STUNNER: Parkinson solves KS coal fight - smaller plant with tougher environmental rules

Miss Kitty left Dodge, and went to Washington... For all Obama lovers, look up the word Cabal... The Dems have one in Washington...

However, the smoke (and mirrors) are clearing in the state where my heart belongs...

And, our Ohio-born, carpet-bagger is now gone...

It just kills me all the people who said..."I can't believe she was actually who she turned out to be..." Shocking...

Could say the same about Obama...

It would appear that Parkinson will also help to renew KTEC as well...

Just a sidenote... It kills me as well that when Chrysler's bankruptcy was announced, the announcement came from none other than Obama's office...

What is this (socialist) word coming to???

Happy again in Kansas... Sad again in America....

This guy is a leader.

I'm impressed.

will not be running for election. People lose again.

Following article from Business Journal tells you again the big boys don't want to be regulated and want to continue to make their big bucks and too bad if the people suffer. 70's all over again when we had an energy crisis - the special interests want the status quo to continue even to the detriment of the people and the country.

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Monday, May 4, 2009
Energy industry sues Colorado over new oil and gas rules

Colorado’s sweeping new rules governing oil and gas operations “the most costly and burdensome” in the nation, the Colorado Oil & Gas Association has sued state regulators, asking a judge to invalidate the rules that Gov. Bill Ritter signed into law April 22.

The rules took effect April 1 across much of the state; the deadline to challenge them in court was Friday, the day the suit was filed in Denver District Court.

On April 22, Ritter signed House Bill 1292, which officially approved all new rules put forward by state agencies in the previous year, including the oil and gas regulations.

“House Bill 1292 and the new guidelines will allow the [energy] industry to grow in a way that is sustainable and compatible with our entire economy,” Ritter said April 22 in a statement defending the new rules.

Ritter also said then that he was “committed to helping this [oil and gas] industry thrive. Clean-burning natural gas is an important part of Colorado’s New Energy Economy, and this industry will play a key role in Colorado’s economic recovery and our economic future.”

But oil and gas executives have said the rules will drive their costs higher, in some cases by thousands of dollars per well. They’ve also predicted that investment dollars will be diverted to other states viewed as more favorable for energy operations when the economy recovers.

Efforts to change Colorado’s regulations governing how and where oil and natural gas is mined in the state have been controversial for two years.

Ritter and environmental groups have pushed for new rules, saying they’re needed to protect Colorado’s environment, wildlife and public health from what was a booming industry.

Oil and gas executives have said the rules go too far, require too much, and are costly to comply with.

The COGA lawsuit filed Friday focused on two issues: Whether the Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission accurately and publicly forecast what it would cost the state agency to enforce the new rules, and whether the agency accurately forecast the cost of compliance the rules would level on companies operating in Colorado.

The lawsuit claims the agency did neither, and asked the judge to invalidate the rules or tell the agency to, in essence, try again.

The lawsuit claims the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) told legislators in 2007 that enforcing new rules would cost about $19,510 even though internal calculations put the cost at more than $3.3 million, including hiring at least 14 new employees.

The lawsuit included a statement from DNR’s deputy director, Mike King, as quoted by the Associated Press in a Feb. 3 report, that King “wasn’t comfortable letting a fiscal note [with the higher figures] drive the bill into the ground.”

The same AP story also included King’s explanation that the lower cost figure was the agency’s early cost estimate when the new rules consisted solely of a consultation between the oil and gas commission and other state agencies on requests for drilling permits.

The lawsuit also blasts the oil and gas commission’s cost-benefit analysis of the new rules and their effect on one of the largest industries in the state.

“The [commission’s] … analysis understates (or omits entirely) the economic effects, impacts, probable costs, and consequences of the new … rules,” the lawsuit states. “The analyses fail to disclose the adverse effect, impacts, probable costs, and future consequences upon the economy of Colorado, its consumers, private markets, small businesses, job losses and economic competitiveness. They fail to analyze less costly or intrusive methods for achieving the purported purposes of the new … rules. The also fail to reevaluate the economic impact of continuing agency action.”

