voters to fund the construction of a new public safety campus in west Steamboat, which would allow the city to sell its current

police headquarters and fire station at 840 Yampa St. and convert the building into retail and office space.

Deputy City Manager Deb

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Hinsvark told the Steamboat Springs City Council on Tuesday night that if a November ballot measure to fund such a project is successful, the city would move those facilities and Routt County Search and Rescue personnel, who work in an ambulance barn across the street, into a new public safety campus.

Officials already have identified five potential sites for such a facility near U.S. Highway 40

and Routt County Road 129.

Hinsvark said the move to the west could free up a “dead zone” on Yampa and jumpstart a revitalization project on the riverside street.

“The fire and police station on Yampa inhibits development,” she said. She added that the move could eliminate what acting Public Safety Director Joel See Council, page 3 See details on Page 4

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their seats in the courthouse for the discussion. The commissioners and their attorneys hashed out the wording of each of the 60 conditions with Quicksilver Senior Director of Community Affairs and Governmental Relations Steve Lindsey.

The negotiations took on a serious tone when Lindsey and the commissioners appeared to have reached an impasse about a condition of approval having to do with the commissioners’ strong desire to have well water testing conducted annually for the life of the special-use permit enabling the oil well.

Lindsey objected, saying the requirement of annually testing for the life of the permit went well beyond the voluntary program designed by the Colorado Oil and Gas Association his company had agreed to.

“You have to draw the line somewhere,” Lindsey said.

“We’re saying for this instance, the voluntary baseline program is what we’re agreeing to. We think rewriting or tinkering with it could result in unintended consequences that have already been thought through from Colorado Oil and Gas Commission

to the governor’s office to the attorney general’s office.”

Lindsey suggested a compromise, offering to conduct a baseline test on an existing water well down gradient from the oil drilling pad, then test it again after fracking operations were completed at the well, and a third time after five years had passed.

However, commissioners Mitsch Bush and Nancy Stahoviak would not relent.

Mitsch Bush observed that assuring that groundwater is protected from possible contamination from drilling and fracking was the highest priority of members of the public who have commented on the drilling permit application.

“I will argue for the foreseeable future that once or twice or three times isn’t enough” testing, Mitsch Bush said. “Keep monitoring to make sure the wells are OK. It will be done at least annually and will be continued through the life of the” special-use permit.

“This is where I’m going to draw a line in the sand,” Stahoviak said. “Unless sometime in the future there’s evidence presented to us that it’s really not needed.”

Lindsey then agreed to the

“I will argue for the foreseeable future that once or twice or three times isn’t enough (testing). Keep monitoring to make sure the wells are OK. It will be done at least annually and will be conducted through the life of the” special-use permit.

Diane Mitsch Bush Routt County commissioner

condition but said he retained the right to challenge it at a future date.

“We’ll accept that as a condition of approval, reserving our rights to file a rebuttal regarding that requirement,” he said.

“Based on a reservation of rights we’ll confer with counsel and the COGCC.” Once that impasse had been resolved, Lindsey and the commissioners proceeded deliberately with the work of agreeing on the remaining details of the conditions of approval.

They talked about limiting the times of operation of trucks visiting the oil well, wildlife issues and methods of testing for volatile organic compounds escaping from drilling equipment.

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INSIDE: Patrons to revive the spirit of Steamboat Springs bar Inferno with 2nd reunion this weekend • page 12

OIL AND GAS ISSUES IN ROUTT COUNTY

Facts and analysis the goal of oil and gas forum Matt Stensland STEAMBOAT TODAY

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

The ongoing effort to educate residents about potential impacts from oil and gas exploration continued Wednesday night in Steamboat Springs.

The forum occurred late the same day the Routt County Board of Commissioners voted, 2-1, to grant a permit for Quicksilver Resources to drill a new well on Wolf Mountain.

“Having these things is good,” said Steve Williams, a local retired petroleum geologist who was one of about 100 people who attended the oil and gas forum hosted by the Community Alliance of the Yampa Valley at Steamboat Springs High School. “It needs the dialogue. I think everyone has learned a lot in the past six months.”

The speakers included Judy Jordan, the former oil and gas liaison for Garfield County, and Barbara Green, a Colorado attorney who specializes in working with governments See Forum, page 2

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JOHN F. RUSSELL/STAFF

This home on Conestoga Circle suffered major damage in a fire early Wednesday morning. Corey Peterson, the resident that lived there, escaped but his dog died in the blaze. Steamboat Springs Fire Rescue Lt. Michael Arce said that when firefighters arrived, the entire front part of the home was fully engulfed in flames.

Home destroyed in fire

Resident able to escape blaze at Conestoga Circle house Matt Stensland STEAMBOAT TODAY

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

A fire alarm might have saved the life of a Steamboat Springs man whose house was destroyed early Wednesday just west of downtown Steamboat.

The fire occurred at 1568 Conestoga Circle near the Steamboat Springs Cemetery.

Bonnie Peterson was at the home Wednesday afternoon

taking pictures of the damage.

She said her son Corey Peterson, the assistant snowmaking manager at Steamboat Ski Area, woke up to the smoke alarm going off sometime after 2 a.m. He rented the

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home with his brother, Jayce, who was out of town when the fire occurred.

“The whole kitchen was engulfed in flames when the alarm went off,” Bonnie Peterson said.

She said that her son tried to find his dog but that it had run off to hide. The dog later was found dead in a bathroom, Peterson said.

She said her son got out of the house safely and was treated at the scene for smoke inha-

lation. He otherwise was fine and was driving Wednesday evening to stay with his father near Greeley.

“I’m pretty upset,” Corey Peterson said. “I lost everything I had, and I lost my dog, but I guess I’m happy to be here. I never thought this would happen.”

Steamboat Springs Fire Rescue Lt. Michael Arce said that when firefighters arrived, the See Fire, page 2 See details on Page 2

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that are navigating their ways through oil and gas issues. Jim Kerr, a North Routt County resident with 34 years of experience in the business, also provided an overview of drilling practices such as fracking.

“We wanted to avoid emotion and deliver an analytical, factually based presentation,” said Steve Aigner, a board member of the Community Alliance, a group that aims to preserve community character and the natural environment.

Jordan gave an overview of the social and economic impacts from the oil and gas boom in Garfield County.

At the peak in 2008, Jordan said, 3,000 wells were being drilled in the county. She said the oil and gas industry took a toll on county roads, raised income levels, increased the cost of housing and shifted career choices. Jordan said this shift left a lot of empty patrol cars at the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office, where potential deputies were taking the higher-paying jobs in energy exploration.

“It’s really hard to run a society when you can’t fill these kinds of jobs,” Jordan said.

Oil and gas also brought a lot of money to the county, which was the result of property taxes collected on infrastructure that the energy companies built.

About half of the county’s revenues — about $50 million per year — came from oil and gas.

“We’re still sitting on about a $120 million surplus right now,” Jordan said.

Green, a former Steamboat Springs assistant city manager from the early 1980s, is a partner in the Front Range law firm of Sullivan Green Seavy and is a member of the governor’s task force on oil and gas development. She addressed the controls that local governments can place on oil and gas exploration.

“The authority is the authority you have over any other industry,” she said.

Green said the law states that local governments can regulate impacts up to the point where they would “materially impede or destroy a state’s interest.” The state’s interest, for example, could include the

state’s desire to extract the oil and gas.

Kerr — the local geologist whose career has included engineering, petroleum geology and environmental geology — gave a simplified overview about how oil and gas wells are drilled and the techniques used in fracking.

“Hydraulic fracturing has not been proven to pollute groundwater,” Kerr said several times.

The process that has been practiced for more than 60 years occurs well below the aquifers, he said, and cases of groundwater contamination are the result of the mishandling of fluids on the surface or the result of bad cement work or damaged casings that are used to line the well.

Kerr also told the crowd that hydraulic fracturing can cause earthquakes but that they are micro or minor and rate at a 2 or lower on the magnitude scale.

“They don’t cause damage,” he said.

To reach Matt Stensland, call 970-871-4247 or email mstensland@SteamboatToday.com

Friends, community providing assistance Fire continued from 1 entire front part of the home was fully engulfed in flames. After confirming that all people were out of the house, Arce said, their focus was on putting out the fire.

He said firefighters were at the scene until about 6 a.m.

“It pretty much destroyed most of the house,” Arce said.

He said it appeared the most intense damage appeared to be concentrated at the front of the home on the right side when viewing it from the street. The cause is under investigation.

Bonnie Peterson said Corey

Peterson has an 11-month-old son named Conner, who stays with him at the Conestoga home on weekends.

“Thank God Conner wasn’t in the house last night,” Bonnie Peterson said. “He lost everything. All off the baby stuff, all of their clothes, everything.”

She said there already has been an outpouring of help from friends, businesses and the community. She said LIFT-UP of Routt County provided emergency assistance, and friends had gathered hundreds of dollars in donated clothes and gift certificates

from local businesses.

“I started my day thinking we are in so much trouble, and I can not believe in one day how much help we’ve gotten,” Peterson said.

She said people who want to help her sons can email her at bopeterson0505@hotmail.com.

According to Routt County Assessor records, the home is owned by Ralph Alicia. A message left for a person with that name in Steamboat was not immediately returned.

To reach Matt Stensland, call 970-871-4247 or email mstensland@SteamboatToday.com

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comment& commentary

Viewpoints Steamboat Today • Wednesday, April 4, 2012

8

Editorial

Monitoring is step in right direction

I

ncreasing the number of water quality monitoring sites along the Yampa River is a prudent step for local governments to take, particularly in the wake of increased energy development interests in at issue Routt County.

Five local agenWater quality cies have signed off monitoring on their financial support to increase the our view number of monitorIncreased ing sites along the Yampa River to six. number of There currently only is sites along one site — the Yampa Yampa River River at Fifth Street is appropriate in downtown Steamfor long-term boat Springs — where health of water quality has been precious regularly monitored.

That changes this natural month, when samples resource. will be taken from a half dozen points along the river and analyzed for chemical content, nutri-

ents, E. coli and alkalinity, among other properties. The new monitoring sites include upstream of Stagecoach Reservoir; at the Chuck Lewis State Wildlife Area; at Milner; at the confluence of the Elk and Yampa rivers; and downstream from Hayden.

We agree with Routt County Department of Environmental Health Director Mike Zopf that the existing water quality monitoring effort wasn’t sufficient.

“The basic premise is that you cannot manage what you don’t measure,” Zopf said this week. “We felt it was wholly inadequate to have one station to monitor roughly 1,700 square miles of the Upper Yampa River Basin.”

Efforts to increase monitoring sites along the Yampa have been discussed for at least the past decade. It’s now possible thanks to an $18,250 project match from the U.S. Geological Survey and approximately $32,000 from local governments including the city of Steamboat Springs, Routt County,

the Upper Yampa Water Conservancy District, the Mount Werner Water and Sanitation District and the Morrison Creek Water and Sanitation District.

The timing of the monitoring expansion mostly is coincidental as it relates to increasing energy exploration activities in Routt County. But given the oil and gas plays taking place here, the timing is right. Improved and expanded water data collection will provide protection for industry and our communities. The monitoring will establish baselines to better determine how, and potentially why, our water quality might change throughout time. And that fact will remain true with or without oil and gas exploration.

There is no natural resource more important to our communities than clean water. A better monitoring program for ensuring the safety of that water is a no-brainer. Kudos to the local government agencies that have provided funding to make the expanded monitoring program a reality.

The opinion of Steamboat Today is expressed only in the space above.

Commentary

Obamacare will be Romney’s savior Jonah Goldberg

Tribune Media Services

It looks as if it’s going to be Mitt Romney after all. With Paul Ryan, Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush endorsing the former Massachusetts governor last week, there aren’t any white knights left to play the role of GOP savior.

But that news hasn’t reached his competitors yet.

Psychoanalyzing the remaining contenders for why they are staying in the Goldberg race is probably a fool’s errand. Ron Paul never has worked under the assumption he might be the nominee, never mind the next president. Newt Gingrich often seems like he wants to shake his fist heavenward shouting, “Curse you, historical dialectic! You promised it would be me!”

And while Rick Santorum clearly thinks he still has a chance, his dyspeptic personality often makes it seem that, like a character out of “Seinfeld,” he’s staying in the race out of spite.

But Santorum says otherwise, and one of his core arguments is that the author of “Romneycare” — the Massachusetts health care reform that was a precursor of sorts to “Obamacare,” at least according to Barack Obama and

his supporters — is unfit to take on the president in the general election.

“Frankly, I think he will be destroyed

by President Obama on this issue come the fall,” Santorum told CNN’s John King recently. “And it should be the biggest issue that helps us win this election.

It will be turned into a negative under Mitt Romney.” Indeed, throughout the debate season, Santorum and others constantly insisted that Romney can’t attack Obamacare.

The funny thing is: Even as they were saying he can’t attack Obamacare, Romney was — you guessed it — attacking Obamacare. Romney has been attacking Obamacare since its inception. “I’ll stop it in its tracks on day one!” he promises constantly on the stump.

Throughout this primary season, the urge to sound like pundits has been strong with some of the candidates, particularly Santorum and Gingrich — probably because they were pundits before they got into the race.

As a result, they’ve imported a style of argumentation better suited for high school debate class. Yes, Romney might be inconsistent to attack Obamacare, at least on the mandate, but there’s no basis in reality to say he “can’t” attack it nonetheless.

Obama opposed the mandate vociferously when running against Hillary

Rodham Clinton, but that didn’t stop him from fighting to make it the law of the land.

Moreover, the broader bipartisan assumption that Romney will be hurt

by Romneycare in the general election is deeply flawed.

First of all, Obamacare is unpopular (a fact a lot of political coverage conveniently overlooks). That’s why Democrats don’t talk about it on the stump, and neither did Obama for a very long time — until the Supreme Court forced him to re-acquire political ownership.

If the court upholds the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Obama is not going to want to remind voters of his responsibility for an unpopular piece of legislation. If the court throws it out, Obama is not going to want to remind voters that his signature accomplishment — which distracted him from a bad economy and cost the Democrats the House — was so flawed that the court had to reject it. Either way, Obama will not be racing to talk about health care. But Romney will.

It’s often said that Obama will respond to Romney’s attacks by saying the mandate was based on Romneycare. Romney will respond, “Well, you did it wrong” and promise to repeal and replace the law. All the votSee Goldberg, page 9

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Vol. 24, No. 98

RO U T T

C O U N T Y ’ S

DA I LY

N E W S PA P E R

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INSIDE: Water testing at issue in potential approval of drilling permit at Camilletti oil well site • page 5

Officials Into the sunset looking for clarity on energy regulation Scott Franz

Steamboat today

StEaMBoat SPrInGS

Routt County commissioners said an oil and gas task force created by Gov. John Hickenlooper in February did little to clarify local government’s role in regulating energy exploration alongside the state. But all three commissioners hold out hope that the task force was the beginning of a more substantial process.

“I don’t believe we’ve seen the end of this conversation,” Commissioner Doug Monger said Sunday. “I don’t believe (the task force) solved any of my heartburn about whether we’re pre-empted” by the state in regulating certain aspects of oil and gas exploration.

Recognizing that the relationship between the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, which regulates the industry, and local governments is being strained in some parts of the state as exploration edges closer to municipalities, Hickenlooper created a 12-member task force that included energy industry representatives, environmentalists and municipal leaders to address the issue. He specifically asked the group to help clarify regulatory authority over items such as noise abatement, air quality and setbacks.

Disputes between oil and gas operators and municipalities over how those things should be regulated have led to costly See regulation, page 3

■ Index briefs . . . . . . . . .10 Classifieds . . . . .17 Comics . . . . . . . .13 Crossword . . . . .13 directory. . . . . . .15 Happenings . . . . .7

Lotto. . . . . . . . . .15 movies . . . . . . . . .7 the Record. . . . .10 Scoreboard. . . . .15 Sports. . . . . . . . .11 ViewPoints . . . . . .8

Scott franz/Staff

Bruce Brown harrows a field at sunset Sunday on a ranch south of Steamboat Springs.

Yampa runoff falling short Tom Ross

One doesn’t need to be a hydrologist to recognize that the Yampa River where it flows through Steamboat Springs will not match the spring runoff of 2011.

All you have to do is consult your car’s thermometer and gaze up at the rapidly receding snowline on Mount Werner to infer that the river is unlikely to go over its banks like it did last year when the Yampa peaked at

4,970 cubic feet per second on June 8.

In late May and early June last summer, the Yampa inundated parking lots and ran out of its banks on the city’s south side. Tributaries like Soda Creek poured into a city park, and the Elk River overwhelmed culverts to gnaw away at county roads.

What a hydrologist can provide is some mathematical probabilities on how close the Yampa could come to the average peak flow in 2012 before the snowpack is spent.

“It’s safe to say you’ll be

■ weather

■ rIver report

Steamboat today

StEaMBoat SPrInGS

Storm possible.

High of 74.

Page 14

Yampa River flow Monday Noon 584 cfs 11 p.m.

