skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Farmers Push to Keep Natural-Gas Waste Rules Intact

play audio
Play

Thursday, April 27, 2017   

DENVER – Colorado's agricultural community, including farmers, ranchers, winemakers, brewers and restaurants, is urging U.S. Sens. Cory Gardner and Michael Bennet to uphold the Bureau of Land Management's rules limiting natural gas waste on public lands.

Monica Wiitanen, who operates a farm and bakery on the Western Slope, points out nearly $330 million worth of natural gas is lost each year, and she says the state can't collect royalties to help pay for roads and schools if the gas isn't brought to market.

"Just like on a farm, you don't waste resources,” she states. “There's no reason they should be allowed to waste resources, and particularly the American taxpayer's resources."

In February, the U.S. House voted to roll back rules directing operators to capture gas lost through leaks, venting and flaring.

Industry leaders argue the rules would slow production and add red tape.

The U.S. Senate could vote to reverse the rules as early as this week.

Bennet opposes rolling them back, but Gardner has yet to say where he stands on the issue.

Working with industry, in 2014 Colorado passed measures similar to the BLM's to prevent methane pollution, which is 85 times more powerful at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide.

Wiitanen notes food producers across the U.S. depend on clean air, soil and water, and says federal rules are necessary to ensure that oil and gas companies mitigate waste.

"As a farmer, clean air and a healthy environment are important,” she stresses. “There's no reason oil and gas companies shouldn't be held to a high standard to preserve the resource, not just let it vent into the atmosphere."

At least 19 Colorado mayors have joined the effort to convince lawmakers to keep the rules in place.

A recent Colorado College poll found 83 percent of Coloradans support the BLM's efforts to limit natural gas waste.





get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021