Obama decision also a rebuke of Ritter admin
President Barack Obama put a halt to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed air-quality standards just before the Labor Day weekend. The Wall Street Journal opined that the president cited the struggling economy as his main reason for not wanting to tighten ozone regulations at this time: Come January 2010, the Obama EPA said it […]
Oops! No EPA threat over SIP
Lawmakers (including those in leadership on both sides of the aisle), Xcel Energy, environmentalists, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, the Public Utilities Commission and any other group that championed Colorado’s needlessly expensive, likely illegal Regional Haze State Implementation Plan (SIP) have A LOT of explaining to do. We were told repeatedly that if […]
The Whole, Depressing Truth: HB 1291
I travelled to Denver twice in the last 7 days to testify before the Senate State Affairs Committee on HB 1291, Colorado’s State Implementation Plan to meet the Regional Haze provision of the federal Clean Air Act. I told the Committee that HB 1291 is illegal. And I rebutted the distortions peddled by its proponents, who also […]
HB 1291 second reading: snuggies, moderates and the gavel
Great quotes from today’s Senate floor debate on HB 1291, which saw republicans Scott Renfroe, Kevin Lundberg and Shawn Mitchell collaborate with democrat Lois Tochtrop to save money for Xcel ratepayers. Two pro-consumer amendments that closely mirror SB 236 and SB 237 were defeated. Senator Lois Tochtrop: “I’m buying stock in snuggies because that’s all […]
Fat Cats
Wish I had seen this last year when HB 1365, Ritter’s fuel switching bill, was rammed through the state legislature. But it still works for this year in regards to HB 1291.
Senate committee gives thumbs up to Xcel…again
The Colorado Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs committee along a party-line vote (3-2) approved House Speaker Frank McNulty’s and Senate Majority Leader’s John Morse’s bill, HB 1291, which rubber stamps a costly and likely illegal State Implementation Plan (SIP) on regional haze. Nine people representing a variety of different groups including consumers, unions, mining, […]
Democracy Subverted: Colorado Senate Stifles HB 1291 Opposition
As I explained in a companion post, HB 1291, legislation that approves the Air Quality Control Commission’s Regional Haze State Implementation Plan, is an illegal rip-off. Thankfully, there’s a remedy: Senator Kevin Lundberg’s S. 237, would strip HB 1291 of its most cost-ineffective provisions, and thereby save ratepayers at least $100 million in unnecessary costs. […]
Primer: HB 1291, an Illegal Rip-off
What is HB 1291? On Monday, by a 58-7 vote, the Colorado House of Representatives passed HB 1291, legislation that approves the Air Quality Control Commission’s Regional Haze State Implementation Plan. HB 1291 comes before the Senate State Affairs Committee next Tuesday, April 19. What is a Regional Haze State Implementation Plan? In the 1977 […]
Representative Looper a voice for ratepayers
My apologies to Representative Marsha Looper for not including her name as one of the seven no votes on HB 1291. As my colleague William Yeatman wrote, it was Rep. Looper along with Representative Jim Kerr who initially asked for a hearing on the Air Quality Control Commission’s State Implementation Plan that is the foundation […]