735 cfs average for this date 867 cfs Highest for this date 2,470 cfs, 1936 Lowest for this date 179 cfs, 1944 Streamflow reported in cubic feet per second at the Fifth Street bridge as provided by the U.S. Geological Survey.

below the average peaks on the Elk and the Yampa,” said Ashley Nielson, a hydrologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Colorado Basin River Forecast Center in Salt Lake City.

Nielson confirmed that a long-term forecast updated by her office late last week gives the Yampa a 90 percent chance of surpassing 1,200 cubic feet per second before it begins to drop for the season. Twelve hundred cfs is less than half of the Yampa’s historic average peak of 3,070 cfs where it flows beneath

the Fifth Street Bridge in downtown Steamboat.

The forecast gives the Yampa just a 75 percent chance of peaking above 1,400 cfs, and an even 50-50 chance of topping out at 1,800 cfs. The chance of the Yampa peaking above 2,200 cfs is just 25 percent, and the probability slips to 10 percent that it will flow past the threshold of 2,600 cfs.

Nielson stressed that the current long-term peak flow forecast has a great deal of uncerSee Yampa, page 2 See details on Page 4

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Task force made list of recommendations

High risk, low reward Mike King, chairman of the task force and the executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, said Monday that instead of “picking winners and losers” and drawing lines between the regulatory authority of the state and local governments, the task force came up with a list of recommendations he thinks will address a wide range of issues.

“Whether it be emissions or setbacks or whatever the issues of concern are, we can plug it into this process we’ve created and give local elected officials far more input,” he said about utilizing a local governmental designee or using existing statutes to delegate inspections of oil wells. “I think that’s the beauty of the product we came up with.”

He said drawing jurisdiction lines between the state and local governments was a “high risk and low reward game” for the task force.

“There was some expectation that we would come together and say, ‘The county does this and the state does this,’ but it was apparent that was not likely the kind of dialogue that has the best chance to fix this,” King said.

Low expectations Monger said he listened to all of the audio streams of the task force meetings that started

Getting technical While oil and gas operators who work in Routt County last month hailed the creation of the task force as a positive step, local activists were skeptical of what it could accomplish.

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Monday, Rodger Steen, cochairman of the Community Alliance of the Yampa Valley’s oil and gas committee, wasn’t impressed.

He said he was disappointed the task force made no technical recommendations that would help mitigate energy exploration’s affect on air and water quality.

“The task force is useful in improving education, but it is not useful in limiting and decreasing impacts to air and water,” he said. “I consider what they’ve done is insulting to our intelligence. They’re telling us nothing more than we already knew.”

Moving forward Despite not getting much clarity from the task force on the county’s regulatory authority, Stahoviak said Routt County is in the early stages of establishing a baseline for its air quality.

She said commissioners have applied to the COGCC for funding to install air quality monitors in west Routt County and in Steamboat Springs that would help create such a baseline.

Routt County Environmental Health Director Mike Zopf said Monday that while five air monitors on the roof of Steamboat Springs’ downtown courthouse have monitored air for particulate matter since the early 1970s, the county does not have air sensors to monitor ozone and oil and gas emissions. He estimated the ozone sensors would cost $70,000 per site.

“Getting some monitoring at the western end of the county is critical, especially since we have more (energy) development there and in Moffat County,” Stahoviak said. “It would be nice to have a baseline right now so we can see how it’s going to impact us.”

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court cases in recent years as local governments have sought to better protect their constituents from the potential negative impacts of energy exploration.

But in its final report to the governor earlier this month, the task force didn’t specifically address those items or recommend the adoption of any new laws or rules that could prevent the disputes from ending up in court.

Instead, the group made eight recommendations that centered on increasing communication between the COGCC and local governments with the use of a local governmental designee, which Routt County already uses.

March 9, and he appreciated the start of a statewide dialogue on the issue of regulatory authority. But his expectations for the task force were low from the outset.

“I really didn’t expect a lot out of (the task force) when it started. I thought it was set up to appease disenchanted community members, and I think it probably did that a little bit, but this (issue of clarity) is not going to go away.”

During testimony at one of the task force’s meetings, Monger said Routt County was looking to improve how it is notified about potential violations at its well sites. He said commissioners are sometimes notified of well violations by their constituents before they have a chance to learn about them from the COGCC. “We were successful in having that aspect move on,” he said.

Commissioner Diane Mitsch Bush said the task force “got people to sit down and talk to each other about how better to cooperate,” but the group’s recommendations likely won’t have any immediate impact on Routt County.

“It’s always nice to have a process like that, but I hope it’s the beginning and not the end,” she said. “But again, with this issue of pre-emption, that can only be decided by a court of law, and we’ll see who prevails there.”

Commissioner Nancy Stahoviak said she was disappointed the task force had a limited scope and a short timeline.

“I think the task force members were very sincere in what they were doing, and I think they had some good discussion,” she said. “It’s a good start. It’s just unfortunate the timeline was so short and they could not get into some of these issues that are so critical to our state, including air and water quality and setbacks.”

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LOCAL

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Where did mud season go?

STEAMBOAT TODAY

they put their skis on and skinned up to Storm Peak to make some turns. Ironically, it turned out that the best snow conditions they found were on the lower mountain on the Concentration trail.

Two more friends made the hike to the Mad Creek Barn and, amazingly, the trail was mud-free. They even pulled a couple of brook trout from the creek, which still should have snow — maybe even ice — on its banks.

What’s wrong with this picture?

It was on May 1, 2011, that a small regiment of local hardcores skinned up from the parking lot near the Thunderhead Express to ski about 9 inches of fresh powder. The standing snow on Buffalo Pass

was 200 inches deep on May 4 and the bronze bust of Buddy Werner on Storm Peak barely peeked out of the snowpack.

But that was then, and this is now. And this ain’t mud season.

After some spring-cleaning chores Saturday (we bathed 27 window screens in an ammonia bath, brushed them gingerly and rinsed them off), we eagerly changed into our bike shorts.

On the way to a loop through the Fish Creek Trail, we swung by the base of the ski area to see if the snow had melted off Burgess Creek.

There’s a little snow hanging on at the base of the Christie Peak Express, but the very bottom of the ski area is appropriately muddy.

Then again, the remnants of the snowpack are attributable to manmade snow and even a little bit that was trucked in from Howelsen Hill for the Cardboard Classic and Splashdown Pond Skim the previous weekend.

Does that mean the mud on the lowest slopes this mud season is manmade mud?

Testing at issue with Camilletti well STEAMBOAT TODAY

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

The potential for water and air degradation, as well as the cumulative impacts of energy exploration, is expected to dominate the conversation tonight as Quicksilver Resources seeks a special use permit to drill the Camilletti oil well on a ranch north of Milner, about 10 miles west of Steamboat Springs.

“Those are the issues that will be discussed most,” county commission Chairman Doug Monger confirmed Monday.

The subject of testing water

wells was on the minds of members of the Routt County Planning Commission on April 5 when they voted 6-1 to recommend approval of the well. Commissioner Andrew Benjamin was the lone dissenter, according to the meeting minutes, saying he could not support the permit application because its conditions of approval did not do enough to require water quality testing.

The proposal for the Camilletti well describes how it would be accessed directly off U.S. Highway 40 by a private road that would cross two small tributary creeks of the Yampa River.

The well pad would be about

If you go What: Quicksilver Resources permit request to drill the Camilletti oil well off U.S. Highway 40 north of Milner When: 5:30 p.m. today Where: Commissioners Hearing Room in the Routt County Courthouse, 522 Lincoln Ave.

3 acres in size, and the vertically drilled well would reach to a depth of about 5,060 feet. Fracking operations are proposed, and a closed loop drilling system would contain well fluids.

Quicksilver expects that six to 12 employees will be on site See Permit, page 6

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n April 4, 2011, I pronounced that “Sprinter is here!” It was a recognition that spring was busting out all over the valley a year ago, but winter still was hanging on tight in the mountains above.

What a difference a year and 20 days make.

On April 24, 2012, I’m stepping up to pronounce that Sprummer is here! The lower mountainsides around town resemble the middle of May, but doesn’t it feel like summer outdoors?

Officially, Steamboat is in the midst of mud season. But fans of mud have to make a significant effort to find a patch of the gooey stuff in this strange April. The skiing has all but fallen apart and mountain bike trails already are drying up. It’s not right.

A neighbor pulled into his driveway Saturday with ski equipment in evidence and told me he and some buddies had hiked on foot to the saddle of Vagabond — you guessed it, the road wasn’t muddy. Next,

|5

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STEAMBOAT TODAY

LOCAL

6 | Tuesday, April 24, 2012

The story of the Crow and the Cup

inging his way across our springtime sky is a delightful little constellation named Corvus the Crow.

The four main stars of Corvus form an unmistakable kiteshaped pattern onethird of the way up in our southern sky at about 10 Jimmy Westlake p.m. in late CELESTIAL NEWS April. The distinctive pattern makes Corvus easy to spot.

Corvus’ four brightest stars, starting at the top and proceeding clockwise, are Algorab, Gienah, Minkar and Kraz. Minkar marks the crow’s head; Algorab, his tail; and Gienah and Kraz represent the tips of his wings.

In most constellations, the designation Alpha is bestowed

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Telescopic observing will follow the indoor event, weather permitting. For more information, call Westlake at 970-870-4537.

upon the brightest star, but Corvus is a notable exception.

In 1603, Johannes Bayer gave the Alpha distinction to Alchiba, a faint little star just below Minkar that marks the Crow’s beak. Is this evidence that the star was once much brighter in our sky and has faded throughout the centuries? Maybe, but no one knows.

Corvus is pictured in the sky as trying to steal a sip of water from Crater the Cup — his neighboring constellation to the west. Crater’s stars are fainter than those of Corvus, but the goblet-shaped pattern is unmistakable. Both of these constellations are precariously balanced on the back of Hydra the Water Snake.

There’s a single Greek legend that links all three of these constellations together. In it, Corvus is the beloved pet bird of the sun god Apollo, whose day

job was driving the fiery chariot of the sun across the sky. One hot summer day, Apollo grew very thirsty and sent his beautiful white-feathered bird Corvus to fetch a drink of water from a nearby well. The bird flew off with the best of intentions, carrying Apollo’s cup, but along the way to the well, Corvus was distracted by a fig tree and stopped to eat his fill of the sweet fruit. Realizing that he

had tarried too long and that his master would be angry, Corvus concocted an alibi. He scooped up a scrawny little water snake in his beak, and flew back to Apollo with the empty cup, explaining that the water snake had prevented him from reaching the well. Apollo was furious at this feeble lie and cursed the bird so severely that his white feathers turned jet black.

He then tossed all three — the

Crow the Cup and the Water Snake — into the sky and transformed them into stars. There, Corvus the Crow suffers eternal thirst as Hydra the Water Snake prevents him from drinking any water from the Crater the Cup. Jimmy Westlake teaches astronomy and physics at Colorado Mountain College’s Alpine Campus. Check out his website at www.jwestlake.com.

Camilletti would be ‘up gradient’ from domestic wells Water testing

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Look for Corvus the Crow and Crater the Cup in the southern sky at about 10 p.m. in late April, not far from the bright star Spica and Saturn.

Benjamin told his colleagues that he favored testing water wells below the watershed from the oil well more often than annually. He suggested quarterly testing. Others suggested quarterly testing for a brief period of years, followed by annual testing.

Planning Commission Chairman Jay Gallagher said quarterly testing would be onerous. He said the most important time for testing would be during the well’s first year of production, and he called for a monitoring water well within 300 feet of the well so that any plume of contaminants could be detected early and before it reached

throughout the construction, drilling and completion phases.

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domestic wells in nearby unincorporated Milner.

Quicksilver Resources’ Stephen Lindsey, senior director of government and community affairs, recommended that a meeting be convened to include representatives of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, the Department of Natural Resources, the state’s Water Quality Division, a hydrologist and county officials to develop a scheme for water testing that could be applied countywide.

In a letter to the county commissioners dated April 10, Gallagher said his group felt strongly about water testing at Camilletti because, unlike the recently

`

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approved Pirtlaw well on Wolf Mountain, the former is “up gradient” from the domestic wells in Milner.

Gallagher noted that Quicksilver may someday drill as many as three wells at quartermile spacing on the Camilletti property and suggested that a “fence” of three or four monitoring wells below the oil wells could be an effective safeguard.

“I believe that this comprehensive approach is a preferable alternative to managing development one well at a time,” Gallagher wrote.

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Thursday, April 26, 2012

|3

Camilletti well gets tabled Tom Ross

STEAMBOAT TODAY

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

The Routt County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday night to table a new oil well permit for Quicksilver Resources until June 26.

In the meantime, the county will create two task forces to study the air quality and water quality measures the commissioners think are necessary to protect public health, safety and welfare.

Quicksilver is applying for a special-use permit to drill the Camilletti oil well on private land just north of Milner, about 11 miles west of Steamboat Springs. The Routt County Planning Commission recommended approval of the permit April 5.

However, the sticking point between the county commissioners and Quicksilver Resources official Stephen Lindsey comes down to differing stances on the county’s ability to require the energy company to provide water quality monitoring wells as well as to take steps to mitigate air emissions, including volatile organic compounds.

“I believe these are the two big issues” standing in the way of approval of the Camilletti permit, Commissioner Nancy Stahoviak said during Tuesday night’s hearing. “I don’t see anything else.”

At the end of the night, Lindsey was in agreement with a plan to table the permit application in order to convene scientific experts on air and water quality monitoring, as well as officials of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, the Colorado Department of Health and Environment’s Water Quality Control Division and independent experts. The intent is to draft language for two corresponding conditions of approval that would be available for the Planning Commission and county commissioners to use in approving oil and gas drilling permits.

Lindsey consistently has said his primary goal is to come up with a “good product” — one that will achieve the county’s goals but also be fair to his company as it pursues more drilling permits in the future.

He added Tuesday night that from his company’s point of view, the county approval process since December has been one that tends to add new conditions of approval as it moves along.

“The science lies in the regulatory process,” Lindsey said.

“We’re not opposed to a moni-

OIL AND GAS ISSUES IN ROUTT COUNTY

toring well when it makes sense.

What I see is the continuous creating of conditions of approval that becomes an ordinance. I’ve got a concern that this whole template (of conditions of approval) becomes additive and additive and additive. In some cases, the returns are diminishing and could actually be counterproductive.”

The county commissioners have a different take.

Commissioner Diane Mitsch Bush told Lindsey that the rules the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission uses to regulate the industry are the result of a political process that didn’t always put science first.

“The regulations we have in place through COGCC are not (entirely) based on science. Let’s be clear about this,” Mitsch Bush said. “And in my opinion, they are not strong enough to protect the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of Routt County. That’s really the crux of it.”

Stahoviak told Lindsey that Routt County might not find it necessary to require energy companies to drill test water wells with every oil well. But in the case of the Camilletti project, which is up the water gradient from domestic water wells in Milner, it is appropriate.

“We would apply this condition on a case-by-case basis,” Stahoviak said. “What concerns me about this one is the huge number of wells that are down gradient from this (oil) well.”

Commissioner Doug Monger asked Lindsey if his company couldn’t make test wells a best management practice.

Lindsey pointed out that Quicksilver already was committed to baseline testing of domestic water wells, and he said that on Colorado’s Front Range, more stringent regulations are in force because energy companies are operating in an area of non-attainment of regulatory standards.

Mitsch Bush said Routt County does not want to wait until it becomes an area of nonattainment to take measures to protect water and air quality.

“Our air and water quality are not just environmental or quality-of-life issues. They are the basis of our economy,” Mitsch Bush said. “It’s what

attracts people here. Why not have high standards before you have a pollution problem?”

“I absolutely understand it,” Lindsey replied. “But there are also 60 other counties working under the same regulatory standard. As I’ve said before, historically, Routt County has been the highest oil-producing county in this region. It doesn’t seem to have inhibited the growth of Routt County.”

Stahoviak said that although she has some concerns about the burden the county would bear if it takes on air quality monitoring and enforcement, she is in agreement with Mitsch Bush.

We should “put in place now what we need to monitor our air quality,” Stahoviak said, “and not wait until we’re in non-attainment. That’s not where we want to go.”

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Bill could hurt Routt

Wading for summer

House Bill 1356 withholds revenues from counties that thwart oil drilling Tom Ross

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A bill before the Colorado Legislature that appears to threaten hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual revenue to Routt County from energy severance taxes is on hold after a hearing before the House Agriculture, Livestock and Natural Resources Committee on Monday.

As it stands, House Bill 1356 would have imposed a financial penalty on any local governments in Colorado that “in any way restricted or delayed the

ability of an oil and gas producer to” exercise rights to extract oil and gas.

The penalty would come from the withholding of mining and energy-related severance taxes returned to local governments by the state.

County Finance Director Dan Strnad confirmed Tuesday that Routt County received $528,106 in severance tax revenues through the Colorado Department of Local Affairs in 2011.

The money goes in the county’s Road and Bridge Department See Bill, page 2

Bears in area are active, behaving Matt Stensland STEAMBOAT TODAY

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JOHN F. RUSSELL/STAFF

Peter Hall cruises across the lake in West Lincoln Park on his inflatable paddle board Tuesday afternoon.

