Environment

Did the EPA head have a lotion rider?

The Colorado River has already reached its peak flow for the season, and that’s lousy news when it comes to fire danger, water supply for farmers and residential users, recreational opportunities and the health of numerous fish species, among other things. And while Victor Lee, an engineer with the Bureau of Reclamation, isn’t ready to hit the panic button yet, he concedes that bad can still turn worse.

Denver has rolled out an animated superhero series to prepare residents for a potential invasion of emerald ash borers that stars the city’s forester, Rob Davis.

Rattlesnake season in Colorado is back with a vengeance, and it can be dangerous. But our expert offers six tips to keep you safe.

Once on the rocks, the system is getting help from citizens’ groups,

Local Colorado governments have had enough of fracking and have filed a lawsuit against two of the world’s largest corporations: Exxon Mobil and Suncor Energy, the latter of which has a refinery in Commerce City. The lawsuit alleges that the corporations should pay up for the impacts of climate change on their local communities, and they’re demanding to have their case heard in front of a jury.

The Colorado Independent Ethics Commission ruled on Monday that Senator Vicki Marble violated state law when she allowed Extraction Oil and Gas to pick up the tab on a constituent town hall that was purporting “the facts” on oil and gas development in Broomfield, a city and county that has posed strong opposition to fracking by the very company who picked up the tab. But Marble isn’t going to drop the issue; she plans to appeal.

A taskforce that includes the initiative’s backers, representatives of the real estate industry and a few city council members could recommend changes to its language that would stay true to its intent but offer builders more options.

A Denver-based oil and gas exploration and extraction company is suing an anti-fracking activist who locked himself to a bulldozer on a drilling site under development in Greeley.

A shouting match broke out between a senator and Commerce City resident during an oil and gas-related hearing. She wanted to talk about explosions. He wanted to shut her up. Ultimately, her microphone was cut off and she was forcibly silenced. Now, a bill that would have put public health and safety over industry profits is dead.

Proponents of an anti-fracking ballot initiative knew it was coming. Fierce opposition from a pro-oil and gas group has been mounted to nip the initiative in the bud. The Colorado Association of Mineral Rights Owners is opposing a ballot measure that would effectively ban oil and gas activity from almost all but federal lands in Colorado. But proponents won’t go down without a fight.

“Colorado has its own race to run. We can’t afford an Olympic-size distraction,” says Dick Lamm.

Extraction Oil & Gas was the operator of the Windsor drilling site when it went up in flames on December 22. More than two months later, the company still doesn’t know exactly what happened that night, according to its preliminary report.

A 23-year-old CSU student was arrested on two charges today at a proposed drilling site next door to Bella Romero Academy for protesting the fracking activity and what he called “environmental racism.” Now, he’s facing his first court hearing on March 9, and he will be in police custody until he can post bail.

The military history of William F. Hayden Green Mountain Park had been long-forgotten by everyone, including the federal government. That is until a 2009 grass fire uncovered unexploded artillery shells and munitions debris pre-dating World War II.

After months of heated debates and public meetings, the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission finalized new industry regulations on flowlines in the wake of the Firestone tragedy. Local governments called for a complex mapping database hosted by the state.

Next week will be the last opportunity Coloradans will have to influence new regulations on flowlines, which transport crude fluids and gasses for processing. Even after months of public meetings, the current draft proposal falls short of what cities, counties and affected residents have called for.

Radon is unavoidable in Colorado, which has the seventh-highest levels of radon in the country. The real danger lies indoors, where radon can linger and levels can grow over time. The radioactive gas is the second leading cause of cancer in Colorado and the U.S. So for National Radon Action Month, state and county public health agencies are offering free radon test kits.

Last January, we told you about an unusual ski-injury lawsuit in which the man accused of injuring another skier while racing in a reckless fashion was 72 years old. That defendant, Michael Sura, has now settled the suit, but not before his attorneys attempted to blame the accident that broke Stuart Pendleton’s ankle on Snowmass, the ski resort where the incident took place, as well as the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs and a charity group, the Disabled American Veterans.

After a three-year district court battle went downhill for it, the Audubon Society of Greater Denver is appealing to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and has filed an injunction to halt construction of a controversial water project at Chatfield State Park that it says would wreak massive environmental damage.