In a statement accompanying the new rules, the commission said they are needed largely “to address concerns created by the unprecedented increase in the permitting and production of oil and gas in Colorado in the past few years. ... As the level and extent of drilling activity has increased, so has the public concern for the health, safety and welfare of Colorado’s residents.”

On Monday, Dave Neslin, director of the oil and gas commission, said the agency — which oversees oil and gas operations in Colorado — is confident the state’s new industry rules will withstand the legal challenge.

“Those rules were previously reviewed by both the Colorado attorney general’s office and the attorneys for the Colorado Legislature, all of whom concluded that the rules are lawful,” Neslin said.

“We believe that the rules are balanced and responsible and will create a sustainable framework for the industry to succeed once prices rise, credit is available, and pipeline [export] capacity increases. We look forward to presenting our case to the court and we are confident that the court, like the attorney general’s office and the legislature’s attorneys, will uphold the commission’s actions,” Neslin said.

At the risk of sounding like a smart ass. How do you power up your computer? Do you ride a stationary bike while you are typeing to keep the power going? If not, how do you think the power gets to your house?

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Panda,
Now I will be nice to you. You rail against the coal fired power plants. But without them, we would all be in the dark. Obama has talked about (and funded) "clean coal" technology, but it is not ready yet. Neither is solar or wind. The reality of the situation is we need coal in order to live up to the standards that we are used to.
We want energy independence, but without coal, that is a pipe dream. We want hybrid or all electric cars to get off of foreign oil, but how are we going to run them? I am a realist, and I don't want to go back to the times of horse and buggy. Without coal, that is our option.

to stay in one. You and BNSF would get along great with your crappy dirty coal for the next 100 years. The big boys will never want to pay for "clean coal".

Well, I stepped out Sunday morning to raise our flag in peace and quiet
As Old Glory waved I feared our town might soon be a total riot
Of clashing gears from semis lurching down our streets and belching fumes.
They'd befoul the plots on edge of town where pioneers and heroes rest in tombs.
"Our streets could be paved in gold!", the railroad proponents seem to claim.
But, will it be railroad dollars coming down or merely acid rain?

Oh, will we see those railroad dollars?
Or will they soak us till we drown
In a murky sea of promises of railroad dollars coming down?

Our eyes glazed over with dollar signs, we'll sure be cast aside.
Who pays the ticket when a railroad takes you for a ride?
We may be huddled 'mongst the potholes near the train yard looking like a clown
With grimy hands outstretched through smog, grasping for railroad dollars raining
down.

Oh, will we see those railroad dollars?
Or will they soak us till we drown
In a murky sea of promises of railroad dollars raining down?

Panda,
I am talking about coal fired electricity. You go off on a tangent about BNSF? Two different subjects. Now I don't hate BNSF, my father in law is retired from there. I understand your opposition to the intermodal. However, the railroads do perform a needed service in the community.

connecting the dots and this one time I am not going to do it for you.

One poster said you can tell he is not running for reelection. You said it as an insult but I think you hit the nail on the head. This issue has gone on too long. The fact that she had to veto it over and over again says the public thought was not with her. Otherwise, all those Congressmen and Legislators wouldn't have kept passing it. The new Governor stepped up to the plate and to heck with polictics, he did what a lame duck does, what he thinks is right. No more sucking up to partisan pressure or spouting the party line. He served Kansas. The Greenies may want to protest but they would be the first to call my city government office to cry if their lights go out for a minute and they can't blow dry their hair. How dare they miss a minute of Dancing with the Stars or American Idol? They enjoy the creature comforts and then go out and protest for the environment after House goes into reruns.

and the people lost big time. By the way I do not watch American Idol, Dancing with the Stars nor House which must be your favorites since you can list the shows so swiftly.

Bring on the pollution and Kansas will see about 1/3 of the power and 2/3 of the power,you say we have to have so much, goes out to a state or states who know they don't want coal-fired power plants - the big boys and elected officials doing their thing to continue their dynasty of money and greed while Rome slowly burns.

because their environmental laws won't allow this plant to be built there.

Since my computer is not in Colorado, I see no personal benefit from this dirty coal plant.

Just thinking like a Republican. LOL