■ WEATHER

■ INDEX Briefs . . . . . . . . .10 Classifieds . . . . .25 Comics . . . . . . . .21 Crossword . . . . .21 Directory. . . . . . .23 Happenings . . . . .6

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Sunny with rain.

High of 63.

Page 22

A mild winter has given way to a healthy local wildlife population, and Routt County’s black bear population appears to be behaving itself, a local wildlife official said.

“The winter was kind to the animals, but a drought summer would be very unkind for the animals,” said Jim Haskins, area wildlife manager for the Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife.

Thanks to an ample food supply last summer, bears were able

For more Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife euthanizes bear in Craig, see page 16

to go into hibernation healthy and well fed, Haskins said. In that condition, the impregnated sows are more likely to give birth to healthy cubs in January and February.

“We should have pretty good recruitment of cubs,” Haskins said.

With an early spring, he said, the bears have been able to come out of hibernation a little earlier

■ RIVER REPORT

Yampa River flow Tuesday Noon 829 cfs 11 p.m.

868 cfs Average for this date 1,020 cfs Highest for this date 2,430 cfs, 1928 Lowest for this date 332 cfs, 1963 Streamflow reported in cubic feet per second at the Fifth Street Bridge as provided by the U.S. Geological Survey.

See Bears, page 2 See details on Page 2

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fund, Strnad said.

It appears the sanctions in the bill won’t be as far reaching when it returns to committee today.

The Durango Herald reported Tuesday that state Rep. Jerry Sonnenberg, R-Sterling, who cosponsored the bill and chairs the committee, began Monday’s session by announcing he intends to rewrite the bill so that it applies only to governments that impose moratoriums on new drilling permits.

“After we heard testimony yesterday, the bill was laid over,” state Rep. Randy Baumgardner, R-Cowdrey, said Tuesday.

Baumgardner, whose House District 57 includes Routt County, is vice chairman of the Agriculture, Livestock and Natural Resources Committee. He said Sonnenberg sought a timeout after hearing testimony, including opposition from Colorado Counties Inc. and the Colorado Municipal League. The other cosponsor of the bill is state Sen. Greg Brophy, R-Wray.

Baumgardner has not endorsed the bill.

“It may come back (to com-

mittee), or it may not,” he said.

“Or there may be some amendments offered if we ever hear it again. I’m still just listening. I’m here to represent my constituents.”

Baumgardner is challenging state Sen. Jean White, R-Hayden, in the June 26 primary race for Senate District 8, which includes Garfield, Grand, Jackson, Moffat, Rio Blanco, Routt and Summit counties. Breckenridge resident Emily Tracy, a Democrat, also is seeking the seat. Craig Libertarian Sacha Weiss declared for the seat in late March.

White said late Tuesday afternoon that she does not support holding up severance tax dollars due local governments and expects the language of the bill to be changed as soon as today.

“I oppose it in its present state,” White said. “For the most part, it’s bad for local governments.”

The bill as written would have penalized local governments that delay oil and gas producers by withholding severance tax revenues that typically are funneled back to local governments where energy and mineral extraction take place. It also would have affected future

energy impact grants.

Routt County Commissioner Diane Mitsch Bush said Tuesday that the bill would usurp local authority.

“In my mind, this is another attempt to take away local landuse authority,” Mitsch Bush said.

Mitsch Bush is running as a Democrat for the newly created House District 26, comprising Eagle and Routt counties.

The bill’s late entry into the legislative process — it was introduced Thursday, and the sessions ends May 9 — comes as the Routt County commissioners are forming a task force to explore what steps they can take to require that energy exploration companies cooperate with efforts to monitor changes in local air and water quality that could result from oil well drilling. That task force was undertaken April 24 as the commissioners tabled a drilling permit application from Quicksilver Resources for the Camilletti Ranch north of Milner.

“This late bill is bad news for local government and our citizens who have worked so hard with us on the issue of oil and gas development in Routt County,” Commissioner Nancy Stahoviak wrote in an email Tuesday.

Spring is a time to re-educate the public Bears continued from 1

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and start foraging for food. So far, Parks and Wildlife officers have not received reports of any nuisance bears, Haskins said.

The Steamboat Springs Police Department has been contacted several times in the past couple of weeks regarding bears. In most cases, someone has called to report a bear getting into a trash can but not being aggressive.

Spring also is the time when local wildlife officers attempt to re-educate the public about bears and steps humans can

take to help prevent bears from becoming a nuisance. Officers are reminding residents to use bear-proof trash containers and to not leave the containers outside for extended periods of time. Bears are attracted to bird feeders, and homeowners are asked to bring bird feeders inside each night.

After a warning, officers can issue citations to Steamboat Springs residents who don’t secure their trash. A firstoffense ticket is $100 but may be suspended or reduced upon proof of purchase of a bear-

resistant container.

A second ticket is $150, and third and subsequent violations require a municipal court appearance. The court then can issue fines of as much as $999.

Haskins said bears could become a nuisance in Steamboat this summer if something happens to their natural food supply.

“We don’t have real serious problems unless we have a food failure,” Haskins said.

Such a failure could result from a severe drought or a late frost, which could wipe out the sarvisberry and chokeberry crops.

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Pioneer woman chased grizzlies

Sky on fire

H

ave you noticed that the popular imagery of pioneer women in the American West doesn’t do them justice? They are typically portrayed either as Annie Oakley in a full skirt, or as the timid creature wearing a bonnet while sitting on Tom Ross the buckSTEAMBOAT TODAY board of a wagon. But she seldom has the reins in her hands.

If you’re hungry for a trueto-life account of a pioneer cattlewoman who knew how to hunt grizzly bears, could tame would-be cattle rustlers throughout the course of a couple good rounds of poker and stare down a band of Indian braves, there’s no better place to start than Agnes Morley Cleaveland’s account of her own life on the plains and mountains of Central New Mexico, “No Life for a Lady.”

To tell you the truth, I found the title off-putting. But once I dove into the book, I was quickly hooked on its startling narrative.

Cleaveland was born on a New Mexico ranch in 1874, the daughter of a civil engineer. Raymond Morley played See Ross, page 3

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Colorado Mountain College astronomy professor and Steamboat Today columnist Jimmy Westlake traveled to a spot 20 miles south of Sundown, Texas, to capture this image of the solar eclipse at 8:42 p.m. Central Standard Time on Sunday. For more photos of the eclipse, visit SteamboatToday.com or scan the QR code.

Oil, gas debate goes on County commissioners could retain groundwater quality expert Tom Ross

The Routt County Board of Commissioners could decide today to retain the same consulting hydrologist whose analysis in March largely confirmed the EPA’s finding that fracking fluids were the culprits in domestic water well contamination near Pavillion, Wyo.

Tom Myers is the recommended choice of county staff to advise Routt County on how to craft the language for conditions of approval that would be used going forward to decide if groundwater monitoring wells are necessary at specific new oils wells here, and if so, how to make them effective.

Commissioner Diane Mitsch Bush said she was impressed with the width and breadth of

■ WEATHER

■ RIVER REPORT

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Partly sunny.

High of 80.

Page 18

Yampa River flow Monday Noon 776 cfs 11 p.m.

1,090 cfs Average for this date 2,000 cfs Highest for this date 4,180 cfs, 1984 Lowest for this date 522 cfs, 1934 Streamflow reported in cubic feet per second at the Fifth Street Bridge as provided by the U.S. Geological Survey.

Myers academic credentials as well as his work as a hydrologist working in the natural resources extraction field.

“His May 14 letter and his two published pieces gave us a really good sense of his expertise and what he plans on doing,” Mitsch Bush said.

“I think he’ll be a very good match for what we need.”

The intent is for Myers to do his work before June 26, when

county officials once again take up Quicksilver Resources’ application for a permit to drill the new Camilletti well on private land north of Milner. The commissioners voted a month ago, with the applicants’ understanding, to table the permit application in order to allow them to convene a panel of scientific experts on air and water See Oil, page 2

See details on Page 4

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Steamboat School Board OKs renovation project Yampa Valley High School to add science lab, lockers, private offices in $88K undertaking this summer Scott Franz

Steamboat today

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Dan Juba said Monday that after the Yampa Valley High School undergoes an $88,000 renovation project this summer, the campus will feel more like a high school.

“Right now, you walk into the school and it’s hard for people to figure out where they are,” Juba, the school’s lead teacher, said after he demonstrated how the campus’ classrooms are spread out in the George P. Sauer Human Services Center. “With these changes, we’re trying to develop more high school identity and atmo-

For the latest news, follow Steamboatpilot on twitter and like Steamboat Pilot & today on Facebook.

sphere by grouping our classrooms together.”

The alternative high school serves 28 at-risk students and its students currently share hallways with the Boys & Girls Club of Steamboat Springs.

The Steamboat Springs School Board on Monday night approved the project that will add a science lab, front reception desk, lockers and private offices to the high school for the

first time.

After the existing rooms are remodeled, the Boys & Girls Club and the high school will swap some of their spaces to make both entities more centralized in their respective parts of the building.

“I’ve seen a progression, and I’m happy about where this school is going,” Juba said.

“The district is investing a lot of money in this school and these students, and I’m pleased to see that not only in this renovation, but they also provide a lot of great support with things like technology.”

The Yampa Valley High School was formed six years ago to serve students who were

in danger of failing or dropping out of high school. Before the 2010-11 school year, it was operated by the Northwest Colorado Board of Cooperative Education Services. It now is funded and managed by the Steamboat Springs School District.

While most of its students live in Steamboat, students from Hayden and South Routt also can apply to attend, and Steamboat receives those students’ per-pupil funding from the state.

“We’re looking forward to this project,” Steamboat Superintendent Brad Meeks said at Monday’s School Board meeting. “It’s a long-term investment. We’re going to have this program for a while, so we want

to make sure the teachers and students have an efficient space.”

In other action Monday, the School Board voted unanimously to approve a $97,000 contract with the South Routt School District to manage the smaller district’s technology needs. The contract will allow Steamboat to hire an additional technology staff member who will float between the campuses in both districts and tackle longterm projects. Steamboat will hire an additional employee to work full-time in South Routt.

The districts also are planning to connect their computer networks via radio signals between Yampa, Oak Creek and Emerald Mountain.

County fails to attract air monitoring bid Oil continued from 1 quality monitoring, as well as officials of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, the Colorado Department of Health and Environment’s Water Quality Control Division and independent experts.

Myers’ fee would be almost $13,000 if he travels to Routt County, but the commissioners indicated Monday that they would minimize travel expenses.

Different well, geology The Environmental Protection Agency issued a draft report on March 3 that concluded it was possible the source of groundwater pollution in Fremont County, on the west side of the Wind River Range in Wyoming, was attributable to fracking operations at natural gas wells. In groundwater samples from two

test wells it found benzene and 10 other compounds in fracking fluid.

Industry spokespeople, including those from Encana, which operates the wells in question, shot back that the water testing done by the EPA wasn’t properly executed.

There is no direct correlation between the circumstances at the Pavillion gas well and the proposed oil well here — the wells are different and the geology varies between the two locations.

Myers was retained by several environmental organizations to analyze the EPA’s methodology at Pavillion. Although he made numerous recommendations that the federal agency do more to confirm its evidence, he ultimately concluded: “It is clear that hydraulic fracturing has caused pollution of the Wind River Formation and aquifer.”

In a related matter, the county had no success attracting proposals from prospective consultants in the area of air quality monitoring.

The committee sent out 10 requests for qualifications for air quality consultants and of the 10, nine confirmed receipt but did not make a submittal.

The commissioners asked their staff to narrow the scope of work for the air quality expert and immediately send out more requests to additional individuals.

Myers, who received a Ph.D. in hydrology from the University of Nevada, Reno, has written numerous reports including one in 2005 on the potential effects of coal bed methane on water levels, wells and springs in the Powder River Basin of Montana, and in 2009 on monitoring ground water quality near unconventional methane gas development projects.

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The year-long relationship between Quicksilver Resources and Routt County government reached new levels of frustration Tuesday night as the Routt County Board of Commissioners tabled for the second time in two months the energy exploration company’s request for a permit to drill an oil well on the Camilletti Ranch north of Milner.

The crux of the night’s discussion was the commissioners’ struggle to draft the language for conditions of approval dealing with water- and air-quality monitoring despite the fact that two out-of-town consultants hired for that purpose by the county were sitting at the table.

Sensing that the commissioners were not prepared to move the permit forward after hearing more than three hours of expert testimony and public comments, Quicksilver Senior Director of Government and Community Affairs Stephen Lindsey effectively backed out of the county process.

“Essentially, we’ve reached a point where we can’t continue in this fashion any more,” Lindsey told the commissioners.

“We’ve made repeated attempts and statements that we’ll work with the county. But from this point forward, we request that all conditions of approval for each individual well be submitted (on the appropriate forms) to the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission through the (local government designee) process.”

Board Chairman Doug Monger plainly was upset by Lindsey’s statement.

“What does that mean?” he asked Lindsey. “Does that mean

Myers told the commissioners that ideally they already would have been taking water-quality samples from test wells at the Camilletti site during the preceding year to create a timeline to measure any baseline impurities throughout the seasons.

Given time constraints, Myers suggested they require Quicksilver to install one well between the well pad and Milner with technology to sample water from several layers of rock strata.

However, Quicksilver brought to the public hearing its own hydrogeology expert who sought to debunk Myers’ approach.

“As a canary in the coal mine, forget about it,” Universal Geoscience Consulting President Tony Gorody said. “Your chance of drilling one well and of seeing (any contaminants) is slim to none.”

Gorody recommended monitoring existing domestic wells for signs of trouble and responding to citizen complaints.

Commissioner Diane Mitsch Bush said her primary motivation for water-quality testing was to detect problems before they reached domestic wells, and Commissioner Nancy Stahoviak backed her up.

“Darn it, if we’ve got a problem and there’s a complaint, we’re too late,” Stahoviak said. “We’ve got to figure this out. I’m sorry we’re a county that listens to our constituents. We have to do what’s right for our citizens.”

The commissioners voted unanimously to table the matter until July 10, saying they intend to deliver a completed water-quality monitoring condition and adding that they may defer an air-quality condition to the next oil well application in line.

you’re going to pull your permit?

I think that’s hogwash, Mr. Lindsey. What you, in essence, have told us here is you’ve pulled the plug and ‘We’ll see you in court.’

We’ve been working very hard toward a standard set of conditions, and I think we’re this close.

I hope you don’t think you’re pulling the plug on this.”

Lindsey told the commissioners his remarks should not be construed as a threat to file a lawsuit nor did he mean to say his company isn’t open to working with Routt County in the future. However, he said the delays in the county process had continued to the point that leaseholder agreements and contracts with mineral-rights owners were being jeopardized.

“Unfortunately, what we’ve seen so far is additional (conditions of approval) being added in and added in and, again like tonight, a delay,” Lindsey said.

“We can’t conduct business operations like that based on the regulatory rule set (at the state level).

I’m sad, as well. Unfortunately, we’ve come to a point we’ve made a decision that we have to get clarity on the process.”

The commissioners and Lindsey already had found middle ground April 24 on the language of more than 60 conditions of approval when they mutually agreed to table the permit application. The intent was to allow for two task forces involving outside experts to be assembled to hammer out the language of the water- and air-quality protections the commissioners want energy companies to undertake.

The commissioners and planning staff identified consulting hydrologist Tom Myers, of Reno, Nev., to research the water-quality issues and Lincoln Sherman, of Air Resource Specialists, to advise on air quality.

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Quicksilver hopes for harmony with Routt Energy company seeks compromise on rules Tom Ross

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Steve Lindsey, of Quicksilver Resources, said Wednesday that his company is determined to continue working with state agencies and Routt County toward a compromise on the subject of water-quality monitoring for oil wells. However, Colorado Assistant Attorney General Jake Matter said he does not Like us on see a way for the Facebook dispute between and follow County Steamboatpilot Routt and Quicksilver to on twitter. land back in the lap of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.

“I don’t think there’s a chance for Quicksilver to come back to the commission and say, ‘Commission, you be the tiebreaker; you sort this out.’”

Matter said. “The permit was initially considered at the Oil and Gas Commission. That’s done. It’s fully permitted. There isn’t an opportunity I can think of for the issue to land back at the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.”

See Quicksilver, page 2

Correction debbie aragon was misidentified in a photo of the Steamboat mad mud Run on page 9a of Sunday’s Steamboat Pilot & today.

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john f. ruSSell/Staff

Routt County Sheriff’s Office deputies and the coroner were called Wednesday to this home on Routt County Road 33B to investigate an apparent murder-suicide.

Son: Deaths money related Routt County residents Larry and Chris Appel die in murder-suicide Matt Stensland Steamboat today

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Larry and Chris Appel had fallen on difficult financial times, a circumstance their son thinks led to their deaths Wednesday in what law enforcement officials are describing as a murder-suicide.

Routt County Sheriff’s Office investigators think Larry Appel shot his wife of 42 years before taking his own life at their rural Routt County home southwest of Steamboat Springs. Their bodies were found by family members Wednesday morning after Chris Appel did not show up to work.

