Environmentalists count several victories at Capitol

Legislature OKs ethanol, first coal gasification plant, home insulation for poor

Todd Hartman, Rocky Mountain News

Published May 15, 2006 at midnight

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Proposals backing cleaner energy sources, energy efficiency and tougher steps to curb pollution were part of an unusually large wave of green legislation during the recently ended 2006 session.

Even measures to address global warming - an apparent first at the legislature - emerged from a session that environmentalists are declaring a success, even as they concede some losses along the way.

At least 16 bills touched on environmental issues, far more than in recent years, activists said, with about half of those related to energy. Growing national urgency in regard to rising gas prices, the search for petroleum substitutes and concern about climate change contributed to the rising activity, lobbyists and lawmakers said.

"Energy is such a hot topic nationally and internationally," said Will Coyne of Environment Colorado. In that vein, greens said they chalked up important victories.

Lawmakers approved a measure that opens the door to build Colorado's first coal gasification plant. The pilot project, if completed, would be among the first such facilities in the Western United States, one designed to burn coal more efficiently and produce lower emissions, including less carbon dioxide, a key greenhouse gas scientists believe is exacerbating global warming.

Greens also cite the first bill signed by Gov. Bill Owens this year. The measure set aside $21 million in heating assistance and $15 million for home weatherization for low-income Coloradans. The bill means money won't only aid the poor with high heating bills, but will go toward insulating their homes, cutting natural gas consumption.

A third major, and highly contentious, bill approved by legislators requires that 75 percent of gasoline sold in Colorado include 10 percent ethanol, a fuel often derived from corn.

While the oil and gas industry lobbied against the bill, arguing it could raise the price of gasoline by a penny a gallon, lawmakers backing the measure cited benefits to local farmers and the need to develop alternatives to dwindling oil supplies from unstable regions.

Environmentalists say the bill includes incentives to sell ethanol derived from agricultural waste products, as well as incentives to sell E85, an emerging product that contains 85 percent ethanol and works in so-called "flex-fuel" vehicles. Hundreds of thousands of such cars are already on the road in Colorado.

Green groups like ethanol because it burns cleaner than fossil fuels and cuts emissions of greenhouse gases and a variety of air pollutants.

Still, it's unclear whether Owens will sign the ethanol bill. The oil and gas industry is pushing hard for a veto, while corn growers are lobbying the governor to approve it.

"What the bill did was screw up the marketplace," said Stan Dempsey of the Colorado Petroleum Association, which is critical of the measure. "It just mandated ethanol use whether it made economic sense or not."

Environmentalists also liked a bill that sends $135,000 to three Colorado universities to study ways that Colorado can benefit economically from efforts to cut carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to reduce global warming.

On at least two major issues, environmentalists came up short.

A bill that would have allowed state regulators to set tougher air pollution standards than the federal government passed the legislature but was vetoed by the governor, who said it was unnecessary and would put Colorado at a competitive disadvantage.

The bill, backed by environmentalists and public health groups, represented a backlash to Bush administration rewrites of the Clean Air Act. Opponents characterize the regulatory rewrites as rollbacks.

Another bill attempted to give so-called "split estate" landowners greater ability to recover damages from the impact of oil and gas drilling on their property. But industry opponents lobbied hard on the measure, and its backers ended up killing it after the bill was watered down on its trip through the legislature.

How environmental measures fared

A look at other environmental bill and their fates during the 2006 legislative session:

• Biodiesel mandate: Requires some 200-300 state-owned diesel vehicles to use biodiesel fuel, an alternative fuel using a mixture of diesel and plant extracts. The governor is expected to approve a companion bill, which will allow the measure to go into effect.

• Biofuel studies: Requires review of whether certain state buildings could be heated and powered using waste from forest-thinning projects or agricultural activities. Signed by governor.

• Water protections: Called for water court judges to consider the impacts on water quality when water is transferred from one basin to another. The bill, opposed by several Front Range water interests, failed by one vote in the Senate.

• Hog farm odors: Allows lagoons filled with hog farm manure and wastewater to use technologies other than covers to manage odors. Awaits governor's signature.

• Auto emission testing: Sets deadlines for state health regulators to move toward a system focusing on high-polluting cars, instead of all cars, to pass emission tests. Awaits governor's signature.

• Natural gas efficiency: Requires utilities that provide natural gas to set up efficiency programs with customers, including possible incentives such as rebates for installing efficient furnaces. Awaits governor's signature.

• Water pollution fines: Uses penalties levied against water polluters to create a water quality fund for cleanup and prevention. Awaits governor's signature.

• Open space taxes: Would have allowed counties, with voter approval, to raise sales taxes above state limits for open space, parks and recreational facilities. Vetoed by governor.

• Kayak courses: Outlines a process for determining when water can be left in river channels for recreation. Signed by governor.

• Environmental reviews: Creates an environmental review process for private toll roads, similar to the significant environmental impact studies public highway projects must undergo. Awaits governor's signature.

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