{"id":1317216,"date":"2019-12-11T16:53:27","date_gmt":"2019-12-11T23:53:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/?p=991688"},"modified":"2019-12-12T08:26:31","modified_gmt":"2019-12-12T15:26:31","slug":"proposed-gas-regulations-get-personal-for-many-on-the-western-slope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/local-news\/proposed-gas-regulations-get-personal-for-many-on-the-western-slope\/","title":{"rendered":"Proposed gas regulations get personal for many on the Western Slope"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
A few pro-gas industry signs appeared at the overflowing public meeting on the Air Quality Control Commission’s proposed methane rules at the Rifle City Hall Dec. 10..<\/strong>
Thomas Phippen \/ Post Independent<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

About six signs bearing phrases like \u201coil and gas supports clean air\u201d dotted the Rifle city chambers Tuesday for the Air Quality Control Commission\u2019s public hearing on new oil and gas regulations.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow many people with these all these signs live within a half a mile of an active oil site?\u201d Jennifer Moore asked in her public comments.<\/p>\n

One man cautiously raised his hand. Someone in the back muttered, \u201cI work on them.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than 90 people crowded into the room at Rifle City Hall, taking turns standing in the doorway.<\/p>\n

Proponents of the Air Quality Control Commission\u2019s two draft regulations tightening rules on methane emissions outnumbered those opposed by more than three to one.<\/p>\n

Out of 60 speakers hailing from across the Western Slope, 46 supported the stricter requirements for oil and gas companies statewide, and 14 spoke in opposition.<\/p>\n

Proponents of the rules say the statewide regulations are common sense, and essential to preserving the Western Slope\u2019s relatively clean air. Those opposed say the regulations would be burdensome and unnecessary for gas extraction on this side of the Rocky Mountains.<\/p>\n

Rio Blanco County Commissioner Gary Moyer said \u201cwe don\u2019t have an air quality issue\u201d as the Front Range does, and the regulations for that region aren\u2019t needed on the western slope. <\/p>\n

But many speakers support the rules, hoping they will preserve the clean air.<\/p>\n

Glenwood Springs mayor pro tem Shelley Kaup acknowledged that Garfield County, which sits on one of the largest natural gas reserves in the country, has extensive air monitoring and generally clean air.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis cannot be taken for granted, and it could change dramatically,\u201d Kaup said.<\/p>\n

\u201cGlenwood Springs\u2019 economy is driven by tourism and recreation. We rely on clean air, clean water, and a healthy natural environment,\u201d Kaup said.<\/p>\n

Industry proponents also used economics to argue their position.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach time another overreaching rule is made, we lose businesses and employees in many other sectors, not only the oil and gas industry,\u201d said C.J. Rhyne of the Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
Glenwood Springs city councilor Paula Stepp delivers comments at the Air Quality Control Commission\u2019s public hearing on methane rules in Rifle Dec. 10.<\/strong>
Thomas Phippen \/ Post Independent<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Paonia organic farmer Michael Straub held up an inhaler, and said he supports the rules in part because he doesn\u2019t want his asthma to get any worse. But Straub, and others, said the proposed rules also could help address climate change.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that methane increases the risk of climate change and drought\u2026 Everything we can do to help limit that would be great,\u201d Straub said.<\/p>\n

A few commenters on both sides got personal with their comments.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
60 people commented on the Air Quality Control Commission\u2019s public hearing on methane rules in Rifle Dec. 10.<\/strong>
Thomas Phippen \/ Post Independent<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cAs you look around the room, you will see that those of us who work closest to the wellhead are in significantly better health than those who have lived on a steady diet of fear and granola,\u201d Durango resident Carla Neal said in her comments.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not trying to shut down the industry,\u201d said Moore, who works with activist group 350 Roaring Fork. Moore said she only wants accountability from the gas industry before it damages the environment for future generations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a moral issue. Do we stand up and do something to what is happening to Colorado\u2019s environment, or are we going to allow an industry to bully us?\u201d Moore said.<\/p>\n

The commission will next meet in Loveland on Monday.<\/p>\n

tphippen@postindependent.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

via:: Post Independent<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A few pro-gas industry signs appeared at the overflowing public meeting on the Air Quality Control Commission’s proposed methane rules at the Rifle City Hall Dec. 10..Thomas Phippen \/ Post Independent About six signs bearing phrases like \u201coil and gas supports clean air\u201d dotted the Rifle city chambers Tuesday for the Air Quality Control Commission\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1317216","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-20 17:19:06","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1317216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1317216"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1317216\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1317227,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1317216\/revisions\/1317227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1317216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1317216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1317216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}