“They were the greatest people in the world, and financial times just ate them up,” said Keith Appel, their 39-year-old son. “He just got put in a dark corner and

didn’t see a way out.”

Keith Appel said he knew his parents had been dealing with some financial hardships but said there still were a lot of unanswered questions in the wake of their deaths.

Keith Appel said he thought his father “was just confused.”

Routt County Sheriff Garrett Wiggins said the investigation is ongoing and that it is not yet clear when the shootings occurred or what led Larry Appel to shoot his wife.

“Obviously, there was some sort of sadness in the family, but we’re not sure what at this point,” Wiggins said.

■ weather

■ rIver report

Chance of rain.

High of 87.

Page 20

Yampa River flow Wednesday Noon 92 cfs 11 p.m.

97 cfs average for this date 401 cfs Highest for this date 2,690 cfs, 2011 Lowest for this date 11 cfs, 1934 Streamflow reported in cubic feet per second at the Fifth Street bridge as provided by the U.S. Geological Survey.

He said autopsies were going to be performed to determine whether drugs or alcohol played any factor. The Sheriff’s Office was helped at the scene Wednesday by an investigator and an attorney from the Routt County District Attorney’s Office.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Rusty Prindle said it appeared there was no one else involved in the incident, so criminal charges aren’t likely.

Chris Appel was a nurse at Yampa Valley Medical Associates. She recently helped her grandson publish a book about Keith’s battle with alcoholism, a story that was featured in a March article in the Steamboat Today.

“My mom was a huge icon in this town,” Keith Appel said.

Keith said his father was retired and had worked in heating, ventilation and

air conditioning.

There are many Appel relatives in the Routt County area. Larry and Chris Appel had four grandchildren. Keith Appel and his brother Mike Appel, 41, each have two children.

Keith Appel said his parents were Routt County natives and had lived at the ranch since 1993 after the 1,800-acre ranch was split among Larry Appel’s siblings.

The family attended the Steamboat Christian Center church. Director of Adult Ministries Susan Alexander said the church would offer counseling to anyone in the community from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. today as well as from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 2 to 5 p.m. Friday.

Keith Appel asked for prayers from the community during a time that he described as very hard for the family.

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Matter added that his sole client at the attorney general’s office is the Oil and Gas Commission.

The Routt County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday night to approve the permit for Quicksilver’s Camilletti oil well north of Milner. But Lindsey entered his objection to the inclusion of a condition of approval that requires his company to drill a water-quality monitoring test well down gradient from the oil well to help determine whether any contaminants related to the drilling process have made their way into the groundwater.

Lindsey acknowledged Matter’s remarks Wednesday and added that he thinks it would be undesirable if Routt County’s actions Tuesday night led to counties all across Colorado devising their own similar conditions of approval for oil wells.

Instead, Lindsey said, he thinks there needs to be a policy in place that is consistent across the state, county and industry levels. And he thinks it makes more sense to borrow an existing water-quality monitoring system.

“The (Oil and Gas Commission) approved our permit, and so I’m sure as Jake stated, in their eyes, their job is done, and really the issue lies with the county and the state,” Lindsey said. “Our focus is going to be to work through the commission’s process to see if we can identify a compromise solution for the county’s permitting process and specifically for the Camilletti well. … If the county truly wants to work toward a compromise, they will be a willing participant and seek to work with us and the commission to seek a long-term solution.”

OIL AND GAS ISSUES IN ROUTT COUNTY

He added that if the Oil and Gas Commission’s nine-member board determined that his company should install waterquality monitoring measures at the Camilletti well, his company quickly would comply.

However, in an email to the Board of Commissioners on Tuesday, Oil and Gas Commission Interim Director Thom Kerr made it plain that he thinks water-quality monitoring measures at the local level are not needed.

“The county’s proposed water-sampling program, in addition to being in conflict with the (Oil and Gas Commission’s) permitting regime, is unnecessary because other technical safeguards, such as proper casing and cementing of the well, will address the county’s concerns over water quality.”

Kerr was traveling Wednesday and could not be reached for additional comment.

Matter said lawsuits about permitting of oil and gas wells are not uncommon on Colorado’s Front Range.

“I hope Quicksilver does not sue Routt County. And I hope Routt County does not sue Quicksilver,” Matter said.

County Attorney John Merrill said one of Quicksilver’s options might be simply to choose not to act on the Board of Commissioners’ approval.

“They don’t have to take the permit,” Merrill said.

If Quicksilver were to sue the county in an attempt to have the water-quality monitoring condition removed, it would be done

work through the commission’s process to see if we can identify a compromise solution for the county’s permitting process and specifically for the Camilletti well. ... If the county truly wants to work toward a compromise, they will be a willing participant and seek to work with us and the commission to seek a longterm solution.”

Steve Lindsey Quicksilver Resources

under a specific form of suit: Rule 106(A)(4) used to challenge an action by a government agency, Merrill added.

Asked about that possibility, Lindsey did not directly address it.

“I think our goal is to work through the (Oil and Gas Commission) to reach a compromise. If the county chooses not to do that or the (Oil and Gas Commission) turns us down, we’ll cross that bridge,” Lindsey said. “On my return to Fort Worth, I’ll be meeting with the rest of our leadership team to make a determination. There are a lot of options on the table.”

He pointed out that as a public company, shareholder value is at the top of Quicksilver executives’ minds. Other considerations include commitments made in leaseholder agreements with local property and mineral rights owners like the Camilletti family.

“We’ve got to make prudent decisions about what option is best for the company,” Lindsey concluded.

To reach Tom Ross, call 970-871-4205 or email tross@SteamboatToday.com

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INSIDE: Fire restrictions to get fresh look by officials across northern Colorado on Tuesday • page 10

Reveling in rhythm County fires back at state Commissioners assert authority over energy, natural resource issues Tom Ross

Steamboat today

steamboat springs

The Routt County Board of Commissioners fired back Tuesday with a response to Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission Director Thom Kerr insisting that it, not his agency, online is best suited to Read the letter limit potential with this story at impacts to natSteamboattoday. com. ural resources and public health that might result from the drilling of exploratory oil wells.

“We understand that COGCC is woefully understaffed and underfunded and may have difficulty dealing with permit applications while also addressing concerns of local government,” the commissioners wrote. “Those issues aside, Routt County expects more. Thus, we feel that we, as the Board of County Commissioners, are in the best position to attempt to effectively mitigate impacts to our natural resources, public health and the environment where and when allowed. That is what we consider to be responsible.”

See Letter, page 2

Clarification the majority of the money from the annual Rally For the Cure golf tournament supports the yampa Valley breast Cancer awareness Project. a small portion per golfer goes to the national Rally For the Cure for sponsorship. the information was unclear in the article “Rallying troops to fight cancer” in the July 11 Steamboat today.

■ Index briefs . . . . . . . . .12 Classifieds . . . . .32 Comics . . . . . . . .29 Crossword . . . . .29 directory. . . . . . .30 Happenings . . . . .6

Lotto. . . . . . . . . .27 movies . . . . . . . . .7 the Record. . . . .12 Scoreboard. . . . .27 Sports. . . . . . . . .25 ViewPoints . . . . . .8

john f. russell/staff

Master drummer Fara Tolno, from Guinea, performs in front of a packed house Tuesday morning at the Strings Music Pavilion during the Strings Youth and Family Series. read more about tolno and steamboat’s african arts community on page 11.

City to retool group grants New system aims to add integrity to community support funding process Scott Franz

No one on the dais Tuesday night doubted the hundreds of thousands of dollars Steamboat Springs doles out to nonprofits each year are a worthy investment.

But nearly everyone there said more thought should be put into how those dollars are spent.

City of Steamboat Springs officials are moving forward with a plan they say will add integrity to the process the city uses to award grants to community groups.

■ weather

■ rIver report

Steamboat today

steamboat springs

Chance of rain.

High of 86.

Page 28

Yampa River flow Tuesday Noon 103 cfs 11 p.m.

122 cfs average for this date 277 cfs Highest for this date 1,610 cfs, 2011 Lowest for this date 6 cfs, 1934 Streamflow reported in cubic feet per second at the Fifth Street bridge as provided by the U.S. Geological Survey.

“The current process creates some negative situations,” Deputy City Manager Deb Hinsvark told the Steamboat Springs City Council on Tuesday night.

Under the current system, the Arts and Culture, Human Resources and Environment coalitions each utilize sepa-

rate allocation committees that weigh grant requests from local nonprofit groups. These committees then decide how to distribute hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of city funding each year.

This fiscal year, the city See Grants, page 3 See details on Page 4

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Tuesday’s letter was in response to a July 10 letter from Kerr cautioning the county commissioners that they would be usurping his agency’s statutory authority if they attached their own waterquality testing conditions to an approval of a permit allowing Quicksilver Resources to drill an oil well near Milner.

The commissioners went ahead and approved Quicksilver’s permit with the requirement that the company drill a waterquality monitoring well despite the objections of the applicant, which insisted the state process takes precedence in those matters. The Oil and Gas Commission took the position that proper casing of the well bore would be sufficient to protect groundwater.

Kerr had urged the county commissioners to interact with the Oil and Gas Commission’s own permitting process through a local government designee. In the case of Routt County, that local designee is county planner Chris Brookshire, who analyzes and processes oil and gas permits.

Brookshire informed the Oil and Gas Commission in writing that the county wanted to impose conditions protecting air and water quality on the Quicksilver

application because of the close proximity of 39 domestic water wells and residences in Milner.

In the county commissioners’ view, Brookshire’s efforts were disregarded. During a meeting with legal staff, Brookshire and Routt County Planning Director Chad Phillips on Tuesday pointed out that the Oil and Gas Commission has not followed through on promises of training sessions for local government designees and characterized Kerr’s entreaties that they work collaboratively through the local government designee process as being hollow and in some ways unrealistic, given the short time frames to respond to new state well permits.

“They talk about all this kumbaya, wonderful cooperation between the COGCC and the LGD when in fact, the comments (Brookshire) provided in writing were not included” in the Oil and Gas Commission’s findings on the Quicksilver proposal, Mitsch Bush said. “They were not considered at all. That, to me, does not look like cooperation.”

Mitsch Bush called the local government designee process “disingenuous” and added that the 10 days the county is allowed to appeal its concerns to the Oil and Gas Commission are unrealistic and out of sequence. She

said they would require Routt to make its case in advance of fully studying energy companies’ permit applications at the county level and before it could discover pertinent issues through the public hearing process.

Commissioner Nancy Stahoviak said Routt County would not relinquish its authority to review permit applications under the umbrella of land-use issues.

“We’re not going to do anything with our special-use permit process,” Stahoviak said. “That’s just not going to happen. We’re going to add on water- and airquality conditions. And during the process, other issues may come up.

The bottom line is, we shouldn’t have to submit every condition we’re going to apply (to oil drilling permits) to the COGCC.” As a result of Tuesday’s meeting, assistant county attorney Erick Knaus said he would rewrite the county’s statements on air and water quality to be used on correspondence with the Oil and Gas Commission. Brookshire will research what procedures the county needs to follow to seek the involvement of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment when it thinks air and water quality are threatened by specific oil and gas well permit applications.

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Shell well near Hayden OK’d Tom Ross

STEAMBOAT TODAY

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

The Routt County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday night to approve a drilling permit for the Dawson Creek well for Shell Oil on State Land Board property about four miles southeast of Hayden on Routt County Road 37.

County Planner Chad Phillips said the commissioners made minor modifications to the language of conditions of approval pertaining to surface water and groundwater monitoring before approving the project.

The hearing, including pre-

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sentations, public comment and deliberations by the commissioners, lasted just less than three hours and adjourned before 8:30 p.m.

Shell has said it has no plans to use hydraulic fracturing techniques in drilling the exploratory well. The permit application had been approved by the Planning Commission in late summer 2011 and was tabled by the county commissioners in Sep-

tember 2011 to allow them to write new sets of conditions of approval for oil and gas drilling here.

That process is now complete, save for conditions that would apply to air-quality monitoring.

Peter Patten, a local land planning consultant working for Shell on the project, described the well pad site as being “somewhat remote” in that the distance to the nearest structure is 3,400 feet and the distance to the nearest water well is 4,330 feet.

A seasonal stream 810 feet from the well pad site is the nearest water body.

To reach Tom Ross, call 970-871-4205 or email tross@SteamboatToday.com

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After a bone-dry June, Steamboat Springs now has received almost double its typical rainfall for the month of July.

A flashy thunderstorm that rumbled in from the south Tuesday night produced anywhere from 0.22 to 0.31 inches of rain in Steamboat Springs, but it did its best work in South Routt.

Weather observers in Yampa checked in with a 1.48-inch News precipitation total from the storm. A station near Oak Creek measured 0.98 inches of rain. Another weather station News

about seven miles southwest of Steamboat reported 0.35 inches.

A Steamboat Today reader who lives north of Hayden reported no rain overnight Tuesday into Wednesday.

The rainfall boosted the flows in the Yampa River from 87 cubic feet per second News Tuesday afternoon to 122 cfs Wednesday afternoon. The threshold for recreational activities like tubing is 85 cfs.

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stands at 2.74 inches compared to the historic July average of 1.51 inches. This month’s total was boosted by the 1.78 inches that was recorded at the official measuring station on the morning of July 7.

July typically is the driest month of the year in Steamboat. June saw only 0.14 inches of rain, compared to the historic average of 1.54 inches.

The precipitation reports for Steamboat and South Routt come from weather observers in a national network of volunteers called the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network established by Colorado State University.

The National Weather Service is calling for sunny skies and a high of 88 degrees today.

A chance of thunderstorms returns to the forecast Friday through the weekend.

To reach Tom Ross, call 970-871-4205 or email tross@SteamboatToday.com

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INSIDE: Steamboat’s Lodwick seeks 20th US National Championship in ski jumping or Nordic combined • page 17

Routt could join oil, gas lawsuit Attorney General’s Office suing Longmont for energy exploration regulations Tom Ross

STEAMBOAT TODAY

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

The Routt County Board of Commissioners could join the city of Longmont in its defense of a lawsuit filed this week by the Colorado Attorney General’s Office on behalf of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission regarding Longmont’s efforts to regulate energy exploration.

“Absolutely,” Board of Com-

OIL AND GAS ISSUES IN ROUTT COUNTY

missioners Chairman Doug Monger said Tuesday. “There will be a lot of discussion, and we’ll be having some discussion as the suit progresses further

whether we or (Colorado Counties Inc.) will want to participate.”

According to a story published Monday in the Longmont Times-Call, the suit is over regulations adopted July 17 by the Longmont City Council that require energy exploration companies to install water-quality monitoring devices and that prohibit surface drilling within residential subdivisions, among other things.

Routt County imposed a

water-quality monitoring condition on a recently approved oil well permit for Quicksilver Resources. Quicksilver officials strongly objected to the water monitoring condition, as did the Oil and Gas Commission via a letter from its interim director.

Assistant Attorney General Jake Matter filed the suit against Longmont in Boulder County Court, seeking to kill several of Longmont’s new regulations based on his analysis

that they could not be “harmonized” with state regulations that govern oil and gas drilling, according to the Times-Call.

Professor K.K. DuVivier, of the Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver, said she thinks the time is ripe for litigating the tension between local governments and the state with regard to regulating the oil and gas industry.

“Everyone has been saberSee Lawsuit, page 3

Rockfall fencing project completed near Hayden Matt Stensland STEAMBOAT TODAY

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

Workers have finished installing fencing on the cliffs in Mount Harris Canyon with the hopes of keeping rocks from falling onto U.S. Highway 40 below.

According to a Colorado Department of Transportation news release, the work involved removing 480 cubic yards of loose rock and debris and installing 212,660 square feet of wire mesh meant to direct rocks into a ditch instead of allowing them to fall onto the highway.

CDOT contracted with Yenter Companies to do the project.

The work started in early April and was finished on budget at a cost of $1 million.

The project was paid for with funds from the federal Hazard Elimination System, a state rockfall fund and Funding Advancement for Surface Transportation and Economic Recovery legislation, known as FASTER. FASTER dollars are collected from increased vehicle registration fees.

See Road work, page 2

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“We’re really appreciative of the work,” said Routt County Commissioner Doug Monger, who lives in Hayden and travels that stretch of road sometimes multiple times each day. “I’m going to lobby our commissioners to send a letter of appreciation.”

The fencing was installed on part of the cliffs between mile markers 113 and 120. Monger said the rockfall in that area presented a health and safety issue.

“If we have the opportunity to do things — and save one life out of three years — that’s still a valuable investment for the traveling public,” Monger said.

Falling rocks on the stretch of highway have killed one person and have caused multiple accidents during the past two years.

Monger said the project was important because the highway is highly utilized, especially during the winter when vacationers are traveling from Yampa Valley Regional Airport to Steamboat Springs.

JOHN F. RUSSELL/STAFF The rockfall mitigation proj- A big rig rolls past the steep cliffs that line U.S. Highway 40 between Hayden and Milner west of Steamboat Springs. The

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Yampa River flow Wednesday Noon 100 cfs 11 p.m.

