Graveyard Shift Wandering Thoughts

What follows is the rambling of an unfocused mind. You have been warned.

We have now had over a month of rain, the ground is saturated and the rivers are running high and muddy. Lots of flooding on the South Platte in NE Colorado.

Colorado drivers who think nothing of driving 10 over on black ice in a blizzard are doing 15 under in the rain.

One meteorologist has said we are back to normal, that the dry spell starting in the 1970’s isn't the norm!

All this is bad for those in the flood paths but good news for the vast region dependent on the Ogallala Aquifer and the smaller aquifers in the region.

SE Colorado/SW Kansas/Oklahoma panhandle is seeing a lot of rain after years of drought. This should be a good summer to visit the Comanche Grasslands.

My heart is heavy for my relatives and friends in the Moffat and Rio Blanco counties of NW Colorado. An out of state “Environment” Group along with an Obama appointed Federal Judge found a regulation (among thousands) not followed and have given the major coal mine in the area 120 days to shut down. This regulation was not followed by the Federal Government, not the coal company, but matters not to the enviornazis and the syncopate judge.    

While I hate to give these environazis any publicity, here is their “victory” statement.

http://www.wildearthguardians.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=11529&news_iv_ctrl=1194#.VVupE7lVhHw

What is at stake.

http://instituteforenergyresearch.org/press/ghost-town-aea-video-profiles-regulatory-assault-on-craig-colorado/

http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/blog/earth_to_power/2015/05/feds-must-look-at-impacts-of-colorado-coal-mine.html

Governor Wishywashy leaps into the breach

http://coloradopeakpolitics.com/2015/05/19/with-friends-like-these-hick-stabs-craig-in-the-back-over-mine-ruling/

What happens after the coal is mined?

http://mining.state.co.us/Programs/Coal/RulesRegs/Pages/ReclamationAct.aspx

 No need here to delve into my utter outrage about this situation. One source says Colorado families face a $700 a year increase in their electric bills with the 30% renewable energy mandate.

The only constant is change.

ADDENDUM

Our junior Senator weighs in.

https://www.facebook.com/SenCoryGardner/videos/vb.160924893954206/903085873071434/?type=2&theater

Risky Business

Northeast Colorado is in the midst of an oil boom. Unlike North Dakota, a substantial infrastructure is already in place. Also, unlike North Dakota, the area is well populated. A decent article about the energy development is here.

http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_24721419/new-oil-boom-lurks-denver-julesburg-basin?source=most_viewed

http://oilshalegas.com/niobrarashale.html

What isn’t discussed are some of the political implications. While the gun control uproar has been the most prominent reported part of the 51^st State effort, the core issue is, as always, money. The tax revenues are being grabbed by the dense population area representatives, and spent in the urban areas. The location of the revenue sources, rural areas, gets the problems, and not the benefits. Add a renewable energy mandate, that is not economically feasible, rammed down the rural area’s throats by the urban voters, and the anger grows.

http://www.51ststate.org/tp50/default.asp?ID=314893

http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_24461077/11-counties-weigh-secession-from-colorado-formation-51st

One obvious danger of all this development isn’t being discussed. That is a possible contamination of the Ogallala Aquifer. Already being depleted faster than it is replenished, contamination would be a major economic disaster for a wide region. Look at the maps, please. See the overlap? The aquifer is relative shallow as is the drilling in the DJ basin, as shown here.

I’m in no way qualified to answer these questions, but as a resident of the area, I feel free to ask them. What I see on the surface is a lot of care by the petroleum industry to mitigate the impact of their operations. What is happening underground? We know contamination can happen. Natural gas has bubbled up in streams in the Silt, CO area (Garfield County).

As always, development brings risk. Questioning risk management and mitigation is appropriate.