Calls for NEPA review
The High Country Citizens’ Alliance (HCCA) is one of three conservation groups that filed a lawsuit and a request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) in an effort to prevent a coal company from developing mining activity next to the West Elk Wilderness Area in the North Fork Valley. Read More »
Soccer in the Butte
Once again soccer is reaching a feverish pitch in the good ol’ U.S. of A. With the men’s team rattling off three wins in a row to qualify for the 2014 World Cup and Major League Soccer (MLS) setting attendance records this season, it appears soccer is taking hold in ‘Merica.
Hell, I even went to a bar to watch the U.S. play Honduras. Read More »
Companies maintain no wrongdoing occurred
Back in 2005 Gunnison Energy Corporation and SG Interests Ltd. allegedly violated antitrust laws by illegally cooperating with each other during an oil and gas lease sale.
Statements don’t mean much without perspective. US Energy, the company with the rights to the molybdenum under Mt. Emmons, is touting the recent U.S. Forest Service decision to allow detailed analysis of a mining plan as a major move and just about guarantees a mine “sooner rather than later.” That is doubtful, given any sort of rational perspective.
The Forest Service decision says that on its face, the company has provided enough of a plan that the government is obligated to really delve into that plan. The public too will now get the chance to really dig into that proposal and comment on it. If US Energy executives believe that will be a quick process, they are simply foolish. And I don’t think they are foolish.
But I do think they are a bit desperate and trying to exude a patina of inevitability for the mine in an effort to attract a potential partner with deep pockets that might want to take this mine off its hands.
What? Take a valuable mine off its hands? That would be crazy, wouldn’t it? Not so much. Let’s remember a bit of history. Tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent investigating the realistic potential for a moly mine under Red Lady. Those who have spent those millions have all walked away.
It wasn’t long ago that US Energy had a “real” partner in molybdenum miner Thompson-Creek Metals Company. That company had the know-how, expertise and contacts to perhaps make a run at a mine. After spending a few million dollars, they abruptly backed out of the potential project after doing some on-the-ground research. It wasn’t that long ago that US Energy was in a lawsuit with mining energy giant Phelps-Dodge and the loser essentially had to take the mine. US Energy lost and now has the mine.
The mine comes with an annual expenditure of close to $2 million to run the water treatment plant that treats water coming from the old Keystone mine. That treated water feeds Coal Creek and is consumed by people downstream of the town of Crested Butte. The town of Crested Butte is keeping a close eye on the situation and will be very careful about what it allows in its watershed. US Energy also cites some crazy poll saying that people around here want a mine on Red Lady. Right. And Blue Mesa might overflow its banks this weekend.
The Forest Service decision means that the company can now head into an environmental review process called NEPA. NEPA is not for those in a hurry. NEPA brings out the buzz saws. A controversial project of this proposed size with this much opposition should last years if it’s on a fast track and cost US Energy millions of dollars. In-depth studies, analysis, answers to questions brought up by members of the public and organizations like HCCA and the Red Lady Coalition will take many, many, many, many minutes of thought, engineering and fact gathering. And it is then that the Forest Service will decide whether or not a mine can happen responsibly. And then, whichever way that decision falls, more lawsuits should be expected. Despite the insinuations of the mining company, this is not a short process with backing of the people living in this community.
Oh, and then there’s the simple cost and ramifications of getting a mine started in central Colorado. A financial analyst with a home in the valley emailed me earlier this year with some interesting information about moly mining in general. He pointed out that molybdenum mining requires “enormous water flows and an oven to cook at 600-700 degrees. Both generating enormous waste products…Moly mining is so extraordinarily polluting that most experts feel future growth will need to be in emerging nations such as Indonesia where there is no EPA type of agency,” he surmised.
The costs of opening a new mine in a location such as this are staggering. Infrastructure that includes tailings ponds, mills, electricity infrastructure and transportation infrastructure upgrades could reach not into the hundreds of millions of dollars but top a billion dollars.
I understand why US Energy wants to put lipstick on this pig and dress it all up in frilly clothes to try to attract another partner and scare those living near the potential mine into taking action no matter what the cost. They are running out of money and opportunity. Keeping a water treatment plant that only blows expenditures without producing revenues is not a good part of any business model.
And did we mention that the price of molybdenum is now about $11 a pound? And there is no shortage of moly around the world. Those factors don’t make extracting the metal in a new mine a cash cow.
Look, the idea of a mine certainly hangs over this end of the valley like the smell of an industrial pig farm. It’s something we have to pay attention to and not take lightly. A new mine would change this place and damage what tourist economy we have.
But for those freaking out over US Energy’s public statements about the recent Forest Service decision, take them for what they are … an attempt to push a pig into the corner and put lipstick on it.