103 cfs Average for this date 206 cfs Highest for this date 810 cfs, 1912 Lowest for this date 19 cfs, 1934 Streamflow reported in cubic feet per second at the Fifth Street Bridge as provided by the U.S. Geological Survey.

Colorado Department of Transportation recently finished rockfall mitigation work along the stretch of highway that has been the site of numerous rockfalls and landslides in the past.

Correction

The Oak Creek Town Board on July 26 voted to remove fire restrictions within town limits. The information was incorrect in the news brief “Hayden to consider easing fire restrictions after rain” on page 10 of Wednesday’s Steamboat Today.

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Amicus brief action not without precedent rattling for several months,” DuVivier said. Gov. John “Hickenlooper’s task force really didn’t accomplish anything.

I think it’s time to make some law.”

If Routt County joined the suit with a friendly (amicus) brief, it would not be without precedent. Routt County was among a number of local governments that filed amicus briefs in support of La Plata County’s successful appeal in 2003 of a lower court ruling in La Plata’s suit against the Oil and Gas Commission. The suit sought to block the amendment of a rule that expanded the Oil and Gas Commission’s authority over oil and gas permits, and the Colorado Court of Appeals agreed with La Plata’s opinion.

County Attorney John Merrill wrote in an email Tuesday that his office has not heard anything from the Oil and Gas Commission since July 10, when Routt County approved an oil drilling permit for Quicksilver Resources on the condition that the energy company install a groundwater-quality monitoring well in conjunction with the Camilletti oil well planned just north of unincorporated Milner.

That action came despite a last-minute email from Oil and Gas Commission Interim Director Thom Kerr “strongly urging” the commissioners not to apply the condition because, in his judgment, doing so would usurp his agency’s statutory authority.

“Pre-emption” is a term government officials use to describe the Oil and Gas Commission’s stance on local government enforcing terms and conditions on energy exploration companies. In other words, Oil and Gas Commission offi-

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cials take the position that the state statute empowering their agency pre-empts any local regulations.

However, local governments, including Routt County, have made the case that they have an obligation under state law to protect public health and property by making land-use policy under their zoning regulations. Before voting to approve the Quicksilver permit July 10, Routt County Commissioner Diane Mitsch Bush said she thinks the Oil and Gas Commission does not have an adequate number of inspectors to monitor the thousands of oil wells across the state.

“The agency charged with protecting our air and water quality (in the context of oil and gas exploration) really doesn’t do it,” Mitsch Bush said during the public hearing.

DuVivier, who specializes in energy and mining law, said the state’s budget constraints could be the basis for a viable argument in court. She said the city of Longmont might be able to make the case that the Oil and Gas Commission and the state are unable to protect water quality in the vicinity of oil drilling operations, for example, because they lack the budget to do so.

DuVivier added that in a suit, such as the one filed against Longmont on behalf of the Oil and Gas Commission, the burden of proof is on the party claiming pre-emption.

When Matter wrote in his complaint that Longmont’s oil and gas regulations could not be made to “harmonize” with state regulations, he was referring to a requirement in the state statute. DuVivier said the

Open House

Read Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission Interim Director Thom Kerr’s July 10 letter to the Routt County Board of Commissioners, and the commissioners’ July 17 reponse, with this story at SteamboatToday.com.

law requires that if the court finds that the two sets of regulations can be harmonized, the state must allow them to co-exist.

Longmont is among the many Colorado cities that have formed their governments under a home-rule charter instead of adhering strictly to the model of municipal government outlined under the state constitution.

DuVivier said that would be a factor in the lawsuit.

“Colorado is an interesting place in which to have this fight because of the robust laws enabling local governments,” DuVivier said. “Colorado has some of the strongest home rule government in the country. That’s something in Longmont’s favor.”

Monger said he was a little surprised Routt County had not heard back from the Oil and Gas Commission after approving the Quicksilver permit with the water-quality monitoring requirement.

He surmised that the state may have decided to sue Longmont because it has passed formal regulations, as opposed to Routt’s conditions of approval. Longmont also banned surface drilling in residential areas.

“Maybe it’s good it happened to a home-rule city instead of the county, which is an arm of the state,” he said, adding that “case law is made by better case evidence.”

To reach Tom Ross, call 970-871-4205 or email tross@SteamboatToday.com

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Back to the swing of things Merger complete; bank gets new name Millennium now part of Centennial Tom Ross

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The intended bank merger announced in early December 2011 is complete, and the former Steamboat Springs branch of Millennium Bank now is part of the nine-branch Centennial Bank.

Paul Clavadetscher, president of the Steamboat location, said his management team has been through the merger process before and is well prepared to make the transition smooth for customers.

“The first thing my employees asked me was, ‘Do I have a job?’ and I said, ‘Yes,’” Clavadetscher said Wednesday. “Next, they asked, ‘Do my colleagues have a job?’ and again I said, ‘Yes.’ Our customers want to know if we’ve become part of a giant bank, and the answer is, ‘Definitely not.’”

Michael D. Williams, executive vice president of Centennial’s mountain banks, wrote on the company Web page this month that though the signs of the banks have changed to reflect the merger, bank customers wouldn’t see any changes until the second phase is launched.

“It’s important to point out that there will be no changes to your accounts until Phase Two, when we change the bank’s systems,” Williams wrote. “You can continue to use your Millennium Bank checks, debit and credit cards. There will also be no immediate changes to your direct See Bank, page 2

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Growing interest in oil Energy companies are applying for permits to drill wells in Routt County Tom Ross

Steamboat today

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Several energy exploration companies that are new to Routt County are applying for permits to drill oil wells here. They include J-W Operating Co., a division of Dallas-based J-W Energy; Entek GRB, which already is actively drilling in the Slater Dome Field in Moffat County; Omimex Resources; and Continental

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Resources, which bills itself as a top 10 oil producer in the U.S. and the largest leaseholder in the Bakken Field, of North Dakota.

True Oil also is seeking to drill its second well here.

Routt County Planning Department Director Chad Phillips said Wednesday that 13 oil and gas drilling permits are in various stages of the approval process in his office, including Shell Oil’s recently approved Dawson Creek permit.

■ rIver report

Yampa River flow Wednesday Noon 116 cfs 10 p.m.

126 cfs average for this date 135 cfs Highest for this date 415 cfs, 1957 Lowest for this date 26 cfs, 1940 Streamflow reported in cubic feet per second at the Fifth Street bridge as provided by the U.S. Geological Survey.

When applicants that have state permits but have not applied to the county are considered, the total number of potential wells to be permitted in the future grows to 17, according to the Planning Department.

The Dawson Creek permit is awaiting the routine approval by the Routt County Board of Commissioners of the minutes from its public hearing before the permit is sent to the company for its signature, Phillips said.

Another approved permit, Quicksilver’s Camilletti project north of Milner, was sent to Quicksilver for signature more than two weeks ago, Phillips said.

A company spokesman said at the time of the county’s approval of the permit July 10 that Quicksilver objected to conditions requiring a groundwater quality monitoring well. In a recent email to planning staff, QuicksilSee oil, page 3

See details on Page 4

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Merry Morgan works on the flowers lining the parking lot of the Old Town Hot Springs. Morgan was trading her time to help pay for her yearly pass to the downtown health and fitness center.

7 permits waiting to be deemed complete Oil continued from 1 ver’s Steve Lindsey wrote, “Given the attached condition, our company is valuating its options. At this point, we won’t be taking any action on the permit.”

Continental Oil has a drilling permit in the county process for the Peltier Well that has been deemed complete, Phillips said, but the company has asked the county to table it for the time being. It has been rescheduled for public hearings before the Routt County Planning Commission on Sept. 20 and the Routt County Board of Commissioners on Oct. 23. The well would be drilled in the Bear River Field east of Hayden.

The next oil well permit to come before the county commissioners is Gnat Hill on Aug. 28.

The well is 7.8 miles southeast of Hayden and north of Routt County Road 65.

Nine more well permit applications are in the county planning office waiting to be deemed complete, Phillips said, including two more Quicksilver wells.

Planning staff has done dili-

JOHN F. RUSSELL/STAFF

A private road leads to the area where Quicksilver Resources previously planned to build and operate an oil well on property owned by longtime Routt County resident Frank Camilletti and his family. The permit was approved July 10 by the Routt County Board of Commissioners. Quicksilver did not support the conditions on the permit and an official emailed the Routt County Planning Commission that the company is “valuating its options.”

gence on almost all of those permit applications toward deeming them complete and ready for public hearings, according to a written report provided to the county commissioners. Phillips said that in cases where they are waiting for hearings, it’s because

the applicants have been asked to provide necessary information to make the applications complete.

“Are we holding them up? No we are not,” Phillips said.

In some cases, applications are incomplete because they required more traffic analysis.

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Waiting for fall Casino falls short on public policy

“T

he issue of Indian gaming engenders strong feelings among many parties.” — Ken Salazar, U.S. Secretary of the Interior.

Those are the first words Secretary Salazar wrote in the June 18, 2010, memorandum “Decisions on Indian The View Gaming from Here ApplicaROB DOUGLAS tions” that eventually led to the relaxation of federal guidelines for holding land-intrust for the purpose of off-reservation Indian gaming.

Two years later, Sleeping Giant Group’s proposed development of an Indian casino on non-reservation land in Hayden provides credence to Salazar’s words as cultural, economic and even geographic fault lines are starting to divide those in support of a casino from those opposed. However, before getting mired in arguments about gambling per se, the proposed casino should be evaluated on the basis of whether it meets the public policy goals at the heart of Indian gaming laws.

Salazar was careful to identify the justification for Indian gaming in his memorandum, writing, “There is no question that gaming has provided important economic opportunities for some tribes. Indeed, Congress’ declared policy under Indian See Douglas, page 3

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Lemmy waits for Kelly Gilleland to toss a rock into the waters of the Yampa River on Thursday afternoon. Local residents were treated to cooler temperatures Thursday in a sign that fall is just around the corner.

‘Thousands’ at stake

Energy rights owners in Routt organize to advocate for property rights Tom Ross

More than 50 people with a stake in surface and subsurface mineral rights and the emerging oil play in Routt Coun-

ty have formed an organization called Citizens Supporting Property Rights in order to impress upon local officials and candidates for office their desire to see their property rights developed.

And it’s not unrealistic to

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Yampa River flow Thursday Noon 93 cfs 11 p.m.

97 cfs Average for this date 116 cfs Highest for this date 338 cfs, 1912 Lowest for this date 29 cfs, 1934 Streamflow reported in cubic feet per second at the Fifth Street Bridge as provided by the U.S. Geological Survey.

say that subsurface owners who have executed leases with energy exploration companies here have hundreds of thousands of dollars at stake.

Steamboat Energy Consultants’ John C. Lamb, who spoke at the Northwest Colo-

rado Oil & Gas Symposium in March, said Thursday that depending upon the individual well and the lease, the subsurface rights holders could realize “many tens of thousands of See Energy, page 2 See details on Page 2

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dollars per month” during early phases of production.

Citizens Supporting Property Rights hosted a private forum in Hayden on Monday involving candidates for two Routt County commissioner seats that are up for election Nov. 6. And on Tuesday, the group delivered a letter to the Routt County Board of Commissioners expressing its concerns, saying it does not view the oil and gas industry as its friend or its enemy but as its business partner.

“Like any other business relationship, we believe they deserve fairness, respect and clarity while we hold them to the highest possible standards,” the letter reads. “We are a group of landowners, farmers and ranchers who own land and mineral rights in Routt County and are establishing this group to ensure their responsible development. We have a reasonable right to responsibly develop minerals owned beneath our property.”

David Ludlam, executive director of the Western Slope Colorado Oil and Gas Association, said that statement is an ideal characterization of what a relationship with the energy industry should be.

“I have not, to this point in my tenure as executive director, seen a group come together with as much focus and organization as they have,” Ludlam said. “It shows there is another side to the dialogue, and we encourage it.”

Ludlam said the potential economic benefits from oil and gas wells to private property owners are real and measurable across Northwest Colorado.

“The public sometimes thinks that when we talk about revenue to landowners, it’s some kind of talking point,” Ludlam

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OIL AND GAS ISSUES IN ROUTT COUNTY

said. “But whether it’s 100 barrels a day to a thousand barrels a day, it’s the type of revenue stream that can make or break a family ranch or allow a ranch to continue operating.”

Spokeswoman Amy Williams reminded those at the Monday gathering about the impact that development of mineral rights (including oil and natural gas) can have on local economies.

“Responsible energy development can be a part of a stronger local tax base that diversifies our regional economy,” Williams wrote in a related press release. “Just as importantly, mineral rights are property rights. Considering we’ve paid local taxes on those minerals, there is no shame in advocating our rights to responsible access to our property.”

Williams told the Steamboat Today that the forum was not publicized and that the intent was to conduct it for the benefit of members of Citizens Supporting Property Rights.

In attendance was Democratic incumbent Commissioner Doug Monger, of District 2, and his Republican challenger Tina Kyprios. The two challengers for the open District 1 seat, Republican Jim “Moose” Barrows and Democrat Tim Corrigan, took part, as well.

Also helping to organize the forum was lifelong rancher Harry Thompson, a Citizens Supporting Property Rights member, who said that through the leases, energy exploration would be placed in the hands

Do you support oil and gas exploration in Routt County?: (219 votes) ■ Yes, it’s good for the economy: 54% ■ No, it’s bad for the environment: 35% ■ I haven’t made up my mind: 7% ■ I don’t care: 2% Vote by going to SteamboatToday.com/ polls or scan this QR code with your smartphone.

of the region’s best land stewards: farmers and ranchers.

“This is important because preserving large-acre ranches can be achieved through the new mineral revenues that our families will receive from responsible oil and gas production on our lands,” Thompson said.

Subsurface mineral rights owners who enter into agreements with energy exploration companies potentially stand to benefit financially in two ways: first with a rental or bonus payment when they sign a lease, Lamb said, and later from royalties that could reach many tens of thousands of dollars per month or more depending on the well, he added.

The amount of royalties mineral rights holders receive can vary significantly and depends primarily on whether a well is drilled to access their holdings and whether it produces, but lease values also vary with the well field and its history as well as the leases already executed in a field.

Documents on file with Routt County show that the mineral rights lease for an approved well here would pay the lessor 15 percent of oil produced. Lamb cautioned against assuming that 15 percent is typical because the terms of leases vary widely.

To reach Tom Ross, call 970-871-4205 or email tross@SteamboatToday.com

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Kellogg gets 6 years in prison Sara Burnett

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Answers locked in shale

County meeting explores oil and gas development issues, concerns Tom Ross

PILOT & TODAY STAFF

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

There was no answer to the question of the night at the Routt County Courthouse on Thursday, but that’s the nature of wildcat drilling for oil and gas.

About 30 people took their seats in the Commissioners Hearing Room to hear a presentation from David Neslin, director of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, about the state’s regulations of exploratory oil drilling. Based on a show of

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Oil extraction equipment is silhouetted on a ridge line that runs alongside U.S. Highway 40 just outside of Milner in western Routt County in 2008. Interest in energy exploration in Routt County has been growing since February 2010, when a well drilled into the Niobrara shale beneath Weld County just south of the Wyoming border began producing 1,000 barrels of light sweet crude in its first day of operation.

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hands, about 12 of those people were representing the energy industry.

It was Steve Aigner, of the Community Alliance of the Yampa Valley, who finally asked the question on everyone’s mind.

“I don’t have any idea how many drilling permits we expect to have put in front of

LOOK InsIde for

us in the next 12 months to a year and a half,” Aigner told county officials. “Can anyone tell me?”

Chris Brookshire, the county planner who analyzes applications for oil and gas drilling permits, said interest has definitely picked up in 2011 compared with 2010, but it’s difficult to predict how much of that interest will turn into drilling rigs.

“I do have a lot of conversations going on with a lot of people about sites they are considering,” Brookshire said.

“But I don’t know how many will turn into permit applica-

tions. I do have four applications on my desk right now.”

Interest in energy exploration in Routt County has been growing since February 2010, when a well drilled into the Niobrara shale beneath Weld County just south of the Wyoming border began producing 1,000 barrels of light sweet crude in its first day of operation and continued producing.

The Niobrara shale layer extends west under the Rocky Mountains to Routt County, where it is within reach of drilling rigs about 6,000 feet

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Part-time Steamboat Springs resident and developer Brooks Kellogg was sentenced to six years in prison Thursday for hiring someone to kill a former business partner, a crime the judge said was about “greed with a capital G.” Kellogg, 72, also was ordered to pay a $100,000 fine.

The U.S. proKellogg bation department had recommended a fine of $15,000, based on financial documents Kellogg submitted to the court that showed he had no income and that he is about $38 million in debt. But U.S. District Judge Christine Arguello said she didn’t think Kellogg was accurately reporting his assets.

Kellogg was arrested in October after FBI agents said he flew to Denver and paid an undercover agent he thought was a hit man $2,000 to kill Steven Bunyard.

Kellogg owed Bunyard $2.5 million as part of a legal settlement over Chadwick Estates, a Steamboat development.

