Bush's signature gives go-ahead for Platte recovery plan
By M.E. Sprengelmeyer, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published May 8, 2008 at 9:30 p.m.
President Bush gave final approval for a Platte River recovery plan on Thursday when he signed a massive natural resources bill into law.
The recovery plan, backed by Sens. Wayne Allard and Ken Salazar, of Colorado, and their counterparts from Nebraska, is meant to protect endangered or threatened species while allowing continued water use and development along the river.
It sets aside $157 million as the federal share of implementing the agreement, first signed by the governors of Nebraska, Colorado and Wyoming with the Interior Department in 2006.
The larger law, the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008, also includes provisions sponsored by Salazar and Rep. Mark Udall to allow new uses of "produced water" - groundwater contaminated during oil drilling or energy extraction methods - for such things as irrigation on ranches.
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May 9, 2008
8:56 a.m.
Suggest removal
jbowen43 writes:
"groundwater contaminated during oil drilling or energy extraction methods"
Contaminated with what?
What possible adverse effects can we expect from this?
May 9, 2008
10:11 a.m.
Suggest removal
Bob299 writes:
Just be thankful that Colorado is on the upstream end of the water supply.