Printed letters, April 29, 2012

By Staff
Sunday, April 29, 2012

The recent moves by our county commissioners to push the BLM to open more acres to oil shale development is troublesome, as stated in the April 17 Daily Sentinel story, “Mesa County commissioners adopt flawed resolution on oil shale.” Left out of this discussion was the compensation issue: How will the government be paid for the use of our public lands?

Private mineral rights leases are for a short length of time, include a bonus for signing, a fee per acre per year, a renewal option, a bonus for renewing and identification of the royalty to be paid when production starts. The bonus for signing and the amount per acre per year for the length of the lease are paid when the lease is closed. In short, there is positive revenue that can be gained from leasing of public lands if done in the right way.

Unfortunately, the U.S. government receives some of the lowest royalty rates in the world. We will not pay our debt by giving away our resources.

After reviewing the Department of Interior’s recent plans for its oil shale program and attending a field hearing in Silt, I am convinced that its recommendation to lease reduced acreage is prudent.

It simply is not good business to commit way more resources than is required before anyone knows if a financially viable approach can be found.

Contact your county commissioners and ask them to rescind their recommendation, examine the compensation package and explain it to the public before they make a recommendation.

JOE LIVINGSTON

Meeker

Editorial correct about Fourth Amendment

Thanks for The Daily Sentinel’s support for the Fourth Amendment, as shown by the April 22 editorial. The Sentinel’s discussion was respectful to all those involved, but the editorial still held the Colorado State Patrol accountable.

The CSP needs to make some changes. Its policy on DUI is classic tail wagging the dog. An intoxicated driver is a threat to others but when the Fourth Amendment is tossed aside, the CSP is a threat to all.

I am saddened when I realize Jason Kemp did not feel safe to call the police for help because it was law enforcement invading his home.

Regarding the jury: If I had been a juror, faced with making a judgment about a patrolman’s life, I would have laid the principle of illegal search aside. Otherwise, I may be like those who leave school girls to die in a fire because they don’t have hajibs. As the editorial said, they were asked to make a difficult decision.

Thank you for this editorial,

GLADYS WOYNOWSKIE

Grand Junction

 

Water conservation plan doesn’t conserve enough

Some 32 million gallons of of water — from a projected demand of about 22.4 billion gallons — is the estimated amount of water that could be saved over 10 years (2015-2025) if the ideas put forth in the Grand Valley Water Conservation Plan are fully implemented.

That 32 million gallons sounds impressive, but in reality 32 million gallons of water saved over 10 years is just a drop in the bucket.

Addressing water waste is important in our dry climate. However, replacing 50 toilets per year for seven years at a cost of $5,250 per year to save 560,000 gallons of water annually, as proposed in the conservation plan, seems a bit misguided. Easily installed dual-flush valves costing about $20 per fixture can save similar amounts of water.

Large amounts of water can be saved by following the guidelines for watering lawns set forth by the CSU Extension Service: Irrigate between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. (or 9 a.m .to 11 a.m.); use no more than 1 to 1.5 inches of water per irrigation; irrigate only when signs of wilt are noticed, and keep mowing height around 3 inches.

Simply aiming sprinklers can avoid wasting water. Using drip irrigation for gardens is another way to save considerable amounts of water.

There are many ways to save water. We all need to pull together to save water whenever and wherever we can.

MARC GUBKIN

Grand Junction

 

Let the community vote on video lottery gaming

With our economic situation and real unemployment around 15 percent, we need to make clear to Denver lawmakers that we are tired of them deciding for us.

Regarding House Bill 1280 and the potential entertainment-video lottery complex, we deserve for the vote to come to our community and for us to say what we do or do not want on the Western Slope.

Denver legislators have regulated us to death and have killed our oil and gas jobs, which directly impacted my family. This is a local issue and I personally want a say.

Lottery is regulated by the lottery commission which helped pay forCanyon View Park, the Riverfront trails and more that my family enjoys. Our colleges would benefit greatly and above all it would bring 250-400 full benefit jobs to our hurting economy.

AMBER GRAGERT

Grand Junction