Delta County rejects solar proposal that would generate millions in tax revenue
On March 2, the Republican-controlled Delta County Board of Commissioners rejected a proposed 80-megawatt solar project on private land that would have supplied the Delta-Montrose Electric Association with renewable energy. The 472-acre solar farm, creating enough local energy to power 18,000 homes annually, also would have generated an estimated $13 million in tax revenue over 15 years. This baffling decision was unsupported by law or fact, and flies in the face of energy independence, local control, private property rights, and other of their touted principles.
HCCA’s West Elk Coal Mine Advocacy Succeeds
As you may recall, in 2020 Mountain Coal Co. bulldozed a road into the Sunset Roadless Area to facilitate mine expansion, resulting in (amongst other things) a State-issued Cessation Order. On January 12, 2022, the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining, and Safety (DRMS) lifted that Cessation Order, but at the same time noted that Mountain Coal no longer has approval to construct roads under its state permit! If Mountain Coal sought such approval in the future, it would have to request a technical revision, a process that involves public notice and engagement opportunities
Patagonia Film Screening and Local Clean Energy Discussion
Please join us for a screening of Patagonia’s “We the Power” followed by a discussion with rural cooperative organizers from the Sierra Club and Western Colorado Alliance. Learn more about the opportunity we have to push for change as part of Tri-State’s ERP process and discuss what we can do together to help power our community with affordable, clean energy.
Polis administration pushing green agenda, but isn’t objecting to coal mine royalty cuts worth millions
All six coal mines operating in Colorado last year won cuts to the royalties they paid to the federal or state government, denying treasuries millions of dollars and flouting policy claims by President Biden and Gov. Jared Polis to curb coal’s intense pollution.
Judge sides with conservation groups on stormwater
In a decision hailed by conservation groups as a win for water quality, a court has upheld a state decision to regulate a Gunnison County coal mine’s outlets as storm water drainages.
West Elk Royalty Rate Reduction
Gunnison County's public lands, waters, communities, and climate took a direct hit with the Biden administration's recent approval of royalty relief for the West Elk coal mine - a move that flies in the face of the administration's own climate agenda.