Bunyard told Arguello today that the threat on his life had been deeply disturbing to him and his family. He described Kellogg as a bully who had made previous threats against him.

“This is essentially a sociopath driven by power, driven by greed, and is as arrogant as any man I’ve ever encountered,” he said.

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beneath the surface. The interest in drilling here first came to light as landmen for oil companies appeared in numbers at the county Assessor’s Office to search for detached energy and mineral rights where the surface owners no longer controlled the riches that might lie beneath them.

“We may not see a growth in energy exploration,” Commissioner Diane Mitsch Bush said Thursday night. “On the other hand, we know from other areas the Niobrara may produce and it may produce a lot. So it’s important that our regulations cover the interests of the community. I think it’s really important to learn from the other counties, from the state and other people with experience so we can build on those, leading to balanced oil and gas regulations in our county.”

Neslin told the gathering that oil exploration in Routt County goes back to the 1930s, but local oil and gas production represents a small fraction of Colorado’s total.

“Oil and gas production here is a relatively small but important part of the state’s overall production,” Neslin said. “Historically, 380 wells

(were) permitted in Routt County, most of which were never drilled or abandoned or plugged. There are currently 28 producing wells in the county with seven more permitted but not drilled and two pending.”

The oil and gas produced in Routt County annually represent less than 1 percent of the state’s hydrocarbon energy production, he added.

Neslin took an hour to give a detailed overview of how his agency processes drilling applications and inspects operations in the field. He paid particular attention to the subject of hydraulic fracturing, commonly referred to as fracking.

“Hydraulic fracturing is virtually ubiquitous of oil and gas drilling today. If they were not using (fracking), most (wells) would not be economically practical to drill,” Neslin said. “High pressure injection of fluid and sand with (proportionately small amounts of chemicals) into the formation, releasing the natural gas or oil and improving the productivity and ultimately the recovery from that well.”

Steamboat Springs water advocate Ken Brenner told Thursday’s gathering that during a recent statewide water conference a spokeswoman for the

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Colorado Oil and Gas Association said vertically drilled wells typically use 1 million gallons of water and wells drilled horizontally use as much as 5 million gallons.

Actual consumption varies with the percentage of fracking fluid that is recycled, he said.

Sasha Nelson, a Steamboat native and representative of the Colorado Environmental Coalition, praised the county for launching a public discussion of energy exploration early in the game but urged local officials to broaden the sources it relies upon for information about the regulatory environment.

By adopting strong regulations, Nelson said, the county isn’t necessarily putting undo constraints on the oil and gas industry. In many cases, strong regulations reward good corporate citizens like Quicksilver, which is currently drilling on Wolf Mountain, for their efforts and helping them to remain competitive.

Steamboat Springs attorney John Vanderbloemen asked the county for clarity on how it protects the rights of private property owners adjacent to oil drilling rigs on federal lands like those managed by the Bureau of Land Management.

County Planner Chad Phillips said he and Brookshire had analyzed BLM drilling regulations and determined they are consistent with the county’s.

To reach Tom Ross, call 970-871-4205 or email tross@SteamboatToday.com

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Viewpoints Steamboat Today • Wednesday, September 7, 2011

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editorial

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Getting ready for boom or bust

I

t no longer is a question of if but rather when, how much and at what cost.

Increased oil and gas development is coming to Routt County, that much seems certain. If you’re not convinced, at issue consider some of what Oil and gas has taken place over development the past few months: In February, the State Land Board aucour view tioned multiyear leases It’s time to of surface or subsurprepare for face mineral rights on increased 19 Routt County land energy tracts totaling more exploration in than 5,200 acres. The Routt County. auction netted $4.2 million.

On May 18, a Texas limited liability company bought the 3,400-acre Bugler’s Ridge ranch outside Oak Creek for $7.1 million. The purchase was made sight unseen, and the listing real estate broker said he heard from Shell Oil and landmen representing other energy exploration companies before the transaction closed.

Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife officers have conducted about 30 Routt County site visits with energy companies during the past couple months to analyze the potential impact of oil and gas operations on critical wildlife habitats.

Routt County planner Chris Brookshire, the county’s designee for oil and gas permitting requests and questions, has reported an increased number of inquiries from energy companies during the past few months. Last week, she reported having four completed permit applications on her desk.

Similarly, the county assessor’s office has been busy with oil landmen searching property records for land that extends over the Niobrara Shale layer.

Next week, the Routt County Board of Commissioners will vote on a permit application for Shell Oil to drill an oil and gas well near Yampa Valley Regional Airport in Hayden. If approved, the drilling would take place 24 hours a day for a four-week period.

There are other examples, but the point hopefully is clear: The oil and gas industry is gearing up for what could be

a substantial power play here in Routt County. No matter what you think of domestic energy exploration and production, there are important factors that must be carefully weighed and considered, including the economic, environmental and social impacts that oil and gas operations could have in our county.

Thankfully, some, like our county government, already have begun to consider the long-term impacts and prepare for a potential boom by examining existing regulations. But that should hardly be the end of it.

In Hayden today, the sold-out Northwest Colorado Oil and Gas Symposium moderated by state Sen. Jean White will feature a panel of speakers representing government, land owners, energy companies and scientists. And later this month, the Community Alliance of the Yampa Valley is planning its own public forum to discuss oil and gas issues.

We’re encouraged by these local efforts to bring awareness to what could be a defining issue for years to come, and they serve as a reminder that there’s certainly much more to be done in the ensuing months.

The opinion of Steamboat Today is expressed only in the space above.

letter to the editor

Lucky to be here I know many people may have been very disappointed at the Sailors football game Friday night. But to me, it was a beautiful night to experience the beauty of our community. Now don’t get me wrong, I love nothing more than a great football game. However, I also was there to support my daughter and the Steamboat Springs High School cheerleading team. This past weekend, the team sponsored a little Sailors cheer camp and the highlight of the halftime show was watching these little Sailors come out and perform with the “big kids.” The community spirit was great, and we were all having a wonderful time despite a losing first half.

Mallard Fillmore

We were all hopeful for a better outcome during the second half and used that time to meet some of the people sitting beside us in the stands. A lovely couple who used to live in Steamboat were at the game to watch a family friend’s son who is on the football team. They were so excited to see him play and tackle that it was an absolute delight to hear them rooting on the Sailors.

Beside my husband was a man sitting all by himself. We all had made random comments about the football plays, and I was wondering who this nice gentleman was sitting beside us. I jokingly asked if he was a college scout. He laughed and said he was in town visiting. He graduated from Steamboat Springs High School

in 1994, and he said he just completed serving in the Army. I asked where he had served and he told me he had just returned from Afghanistan. Then I asked how his transition was back to the U.S. and he said, “great!” At that time, Holy Name had just scored another touchdown, and at that moment I could tell that for this man, nothing was sweeter than being back home, watching his alma mater play on a beautiful night in the good ol’ USA. I thanked him for his service, looked at the beautiful young kids on the field and thought, “Win or lose, we are so fortunate to be here in Steamboat.”

Paula Salky

Steamboat Springs Bruce Tinsley

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INSIDE: Steamboat golf team finishes 2nd in Aspen on Monday and now looks to regional tournament • page 14

Sample ballots released

Going back in time

Mail ballots go out to county voters Oct. 11 Jack Weinstein

PILOT & TODAY STAFF

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See Ballots, page 5

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Katy Taylor, with the Tread of Pioneers Museum, speaks about the history of one-room schoolhouses at the Mesa Schoolhouse during an event Monday afternoon hosted by the city’s Parks, Open Space and Recreational Services Department. See more photos from the event at SteamboatToday.com/photos/galleries.

Closer to home

Drilling permit sought in Saddle Mountain in Routt County Tom Ross

The potential oil and gas boom in Routt County is poised to draw closer to Steamboat Springs.

Much of the impact of the anticipated burst of oil and gas

exploration here will be felt in lightly populated areas beyond Hayden and 25 miles or more southwest of Steamboat Springs.

There also will likely be wells drilled in South Routt County near Oak Creek.

But one of four drilling permits now pending before county government anticipates drilling

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in the midst of the Saddle Mountain Ranchettes rural subdivision on Routt County Road 179 near Milner. The energy company, Quicksilver Resources, of Fort Worth, Texas, estimates the drill pad is about eight miles southwest of Steamboat.

Lee McShane Cox, who owns the surface rights to her 35-acre

parcel, said she knew when she bought the land as an investment in 2009 that the subsurface mineral rights were detached, but she dismissed the possibility of an oil well, never imagining it would happen so soon.

Cox said representatives of

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Sample ballots for the Nov. 1 election were released Monday, a month before mail ballots will begin to appear in the post office boxes of Routt County voters.

All county voters will consider Proposition 103, a statewide measure that would raise income and sales taxes to generate an estimated $2.9 billion through 2016 for preschool, K-12 and higher education, and Referendum 1A, which would ban all medical marijuana businesses in unincorporated areas of the county, including Aloha’s in Milner.

Voters living in the South Routt School District, town of Oak Creek, town of Yampa, Steamboat Springs School District, city of Steamboat Springs and West Routt Fire Protection District will consider separate questions for those specific entities.

There’s also a sample ballot for the 30 to 40 voters living in a portion of the Eagle County School District boundaries that is actually located within Routt County.

Routt County Clerk and Recorder Kay Weinland said sample ballots could be picked up at her office in the Routt County Courthouse in downtown Steamboat. The sample ballots also are available by going to SteamboatToday.com.

LOcAL Commissioners could vote on Shell Oil project

2 | Tuesday, September 13, 2011

STEAMBOAT TODAY

Drilling continued from 1 Quicksilver Resources have been easy to deal with. When she asked for some considerations to mitigate the impact on her neighbors, they said “Sure.” But that doesn’t mean she’s happy about the overall situation, Cox said.

Photographs and maps on file in the Routt County Planning Department show that the Cox number 32-23 drill pad would sit in the midst of a thick hay field on the broad, flat top of a hill overlooking Trout Creek.

Drill sites near airport The Routt County Board of Commissioners could vote at 2 p.m. this afternoon on the fate of a different well, Shell Oil’s Dawson Creek project planned to be drilled on State Trust Land about

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two miles south of Yampa Valley Regional Airport.

Shell Western Exploration and Production LP would like to drill as deep as 10,285 feet there in fall to determine whether there is oil and gas nearly two miles below the surface in the Niobrara shale.

The Routt County Planning Commission voted unanimously in August to recommend approval of a special use permit for the well.

Shell also is one of two companies seeking permits to drill southwest of Hayden on C.R. 65. Shell wants to drill on land owned by Halbert R. Tuttle, of Craig, at Gnat Hill. The State Land Board owns the subsurface rights.

Shell would like to begin construction of the well pad there as soon as Oct. 6 and begin a fourweek drilling period on about Oct. 20.

“No hydraulic fracking or stimulation of the production zone will occur,” Shell officials wrote in their permit application.

There are seven other property owners within a mile of the well pad site.

The other applicant on C.R. 65 was submitted by True Oil LLC, of Casper, Wyo., which intends to drill the Breeze Unit well on land where Kurt and Yvonne Frentress own the surface and subsurface mineral rights. The well would be drilled to a depth of 8,310 feet, but the actual length of the angled bore would be more than 10,000 feet.

True Oil would like to begin drilling by Oct. 1 and hopes to finish by Oct. 22. Company officials wrote in their application that “no more than 24 crew members would be on the drilling site at any given time,” and they intend

to drill 24 hours a day, seven days a week for as many as 35 days.

They expect to bring in six modular trailers to serve as offices and employee housing.

Milner drilling waits The permit applications from Quicksilver Resources and True Oil and the newest application from Shell Oil have just been processed by county planner Chris Brookshire. Public votes have yet to be scheduled.

Documents submitted by Quicksilver Resources indicate that the company doesn’t intend to drill on Cox’s property until Feb. 12, 2012, with plans to conclude that process by March 12.

Documents submitted to the county by Quicksilver show that six water wells are located within a 1,000-foot radius of the proposed well pad location.

Cox, who had no control over Quicksilver’s decision to explore for oil and gas beneath her property, said she wants her neighbors to know that her surface rights agreement with the energy company requires it to test nearby wells for contamination before and during drilling operations.

County Commissioner Diane Mitsch Bush said last week that county regulations also require baseline water quality tests in water wells by a third-party prior to drilling new oil and gas wells, as well as during drilling and afterwards.

Among the nearby property owners are Gregory Smith, Ken and Barbara Porteus, Sam Stover, Steve and Rebecca Hilley, Andrew J. George, Stephen and Shelly Riley, Tami McKenzie and Troy Strickland, and Bernd Metzger and Sharon Walisky.

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Experts discuss oil, gas exploration Panelists highlight examples of air, water contamination in other communities STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

Energy development negatively affects water quality, air quality and wildlife, environmental experts told a crowd of about 120 people at a public forum Tuesday night.

The Community Alliance of the Yampa Valley hosted the forum that brought together the panel to address the impacts of oil and gas exploration and production, which many expect to increase in Routt County because of the Niobrara shale formation located beneath the surface. Extra chairs had to be brought in for the crowd in Library Hall at Bud Werner Memorial Library.

“I often say, and I’ve lived in Colorado for most of my life, this is one of the last best places on Earth. It’s worth protecting,” said panelist Todd Malmsbury, spokesman for the Colorado Wildlife Federation.

Malmsbury added that he’s not anti-energy. He said all energy development, not just oil and gas, impacts wildlife populations.

The rest of the panel mem-

bers highlighted instances of environmental contamination from oil and gas exploration and production. The experts included Judy Jordan, former Garfield County oil and gas liaison; Rodger Steen, air quality consultant with Lakewoodbased Air Sciences; and Frank Smith, director of organizing for Western Colorado Congress, the Community Alliance’s parent organization.

Routt County Planning Department Director Chad Phillips also spoke about the county’s role in reviewing, permitting and oversight of the oil and gas industry.

No industry experts or consultants were present to address the positive effects of oil and gas development, such as less dependence on foreign oil, job creation and economic benefits to municipalities and landowners.

Jack White, a member of the Community Alliance board of directors, said the nonprofit that strives to preserve the natural environment, enhance quality of life and retain the community’s character just wants to make sure energy development is done correctly.

Jordan, who worked for Garfield County from 2007 through June, highlighted instances of groundwater contamination in that county from fracking, an oil and gas extraction method.

Steen said dust and emissions are released into the air from trucks driving to and from the drilling sites. He said the fracking process also releases harmful gases into the atmosphere.

Phillips said a majority of local permits involved fracking, which uses water and chemicals to fracture rock, to release oil or natural gas.

Smith said that there are 43,000 active oil and gas wells in Colorado and that there have been nearly 1,000 documented spills since 2008. Smith said that the Western Colorado Congress isn’t trying to stop exploration but that the organization’s position is that drilling can be done better, and he encouraged the public to speak up.

Phillips said the county will begin to revise its oil and gas regulations this fall and is seeking public comment. He said there is some urgency to adopt new regulations before oil and gas drill-

ing picks up. He said the county is reviewing four permits and expects more by the end of the year.

Steamboat resident John Hanley attended Tuesday’s forum. He said that he owns land in Craig where seismic testing is taking place and that he wanted to learn more about oil and gas development.

“I didn’t realize we were possibly facing this in Routt County,” he said. “I guess it’s a situation I don’t want to see an oil rig in the park, that kind of thing. But on the other hand, we do need to extract these resources. I’d prefer we conserve. We all say that, but everyone drove here, almost.”

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INSIDE: Lieutenant governor’s visit to Steamboat kicks off weeklong tour of Colorado schools • page 10

Noise rule not an issue

Skating buddies

Ordinance is ‘uneventful’ for business owners Jack Weinstein

PILOT & TODAY STAFF

steaMBoat sPRInGs

Ghost Ranch Saloon coowner Amy Garris describes the three months since Steamboat Springs’ new noise ordinance took effect as “pretty uneventful.”

Garris said If you go her downtown What: Steamboat bar and enterSprings City tainment venue Council meeting has received When: 5:30 p.m. a couple of today complaints Where: Citizens’ Meeting Room at about outside Centennial Hall, noise made by 124 10th St. patrons, but not about the music coming from inside. Garris said she’s heard similar reports from owners of other establishments.

She was among the most vocal opponents of the new noise ordinance that the Steamboat Springs City Council approved July 19. City Council members will hear an update about it tonight.

At the time, some bar and restaurant owners like Garris questioned whether they’d be able to comply with the proposed ordinance that limited noise in commercial areas to 60 decibels during nighttime hours.

That hasn’t been the case.

“Anything that has come up See noise, page 3

■ Index Briefs . . . . . . . . .13 Classifieds . . . . .22 Comics . . . . . . . .21 Crossword . . . . .21 Directory. . . . . . .14 Happenings . . . . .6

Lotto. . . . . . . . . .19 Movies . . . . . . . . .7 The Record. . . . .13 Scoreboard. . . . .19 Sports. . . . . . . . .17 ViewPoints . . . . . .8

John F. Russell/staFF

Wyatt Graves rides his skateboard down a ramp at the Howelsen Hill Skateboard Park on Monday afternoon while his skating buddy, Rowan Turek, waits for his turn.

