A Subtle Point We Missed

The Denver Post made an important point this morning about Bill Ritter's work with BLM on the Roan Plateau:

The subtlest but perhaps most important part of Ritter's proposal is that it tries to integrate the governor's ideas with existing BLM plans in a way that would not force the agency to formally reopen its "record of decision" — a bureaucratic process that would force more months of public hearings on an area that has already been studied for seven years.

It seems that all of the recent strife caused by Bill Ritter is forgiven at the Denver Post Editorial Board:

It's also important to note that Ritter's decision was made in the spirit of his "Colorado Promise." He worked fruitfully with federal officials, the energy industry, local governments, and citizens to help release the Roan's tremendous economic resources while protecting its thriving wildlife and scenic treasures.

Our bet is that it isn't forgotten, though. When a major paper states in an editorial that a governor is headed down a path that will make him a one term Governor, that politician needs to do more than simply not foul up a decade long process. This is at best an editorial board looking for something to praise Bill Ritter on.

When Moderate Really Means "Not Extreme"

The Rocky Mountain News is praising Bill Ritter for his "moderate" decision to allow some drilling on the top of the Roan Plateau.

The Gazette, months ago, considered Mark Udall's opposition to drilling there "extreme" and used that word.

We want to praise Governor Ritter as well, though we do share the Rocky's concerns:

It's a refreshing change from the officeholder who has too often sided with organized labor, environmentalists, public employee groups and other narrow special interests - to the detriment of solutions that appeal to the broad majority of Coloradans.

Roan Plateau Games Still Being Played

Ken Salazar bought Bill Ritter some time to save the scrub land that is called the Roan Plateau. The time is up. Ritter proposed some very minor changes and claims:

Ritter and state Department of Natural Resources executive director Harris Sherman said they believe the BLM will incorporate their comments into the plan

If BLM does actually incorporate new comments in the plan, it must then open the plan up for comments on the comments. More wasted time, but that seems to be the plan. They don't have to stall drilling forever, but they think it would be nice to stall it until after Mark Udall is elected.

Pristine Back Country?

The DSCC made a mistake this week in releasing a YouTube ad supposedly showing the Roan Plateau to be lush with water. It is not. It is arid scrub land. Someone who questions that description need only call up Google Earth and enter "Roan Plateau" to see that.

Why do we get stuff like this from the associated press:

Some of the elected officials in western Colorado, hunting and angling groups, environmentalists and churches across the state have called for protecting the Roan Plateau, rich in natural gas and oil shale as well as wildlife and pristine backcountry. There is drilling on some of the formation's private land, and the Bureau of Land Management in June approved a plan opening some of the federal land to drilling.

Perhaps it is because the Associated Press cannot be trusted to be truthful. This Roan Plateau drilling hold up is an attempt by the environmentalists to drive up the cost of oil and gas, and they count on people not using the internet and their own eyes to see the truth. Go look at Google Earth for yourself.

While you are at it, check out just how deceptive the latest DSCC ad for Mark Udall is. We wouldn't have checked Google Earth ourselves had the photographs the DNCC provided the ad agency not looked so strange.

Backroom Bill Ritter Does Good, Maybe

It is unfair for a blog which calls itself Ritter Watch not to point out when Bill Ritter appears to be moving in the right direction.

Time will tell, but Bill Ritter doesn't seem to share the same environmentalist extremist position against drilling on the Roan Plateau that has so often been expressed by John Salazar, Mark Udall, and Ken Salazar.

The Denver Post reports that he is trying to strike a balance, which is what politics should be all about.

"Our recommendations will be a modification, or some may say a departure," said Ritter, who is nearing the end of a 120-day review of the Bureau of Land Management's drilling proposal. "I've never been a person opposed to drilling on the Roan. But we need to make sure any modifications are environmentally sound and we maximize the economic benefit to the state."

Now, if only we can get him out of the backroom on other issues.

It is Easy to Dislike Zealots

Yesterday, the Aspen Daily News published Enviros up pressure on Ritter over the Roan.

In it appeared the following curious comment:

In addition to species like deer and elk, the Roan is also home to some rare populations of native cutthroat trout.

That has raised concerns among anglers. “They’re a pretty unique population of fish up there,” said Ken Neubecker, vice president of Colorado Trout Unlimited. “Right now, while they’ve survived thousands of years in these small populations, a single accident up there, either from stormwater discharge or a tanker truck spill, could wipe these populations out. There’s no need to rush into this and go after this gas.”

Neubecker is simply putting out false propaganda for those who don't bother to think. Since when does the gas industry use tanker trucks to remove gas from a gas field? It is possible to liquefy gas, but that requires that its temperature be lowered in complex plants that no one is suggesting will be used at any point in the process, either on the Roan Plateau or elsewhere.

Storm water discharge would only be a problem if liquid byproducts (water) of gas production were being stored on the plateau. It is entirely possible that the liquid byproducts will be potable, and unlikely that they will be stored on the plateau if they are not. If the water turns out to be potable, as has happened elsewhere in Colorado, expect the fight not to be over storm water discharge, but over the rights to this new water source.

Another Zealot put out another lie:

"It only makes sense, I think, to go slow on developing resources like the Roan,” said [ Claire ] Bastable, [ conservation director for the Colorado Mountain Club ] who said most of the gas leases already approved haven’t been drilled on yet. “We’re in no danger of losing revenue.”

A very reasonable plan has been worked out over the years to develop the Roan in 350 acre segments with the requirement that each segment be restored before moving to the next one. It is difficult to see how that plan could be modified to go slower and still recover the gas. It turns out that Bastable has no interest in "going slow." She wants to stop it entirely.

We have written elsewhere how the threat that Bill Ritter, Mark Udall, Ken Salazar, and John Salazar will succeed in making gas leases less valuable through regulation and prohibition makes energy companies less willing to pay top dollar for the leases. If people like Bastable and her organization want to keep claiming that their actions aren't losing the state revenue, let them post a bond to ensure that their claim is true. So much money is involved that they would find they couldn't afford it.

A reminder is in order: The Aspen Daily News has a strange archive system that may make the link stop operating. If that happens, do a google search on the title, which we provided.