Releases names of nominators, suspends leases
The future of oil and gas development in Gunnison County and surrounding areas came into question repeatedly this month as the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) made two key industry-related decisions that could potentially change regional energy production. Read More »
New legislation, local coalition seek ways to stop future development
With two months to go before the expiration of several federally granted oil and gas development leases in the Thompson Divide area, debate over the future of almost a quarter million acres of public lands is heating up. Read More »
I love March. Temperatures start to rise, snow can begin to fall and rumors of another impending sale of the ski resort begin to float through the community.
March is the time when we begin to take stock of the season before the season ends. It hasn’t been one of the top ones. Snow came late and not in any huge quantities but the terrain that is open is skiing great. It appears that the number of people coming off the airplanes to hit the slopes will be down from last year. There is nothing good about that trend.
As much as I enjoy having what amounts to our own private ski area, I miss the energy of lots of people mingling on the slopes, on the streets and in the businesses. When every magazine piece about Crested Butte mentions the lack of lift lines, that’s like complimenting a bar because no one ever goes there…and that’s not necessarily a bar that you want to search out to experience a fun time.
*Hearing again that the ski area is somehow under contract and being looked at under due diligence from a Vail or an Intrawest or a former Dallas Cowboy great doesn’t mean much. It’s spring and it’s one of the three or four times each year the ‘CBMR is about to announce a sale’ rumor comes up. Whether it is true or not (and pretty much everything around here is for sale at the right price so there is always a kernel of truth in that rumor), the bottom line is that for whomever is running the ski resort, it is a tough row to hoe.
Without some tweaks to the product and the product-to-value ratio that will attract people, there will be less and less people getting off the planes to ski here…no matter where the planes are landing. Give the people a reason to want to get here (and come back to) and airline seat numbers won’t be an issue.
*When you do something right but still get spanked, it’s unfortunately a lesson in unfairness, bad decisions and frustration. Sage Grouse is an issue we follow at the News but haven’t focused on at this end of the valley. But recent indications that the feds want to now list that bird as an Endangered Species would be devastating to parts of our community. That’s why there has been a local working group dealing with the issue for years to keep the bird population healthy in the county. And by all accounts, it has worked.
We as a community have spent money, time and thought to keep the bird population strong. And when you do everything you can to drive a goal to a successful endpoint but still get the shaft, it reinforces the anger everyone can have with government.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is seemingly ignoring our success for a quick, but painful fix. It looks like the feds are basically responding to pressure from national enviros who are pushing for an endangered species listing. Thus, the service is ready to ignore significant, successful results. Ultimately, that decision could kick local cattle off public lands used for grazing and makes the local ranching business impossible. It could kick recreationalists off local trails. If either of those things happen it spells trouble for our valley.
Look for ramifications that could result in the drying up of the local ranches as big cities swoop in to purchase the ranchland and, more importantly, the senior water rights. The move could also put a crimp in summer biking and hiking and put the brakes on any development in the county. Reading an opinion piece in last week’s New York Times advocating the listing of the Sage Grouse under the Endangered Species Act was irritating in its focus on an overview with no credit given to the boots on the ground that the County and local ranchers have implemented in its successful conservation efforts.
When you do something good that turns out well and still get a penalty, it is time to scream…or at least start legal measures that make everyone look at reality before making decisions that impact real people. A public meeting on the issue is being held Thursday at 7 pm at the Fred Field House in Gunnison.
*I guess it’s the time of year to be thinking about the November ballot. A couple of quick ideas have been thrown out into the general ether recently about the possibility of local tax increases. There has been mention at the school district to help with shortfalls and at the RTA to potentially help fund the continuation of jet seats into the area. Frankly, neither excites me at this early stage. Just sayin’. I don’t have a ton of extra dough in the wallet waiting to go toward more taxes. It would take a really strong argument to convince people to raise their taxes this fall.
In the meantime, it is March and there is less than a month left for lift served skiing. Hopefully the days will all be sunny and warm and the nights full of dry and copious powder.
Taking sharp left turns at every chance seems to have worked for Karen and Brice Hoskin. It has taken them through astounding scenery, innovative business ventures, off the grid living, creative endeavors, and an interesting trip all the way down the road to Crested Butte, where they own, operate and distill their Montanya Rum. Read More »
Study projects significant forest loss
due to suburbanization and land
fragmentation
A comprehensive U.S. Forest Service report released this week examines the ways expanding populations, increased urbanization, and changing land-use patterns could profoundly impact natural resources, including water supplies, nationwide during the next 50 years.
The study shows the potential for significant loss of privately owned forests to development and fragmentation, which could substantially reduce benefits from forests that the public now enjoys, including clean water, wildlife habitat, forest products and others. Read More »
Gas companies go back to the table with Justice Department
The cash settlement reached between the Department of Justice and local gas operators Gunnison Energy Corporation and SG Interests Ltd. was denied by a District Court after further review. The two companies allegedly violated antitrust laws by cooperating with each other during a 2005 oil and gas lease sale.
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