The two 5-year-olds took advantage of a slight break in Monday’s cool, wet weather.

County draws a line Commissioners insist Shell Oil protect roads Tom Ross

A riled up Routt County Board of Commissioners could hardly wait until today’s scheduled public hearing to send Shell Oil back to the drawing board.

The commissioners expressed

their dismay Monday afternoon that information they sought more than a month ago to help them protect county roads in the vicinity of a proposed exploratory oil well has not been produced.

“We’ll begin the meeting by saying, ‘We’re really sorry, but we don’t have the information

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we requested in order to proceed,’” Commissioner Nancy Stahoviak said. “Why should we encourage bad behavior? This shows a total lack of respect for the county and the Board of County Commissioners. We’re not going to start permitting drilling this way. It’s a bad practice. A bad practice. This sub-

mittal is not completed.”

Shell Oil is scheduled to appear before the commissioners this afternoon to make a second request for a special use permit to enable it to drill a well known as Dawson 2 Creek about ppl for 2g two miles south of $28 Yampa Val-fo value See shell, page 2

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ley Regional Airport. The commissioners previously tabled the permit Sept. 13 because of a lack of information about the protection of wildlife, surface water and air quality and impact to local roads.

Michael Bergstrom, Shell Oil’s senior regulatory adviser in Northwest Colorado, who spoke at the September hearing in Steamboat Springs, referred a request for a response to an associate based on the Western Slope. Her answering machine referred reporters to Shell Oil’s media desk.

During a Monday afternoon briefing with Planning Director Chad Phillips and county planner Chris Brookshire, the commissioners expressed amazement that Shell Oil officials, who had been eager to begin developing the well pad in mid-September, had not been more diligent. They had asked Shell Oil to provide detailed information about the number of truck trips and the axle weight of the trucks that would deliver heavy drilling rigs to the site. They directed Shell to provide Road and Bridge Department Director Paul Draper with the information so he could relay it to a consultant working on the permit application. They also asked Shell to work with the Colorado Department of Transportation on the route the trucks would take to U.S. Highway 40 in Hayden.

“They haven’t even made a phone call to CDOT,” Commis-

What: Drilling permit request from Shell Oil When: 3:30 to 5 p.m. today Where: Commissioners Hearing Room in the Routt County Courthouse, 522 Lincoln Ave.

sioner Diane Mitsch Bush said Monday. “I find that absolutely shocking. I think that we made it quite clear to Shell Oil on Sept.

13 what we needed.”

County Attorney John Merrill said that in addition to information about the nature of truck trips, the county needs cost estimates of necessary road improvements, a reimbursement agreement and arrangements for collateral to protect the county from any damage to roads.

Brookshire said she had been in touch with Shell officials last week and they submitted a written response outlining their stance on a variety of conditions the county is placing on approval of the special use permit. They range from measures to protect wildlife to surface water and air pollution monitoring.

In some cases, including ground water monitoring, Shell officials termed the county conditions redundant and asked the county to replace its language with requirements already put in place by the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.

Stahoviak said she would not entertain issuing a permit to Shell Oil until she’s reassured county roads are protected.

“I’m drawing the line, right here, right now,” she said.

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INSIDE: Local snowmobile riders and filmmakers on Friday will premiere 2 movies shot last season • page 14

Learning rights of owners

Hayden workshop focuses on oil- and gas-related leases Scott Franz

PILOT & TODAY STAFF

HAYDEN

See Mineral rights, page 3

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▲

As he prepared to leave an oil and gas workshop held at Hayden Public Library on Wednesday night, John Shaw said he was better prepared to protect his land if energy exploration in Routt County approaches his front door.

“I have a better sense of the direction I need to take as a surface owner to protect my rights,” he said after the meeting that focused on a landowner’s rights in oil- and gas-related leases.

“There’s no question we need oil and gas. But as landowners, we need to know what our rights really are.”

Shaw arrived at the workshop convinced that he did not own the mineral rights beneath the 1,200 acres he owns just north of Hayden. But other landowners who attended the workshop, which was put on by Colorado Northwestern Community College, convinced him that he should do some more digging at a title office to make sure.

“That will be my next step,” Shaw said, adding representatives from Quicksilver Resources have contacted him about possible oil and gas exploration on his land.

Shaw joined 11 other landowners from Steamboat Springs, Hayden and Moffat County at the workshop led by attorney Anne Zoltani, who for three years has helped landowners understand

Routt County Road and Bridge Department Director Paul Draper walks past equipment with Brad Benton, a supervisor with GasFrac Energy Services, during a tour of an oil platform Wednesday afternoon on Wolf Mountain. Watch a video with this story at SteamboatToday.com.

Fracking without water

Quicksilver completing process on Wolf Mountain Tom Ross

Crews from Quicksilver Resources and the Canadian firm GasFrac Energy Services were preparing the fourth and final phase Wednesday of fracking an oil well on a sagebrush-covered hillside overlooking Morgan

intended to stimulate the Niobrara shale more than 8,000 feet Read a point/counterpoint on the merbeneath the surface and coax out its of fracking for natural gas (not oil) the oil it is thought to contain. sponsored by Yale University with this “You have to liberate the story at SteamboatToday.com. hydrocarbons from the rocks,” Quicksilver Senior Director of Bottoms along the Yampa River Government and Communieast of Hayden. And no water ty Affairs Stephen Lindsey said. was being used in the process.

The fracking fluid is made slipThe fracking operations are pery to reduce friction and allow

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the oil to flow out of the rock.

Lindsey, who traveled to Colorado from Fort Worth, Texas, this week, led a tour of the oil pad for Routt County officials Wednesday.

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the 20,000-acre Wolf Mountain Ranch, Quicksilver Completions Superintendent Carl Bowers said.

As fracking winds down, the date when the energy companies know if the well will produce oil is perhaps two to four weeks away.

If the news is affirmative, Pirtlaw will represent the first piece of a complicated mosaic that will guide petroleum engineers on how best to extract oil from this part of western Routt County.

“If this turns out to be the best well ever, the question becomes, ‘How many wells can we drill from this single pad?’” Bowers said. That would allow his company to realize efficiencies and reduce impact on the landscape.

But production from Pirtlaw,

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which is by no means guaranteed, also could allow Quicksilver to refine its best guess about how far away to build a second well.

Fracking with gelled butane The fracking being undertaken at Pirtlaw is notably different from the most common form of the practice in that it is not relying on large amounts of water to create the tiny fissures in the shale that allow the oil to seep out of the rock.

“We used some water in the first 1,200 feet of drilling,” Bowers said. “But this well is using zero water in fracking.”

Instead, GasFrac is using gelled butane containing resincoated sand to frack the well.

Choosing not to rely on water-based fracking reduces his company’s impact on Routt County in terms of eliminating the heavy truck traffic needed to haul water as well as reducing the amount of sand needed in the process, Bowers said. But it’s also the case that water is not well-suited to fracking operations in the Niobrara shale on the Western Slope, he added.

The butane injected into the well bore under high pressure will leave through pores extending about 15 inches into the shale and fracture it. When the butane retreats during the flowback process, which is about to begin at Pirtlaw, the sand lubricated by the resin will remain in place to hold the fissures open.

Another advantage to butane, Bowers said, is that a good portion of it can be recovered during flow-back, the precursor to the beginning of oil production.

A portion of it will be flared off, and flaring will continue around the clock during that period of several weeks. Motorists traveling east on U.S. Highway 40 will be able to see the flare from the hill above the Carpenter Ranch.

Preparing to frack The act of fracking an oil well takes just 45 minutes and consumes about 1,500 gallons of diesel fuel to run the big pumps that pressurize the bore hole, Bowers estimated.

But the setup and safety procedures for each of the four fracking procedures being used at the Pirtlaw well on Wolf Mountain take three hours.

Among any downsides to the use of gelled butane at Pirtlaw is the fact that it is a volatile and flammable compound. Bowers and his crew spoke often about their safety procedures during the two-hour tour Wednesday.

The crew from Quicksilver and GasFrac wear flame-retardant suits during the procedure, but thanks to a high-tech command post, all of them are behind safety lines during the actual process.

That’s thanks in large part to a command trailer where workers control all of the equipment, from hydraulic rams to vents and butane tanks.

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Next oil, gas meeting Dec. 6 man Jay Gallagher explained Thursday that the possible additions hadn’t been compared with regulations of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, the state’s regulatory agency, or reviewed by the county’s attorney.

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Routt County Commissioner Diane Mitsch Bush hopes the Dec. 6 oil and gas work session is just as well attended as the one Thursday night with the Routt County Planning Commission.

Mitsch Bush said Friday that the county would like assistance as it considers amending its oil and gas regulations. The county has land-use authority and must approve special-use permits to allow oil and gas exploration on land zoned for agriculture or forestry.

Mitsch Bush said it’s important the county considers not only what planning staff presents but also feedback from residents.

“What I would like us to do is to really look in depth … and hear from the public,” she said.

At the December meeting, Routt County Planning Director Chad Phillips will present public feedback from Thursday’s work session, which included comments from 28 of the more than 60 people in attendance.

As he did Thursday, Phillips also will present oil and gas regulation examples from other governments in and outside of Colorado. From those examples, he suggested 19 possible additions to the county’s regulations, including requiring: ■ participation in a regional air-quality-monitoring program

■ additional consultant work associated with the permit ■ a geo-hydrological report ■ annual inspection fees ■ monitoring and reporting ■ closed-loop systems ■ “green” drilling and fracking fluids ■ reports of emergency response events ■ drill sites not be located in floodplains, riparian areas and water bodies Planning Commission Chair-

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ed to be cautious.

“In one way, the sooner the better. But on the other hand, we want to do it right,” she said. “We don’t want to leave out anything.”

The Dec. 6 meeting is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. in the Commissioners Hearing Room at the Routt County Courthouse in downtown Steamboat Springs. Phillips said that meeting could determine what steps the county takes next.

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said Thursday. “None of them seem outrageous.”

Many who attended Thursday’s work session thanked the county for its consideration of additional regulations and urged them to proceed with caution, perhaps even imposing a moratorium.

Community members expressed concern about possible negative impacts of oil and gas exploration.

Mitsch Bush said the county needed to make sure the regulations protected wildlife, air, water, soil and health. But Mitsch Bush said although it was important to address oil and gas regulations soon because of existing and anticipated activity, the county need-

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Reflecting on Pearl Harbor World War II veterans recall attack on 70th anniversary Jack Weinstein

PILOT & TODAY STAFF

Tom Ross

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

Only a few World War II veterans still live in Routt County, and although none of them were serving at Pearl Harbor when it was attacked 70 years ago today, they all said the event impacted their lives.

Because of the magnitude of the event that started World War II, residents who were alive at the time said news of the attack at the U.S. naval base on the Hawaiian island of Oahu made it to Steamboat Springs and Routt County.

Just two weeks after they were married, Lloyd and Annabeth Lockhart were driving back to Steamboat from a day of skiing on Rabbit Ears Pass when they heard the news on their car radio.

“We were surprised, very surprised and couldn’t believe it,” said Annabeth Lockhart, 89, who followed Lloyd Lockhart across the country during his training for the U.S. Army after he was drafted. “We didn’t know where Pearl Harbor was. We were quite isolated. The radio reception was poor, and there was no TV. We were quite surprised when we got home.”

Fortunately, no Routt County natives were among the 2,400 killed in the attack that also left nearly 1,200 wounded, said Jim Stanko, adjutant for American Legion Post No. 44. He said about 25 county natives lost their lives in World War II but mostSee Pearl Harbor, page 3

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County doesn’t see need to halt oil wells PILOT & TODAY STAFF

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Veteran Omar Campbell recalls his days in the U.S. Navy while checking out his old uniform at his home in Steamboat Springs. Pearl Harbor is particularly meaningful for the World War II veteran who toured the South Pacific during the war.

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The Routt County Board of Commissioners heard strong public sentiment Tuesday night for a moratorium on new permits for oil and gas wells. However, at the end of the night, board members sent a strong signal that they would prefer to continue strengthening the regulations and conditions they place on energy exploration rather than putting a temporary halt on new permit applications.

“I would not be in favor of a moratorium,” Commissioner Doug Monger said after hearing two hours of public comments.

“We only have three or four wells a year. I think we took big steps a month ago when we took care of our road regulations.”

“Right now, the way I feel is that we can create conditions to protect public health, safety and welfare,” Commissioner Nancy Stahoviak said. “We have the ability to put really stringent conditions on oil and gas.”

With 80 interested people overflowing the Commissioners Hearing Room in the Routt County Courthouse, Routt County Planning Department Director Chad Phillips began the meeting by describing some of the ways in which the county might update its current oil and gas regulations.

They include requiring drilling See Oil and gas, page 2

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County attorney: Balance between landowner, public interests needed Oil and gas continued from 1 companies to use closed systems to handle the liquids that come out of bore holes rather than open pits; requiring green drilling and fracking fluids that do not contain toxic chemicals; requiring

energy companies to participate in regional and countywide airquality monitoring; limiting flaring of ambient natural gas; and encouraging the use of electric motors on well-pad equipment whenever possible.

Speaking for the Community Alliance of the Yampa Valley, Paul Stettner expressed concern for water quality and urged commissioners to entertain a moratorium while they work to beef up regulations.

“Once you destroy groundwater, you’ve destroyed it for good,” Stettner said. “We believe it’s in the best interest of Routt County for the public to get proactive. We believe county and state regs are inadequate.”

Stettner also urged the county to take enforcement into its

own hands by sponsoring a compliance officer to ensure energy companies are living up to the conditions of their permits.

Monger said the idea of contracting with a compliance officer to visit drilling sites was a concept he could embrace.

Chuck McConnell urged those at the meeting to look at the growing interest in energy exploration in Northwest Colorado in terms of its potential economic benefits.

“Our current unemployment rate is about 8.1 percent,” McConnell said. “And right here in Routt County, there are hundreds of skilled workers, construction workers and truck drivers. In North Dakota (where energy exploration has boomed), unemployment is less

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than 4.5 percent. In about two years, we face the potential of much-decreased revenue to the county from property taxes. It looks to me, if that occurs, we could see decreased services. …

I think we can surely solve problems that might come up in Routt County so we can relieve some of the suffering” of people who are out of work.

Mark Stewart, a resident of the rural Saddle Mountain Ranchettes subdivision, identified himself as an air-quality specialist who has worked for Xcel Energy for 15 years. He said he thinks the county has an obligation to protect the environmental quality of the region from the potential threat that a well permit being sought by Quicksilver Resources could bring.

“I’m not against responsible oil and gas exploration,” Stewart said. “The lease that is in our neighborhood is supposedly good for 47 years. That affects my son for the next 47 years. I think they should test our water for 47 years.”

Joan Ryan, who represents the owner of Wolf Mountain Ranch, where Quicksilver is waiting to learn the results of a newly drilled oil well, said she is reassured that it is possible to protect the strong conservation values on the ranch while living with an oil well.

“We have pretty much been successful working with Quicksilver,” Ryan said. “The oil company is paying for a consultant

to establish baseline (environmental quality). I think we can blend the production while protecting everything that’s important out there.”

In a response to a question from Ryan, county attorney John Merrill said state law provides fairly narrow conditions on when counties can impose moratoriums. He added there is case law that suggests that in the case of companies that already hold a drilling lease on a well site, where the three- to five-year window to drill is ticking, counties would have to be careful with regard to property rights to protect themselves from a takings suit.

“It makes it quite clear, in my mind. There has to be a balancing act between the interests of the landowner and the public in adopting a moratorium,” Merrill said.

Saddle Mountain resident Sandy Kebodeaux left the commissioners with a poignant request.

“I want to know why it’s happening in a residential area where it’s going to affect so many people, when there are so many thousands of acres out there,” Kebodeaux said. “We’re going to be affected by that every single day, where if it was set two miles down the road, almost no one could notice it.

That would solve a lot of my anguish.”

To reach Tom Ross, call 970-871-4205 or email tross@SteamboatToday.com

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Petition asks for stay on permits Residents seek oil, gas moratorium Scott Franz

PILOT & TODAY STAFF

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

See Petition, page 3

Beware of winch cats

Skiers warned about dangers of skiing after hours Matt Stensland

PILOT & TODAY STAFF

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

With a seemingly larger number of people hiking up Steamboat Ski Area at night, snowcat operators are asking people to stay clear of the winch cat.

“The danger is — to be honest — it will kill you,” Slope Maintenance Manager Frank Case said. “It will cut you right

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A winch cat driven by Slope Maintenance Manager Frank Case drives up the Voo Doo moguls course Wednesday at Steamboat Ski Area. The machine uses a powerful winch to help pull itself up steep runs.

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Page 32

in half.”

The winch cat essentially is a groomer equipped with a powerful winch that can pull 10,000 pounds using nine-sixteenths-inch steel cable. The machine was being used this week on Voo Doo where Case was building a table of snow where the mogul course will be carved out. Throughout the season, the winch cats are used to groom the steeper black runs

like See Me, Concentration and Vortex.

When a winch cats works on a run, crews connect the machine’s cable to one of the many concrete anchors located on top of the steep runs. The concrete anchors live on the mountain year-round and are buried about six feet deep.

“It probably weighs 20,000 See Winch cats, page 2

▲

Kyle Elston said Thursday that he was convinced he needed to inject himself into Routt County’s oil and gas debate shortly after he finished building fences last summer on a ranch south of Stagecoach.

“I was working alongside a couple people who came here from Rifle and told me about all the negative impacts of hydraulic fracturing and oil and gas exploration in Garfield County,” Elston said before he started his shift as a substitute teacher at Soroco High School. “They said the air quality there is terrible and some livestock are suffering.”

Elston, who said he opposes most forms of oil and gas exploration, said he has attended every public meeting he can in Routt County that centers on the permitting process. At a Tuesday night Routt County Board of Commissioners meeting, he was disappointed when two of the three commissioners opposed a short-term moratorium on new permits for oil and gas wells.

“It’s very frustrating to me because it seemed like they closed their ears to the demands of people in the room,” he said.

On Wednesday afternoon,

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Goal of petition is to persuade officials Petition continued from 1 Elston launched an online petition asking the commissioners to reconsider their opposition to the moratorium. Twenty-four hours later, more than 150 people had joined him in signing it.

Elston said that he isn’t hoping to reach a specific threshold of signatures but that he hopes the petition persuades the commissioners to impose stricter regulations on oil and gas development, including baseline testing for water and air quality.

“In a lot of ways, I’m happy that so many people have signed it already,” said Elston, who graduated from the University of Colorado in August. “I’m at this age where in some ways I’m not ready to just completely give up on a democratic system. I’m not ready to be complacent and accept the answer of the commissioners when I know (their decision) wasn’t what the majority of the people (at the meeting) wanted.”

At Tuesday’s meeting, which drew about 80 community members to the Routt County Courthouse, Commissioners Doug Monger and Nancy Stahoviak opposed a moratorium on new oil and gas permits and said the county should continue strengthening the regulations it already places on energy exploration. Commissioner Diane Mitsch Bush offered the dissenting voice and said she would like to see a two- to three-

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month halt on new well permits because the county does not have enough information as to how an increase in drilling would affect air and water quality, among other things.

“We need more time to look at all the data we have and take the advice of the many people and citizens who are so concerned about this,” Mitsch Bush said Thursday.

She added that the county’s tourism-based economy, environment and health are at stake.

“All you need is one well to go bad, and then a property becomes worthless. We’ve seen it in other places, and I certainly hope we can learn from the other problems other areas have had.”

Stahoviak and Monger said they were receiving emails Thursday from constituents who signed the petition, but both indicated the opposition will not cause them to reconsider a moratorium.

“We already knew these people were against our decision, and it doesn’t change my picture of it at all,” Monger said. “I think we have all the tools in our toolbox necessary to deal with the issues of oil and gas permits.

We probably have the strongest set of regulations in the state.”

He added that state statue likely would disallow the coun-

ty from imposing a moratorium on new permits.

Stahoviak said the process the county already has in place to approve new permits is sufficient.

“My bottom-line reaction is we don’t believe we need a new moratorium,” she said. “I appreciate the passion and the desire for everyone to want to be involved in this issue, and I continue to ask them to do that.”

Meanwhile, Elston is using social media sites like Facebook to continue spreading the petition. He plans to collect more signatures this weekend in person in downtown Steamboat Springs.

Tim Rowse, who was among the first to sign the petition, said a moratorium would be beneficial to the county and to energy companies.

“Every element of the existing code needs to be looked at and then some,” he said. “A moratorium on oil and gas permits is a good idea until we do strengthen our regulations.”

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Our Women’s Health Clinic offers free IUDs, Nuvaring and Implanon with an appointment. Other birth control, STD screenings, Pap Smears, Breast Exams and general women’s health care is also offered free to low cost based on income for all ages, all income levels, and all insurance status. Call today!

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Celebrate the memory of your loved one by placing a personalized ornament on our community Celebration of Life Tree TONIGHT at the Rollingstone Respite House from 5:30– 8:30pm. Ornaments and supplies for notation will be provided. You are welcome to take your ornament home after the holidays. For more information call Katy Thiel at 871-7628.

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S T E A M B O AT

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 14, 2011

Steamboat Springs, Colorado Vol. 23, No. 298

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INSIDE: Routt County Board of Commissioners vote to approve a 2012 budget of $46.3 million • page 14

Fracking rules are praised

Down a snowless road

New disclosure statutes called ‘step in right direction’ Tom Ross

PILOT & TODAY STAFF

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

Local and regional advocates of more stringent oil and gas industry regulations called Tuesday’s announcement about new Colorado rules, which require the industry to details For more divulge about the chemColorado’s new icals used in fracking rules hydraulic fracSee page 18 turing, a step in the right direction but not the answer to all of their concerns.

“It’s a great step forward, but this doesn’t get us 100 percent of the way there,” said Rodger Steen, of the Community Alliance of the Yampa Valley.

The Associated Press reported Tuesday that members of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission approved a new set of rules to take effect in April that would require energy companies to disclose the chemicals they use in fracking and the proportions or concentrations of those chemicals. The rules allow energy companies to withhold some details about compounds they deem proprietary except in cases of an accident.

The companies would have to explain the proprietary nature of the chemicals and name the chemical family of those compounds. Should an accident occur, the companies would be obligated to provide full details See Fracking, page 2

■ INDEX Briefs . . . . . . . . .10 Classifieds . . . . .34 Comics . . . . . . . .31 Happenings . . . . .6 Lotto. . . . . . . . . .30 Movies . . . . . . . . .7

The Record. . . . .10 Scoreboard. . . . .30 Ski report . . . . . . .6 Sports. . . . . . . . .27 ViewPoints . . . . . .8 Weather . . . . . . .32

JOHN F. RUSSELL/STAFF

Skier Mark Anderson makes his way along Second Street on Monday afternoon in downtown Steamboat Springs. Anderson was headed to Steamboat Ski Area to catch a few afternoon runs. To find out if there is a chance of snow in Steamboat this week, see page 16.

Baumgardner out again House District 26 doesn’t include Grand or Jackson counties Jack Weinstein

PILOT & TODAY STAFF

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

Once again, a change to the Colorado House of Representatives map is impacting Rep. Randy Baumgardner.

The Colorado Supreme Court approved new state House and Senate district maps Mon-

day, the second version of the changes suggested by the Colorado Reapportionment Commission. The first versions were returned to the commission by the Supreme Court in November because they split too many counties into separate districts.

Baumgardner, a Hot Sulphur Springs Republican, has represented House District 57, which

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includes Routt County, for two terms. In the rejected first version of the new House map, Grand County was moved out of the district and into the proposed H.D. 63.

At the time, Baumgardner leased a ranch in Jackson County — which would have allowed him to seek re-election for H.D. 57 — for reasons he said had

nothing to do with the district boundary changes.

After it was kicked back to the Reapportionment Commission, the map changed again, and it now includes Routt and Eagle counties as the new H.D. 26. Grand and Jackson counties would join H.D. 13 along

By HotSteamboatDeals.com See details on Page 2

See Districts, page 3

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Contaminated wells found in Wyoming Fracking continued from 1

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Mike Chiropolos, land program director for Western Resource Advocates in Boulder, said simply knowing the chemicals used in fracking won’t be sufficient to protect public health should those chemicals show up in drinking water wells. In addition, he said, the citizens of Colorado should be protected by baseline and ongoing testing to establish water quality prior to the commencement of energy drilling in locations across the state. The recent finding by the EPA that fracking fluids are a possible cause of well-water conJOHN F. RUSSELL/FILE tamination in Pavillion, Wyo., Colorado passed new rules governing fracking that require the disclosure of what speaks directly to the need for chemicals are being used. Seen is a well on Wolf Mountain that used fracking techniques. baseline testing, he added.

Energy industry officials He said his group is pushing Oil and gas working are saying the EPA’s report is for energy drilling permits to be unfounded. Chiropolos said a county permit process sepagroup to be formed prior water testing could have rate from the permission to use Routt County Planning Department answered the question with more hydraulic fracturing on the same Director Chad Phillips said Tuesday that the Routt County Board of certainty. well.

Commissioners has directed him to “This was a compromise, but Routt County Planning form a working group of informed it was an example of a collab- Department Director Chad Philcitizens to explore issues related orative effort,” Chiropolos said lips said Tuesday that current regto energy exploration in Northwest about Tuesday’s decision in ulations do not allow the county Colorado.

Colorado. “Baseline testing (of to directly regulate whether an “We have a lot of people living here water) is integral to this. If you energy company fracks a well. who have expertise,” Phillips said. don’t know the problem, you However, the county exerts indiFormation of a working group was a suggestion that came out of a Dec. can’t address it. That’s unaccept- rect influence on that decision 8 public work session on the county’s able. It should be mandatory for because it has the authority to oil and gas regulations. Phillips said he every well in every formation. It regulate the use of county roads, tentatively is planning a meeting in the shouldn’t matter where you live.” which lead to most fracked wells, last week of December and another in Steen is co-chairman, with because of the heavy weight and early January.

Paul Stettner, of the Commu- resulting impact of the water The meetings will be public but will nity Alliance committee on the trucks that make multiple trips not involve public comment. county’s oil and gas regulations. to the well pad during fracking.

S T E A M B O AT

SATURDAY DECEMBER 17, 2011

Steamboat Springs, Colorado Vol. 23, No. 301

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INSIDE: Steamboat Springs High School girls basketball opens Wyoming tournament with couple of wins • page 1B

County quickly forms oil group Members set to meet Dec. 28 Tom Ross

PILOT & TODAY STAFF

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

Routt County’s new 18-member oil and gas working group includes well-informed property owners, county officials and oil industry professionals — some actively looking If you go for oil here and some not.

What: Routt Two members County oil and gas working who live in South group meetings Routt County When: 5:30 to reflect the diver7:30 p.m. Dec. sity of the group.

28 and Jan. 4 Phippsburg resiWhere: Third dent Maynard floor of the Short describes Routt County himself as a minCourthouse ing engineer with expertise in managing information about the handling of toxic materials. Ken Rogers, of rural Oak Creek, said he has been studying the use of liquid propane gas fracking and butane fracking since a subsidiary of Quicksilver Resources purchased a large tract of land close to his property.

“Quicksilver, via subsidiary Thunderhead Properties, LLC, purchased 3,400 acres adjacent to where we live in South Routt County for the purpose of oil and gas exploration,” Rogers wrote in an email. “Because they did not simply lease a pad site, but rather all the land we can see in one direction, we fear what they may be able to do with that much acreage.”

See Oil and gas, page 3A

■ INDEX Briefs . . . . . . . 11A Classifieds . . . . 9B Comics . . . . . . . 8B Happenings . . . 6A Lotto. . . . . . . . . 9B Movies . . . . . . . 7A

The Record. . . 11A Scoreboard. . . . 9B Ski report . . . . . 6A Sports. . . . . . . . 1B ViewPoints . . . . 8A Weather . . . . . . 7B

LARRY PIERCE/COURTESY

A lone skier cuts tracks on the Rainbow trail at Steamboat Ski Area on Thursday. Aggressive snowmaking and a little help from Mother Nature will lead to additional terrain openings during the next few days.

More terrain to open

Steamboat Ski Area plans to operate Sunshine Express on Monday KEEP UP WITH THE CONDITIONS

PILOT & TODAY STAFF

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

Steamboat Ski Area officials are dropping the ropes on additional terrain as the holidays approach and vacationer numbers increase.

On Friday, the ski area opened the Elkhead lift and trails including Spur Run, Rowel, Huffman’s, Moonlight, Flying Z, Big Meadow, Crowtrack, Lower Valley View,

at SteamboatToday.com

Lower Concentration and Bashor Bowl.

The east side of the mountain will begin to open up Monday, when the Sundown Express chairlift is fired up for the first time this season. Accordingly, trails including High Noon, One O’Clock, Two O’Clock, Day-

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break and Highline will open to skiers and snowboarders. Other Monday trail openings include Drop Out, Rough Rider Basin and Headwall North.

Monday’s openings will bring the total terrain offerings to 80 trails and 1,113 skiable acres.

On Wednesday, the resort plans to run the Sunshine Express chairlift and open trails including Tomahawk, Quick Draw, Rendezvous Way, Broadway, Cub, Pup, Buckshot, Ram-

rod, Fawn and part of Spike, according to a Steamboat Ski and Resort Corp. news release.

Those openings will increase the open terrain to 90 trails served by 11 lifts.

“We had to do some additional work in Sunshine Bowl due to the early December wind storm, but the opening of that area is only a few days behind our traditional schedule,” Doug

By HotSteamboatDeals.com See details on Page 2

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Weekend weather will be ideal for travelers Ski area continued from 1A Allen, Ski Corp.’s vice president of mountain operations, said in the release.

Ski area officials said they hope to open Mavericks Superpipe before Christmas Day. Steamboat’s winter air service program into Yampa Valley Regional Airport began Thursday and ramps up today with

additional flights into YVRA from major cities including Atlanta, Newark and Minneapolis/St. Paul. Thursday’s flights brought in about 700 passengers, a number that will increase this weekend. The Steamboat Springs Chamber Resort Association’s lodging barometer forecasts 8,100 overnight guests in Steamboat lodging properties today. That equates to about 50

Another meeting set for Jan. 4 Oil and gas continued from 1A Short spent part of his career observing the oil industry in Texas.

“I was manager of the Digital Oil Well Log Division for Petroleum Information in Houston from 1979 until 1984,” Short wrote in an email. “Then I was the government systems director for Micromedex, the author of poison control databases.”

Also represented are the Community Alliance of the Yampa Valley and the Yampa Valley Sustainability Council. Executives of Quicksilver and Shell Oil, companies that are drilling for oil in Northwest Colorado, also will sit in on the working group.

Routt County Planning Department Director Chad Phillips said he will run the meetings of the working group with a specific goal in mind: reviewing the county’s existing menu of 61 conditions it may consider imposing on new oil and gas drilling permits and exploring whether more should be added to the list.

“I want to begin by letting them know our constraints as a local government,” Phillips said.

The first meeting is scheduled Dec. 28 and a second is Jan. 4.

There is some urgency behind the way the working group was assembled this week and the schedule of meetings, County Manager Tom Sullivan said. A Routt County Planning Commission public hearing has been scheduled Jan. 19 to consider Quicksilver’s newest well-drilling application on the Camilletti & Sons Ranch west of Milner.

Members of the public suggested the creation of the oil and working group Dec. 6 during a work session hosted by the Routt County Board of Commissioners. The next day, Sullivan said, the commissioners began hearing from their constituents, who were calling for a moratorium on new drilling permits or for the creation of the working group. Those contacts made an impression on the commissioners, he said.

The number of people who have signed a petition favoring a moratorium on new drilling permits at www.signon.org had grown to 3,167 at mid-afternoon Friday. A preponderance of the large number of people who signed the petition Thursday gave

Group members ■ Former Routt County Commissioner Ben Beall ■ Shell Oil senior geologist Matthew Holman ■ Quicksilver Resources Senior Director of Government and Community Affairs Stephen Lindsey ■ South Routt resident Kyle Elston ■ Stantec environmental division leader Jim Kerr ■ Environmental cleanup expert and Yampa Valley Sustainability Council member Sarah Jones ■ Mining engineer Maynard Short ■ Saddle Mountain Ranchettes resident and media executive Bethanne Dressel ■ Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission member Kris Neidel ■ Routt County property owner Karen Utterback-Norman ■ Routt County property owner Ken Rogers ■ Routt County Planning Commission member John Ayer ■ Routt County Manager Tom Sullivan ■ Routt County Director of Environmental Health Mike Zopf ■ Routt County attorney John Merrill ■ Assistant Routt County attorney Erick Knaus ■ Routt County Planning Department Director Chad Phillips ■ Routt County Planning Department Planner Chris Brookshire

addresses on Colorado’s Front Range.

On Monday, Commissioner Nancy Stahoviak and Sullivan discussed the public’s interest in the matter. Stahoviak had assembled a working list of people she thought spoke thoughtfully during the Dec. 6 meeting and after.

Commissioner Doug Monger had expressed reluctance Dec. 6 to establish a working group but got on board Monday provided those involved could get something accomplished in advance of the Quicksilver hearing.

Commissioner Diane Mitsch Bush was on vacation.

Sullivan endorsed creation of the working group.

“I like the credibility it lends to the transparency in government we try to promote,” Sullivan said.

“As the commissioners agreed on Dec. 6, and I know Diane agreed, Routt County’s opportunity (to influence the path of energy exploration here) is to place conditions on them. I was glad Quicksilver and Shell were at the meeting and understand that if they want to be successful here, they need to pay attention to what the community wants.”

percent occupancy.

The weekend weather should be ideal for travelers but less so for skiers and riders. The National Weather Service predicts sunny skies and daytime high temperatures in the upper 30s. Overnight lows will range from the single digits to the low teens. That weather pattern is expected to persist into the middle of next week.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

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