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<br />vi e workers had goverrunent spokesman for the regional For.
<br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />mentFriday.
<br />
<br />awsuit filed over Black Canyon river flows
<br />
<br />By Todd Hartman
<br />ROCKV MOUNT AIH NlWS
<br />
<br />I
<br />
<br />..
<br />. _Environmentalistsllledafeder-
<br />''-al~.lawsuit Friday claiming an
<br />agreement to cut rtver flows
<br />through the Black Canyon of the
<br />..ounnison National park violates
<br />the law.
<br />In APrtl, Colorado oMcia1s
<br />penned an agreement with Ule fed-
<br />eralgovemment that gave upase-
<br />nlorwater right for Gunnison rov-
<br />er tIows throUgh the Black Can-
<br />yon. a Ngged 2,ooo-root.deep
<br />gorge near Montrose in southwest-
<br />,~em Colorado.
<br />Instead. under the agreement.
<br />the canyon would get only peak
<br />sprtngtime nows it all other de-
<br />mands on the ounnisOn River
<br />"were met ftrst, including water
<br />claimS rrom tanners. towns and
<br />
<br />----
<br />
<br />IIG&AND JUNCTION
<br />,Barrel Man
<br />to sit out season
<br />on the sidelines
<br />
<br />'The Broncos' most v1sl.ble fan
<br />_ Barrel Man Tim McKernan-
<br />will be sidelined for the season as
<br />he . recovers !'rom heart surgery
<br />laStmonth.
<br />McKernan (ought back tears
<br />Friday as he gave a neWS confer-
<br />ence outside St. Mary's Hospital
<br />aru;l. said he will be unable to at-
<br />tend any games in person but
<br />ptSns to come back.
<br />-"1 wrn be back. God willing.
<br />Oqd gave me a second chance,~
<br />McKernan said.
<br />McKernan. who turned 63 Fri-
<br />day, suffered an aneurysm Aug.
<br />21.whlle vacationing in Gunni-
<br />sOn. He ,,:ill undergo six to 12
<br />months of rehabilitation in Den-
<br />ver onct! he's released from St,
<br />MRry'S,
<br />McKernan was joined in front
<br />of reporters by former Broncos
<br />r~eiver Vance JohnsOn. who
<br />called McKernan the "Ultimate
<br />Bronco_~
<br />He plans to watch the Broncos
<br />even if he can1. be in the stands,
<br />He says through his ordeal he's
<br />only caught glimpses ofthe Bron-
<br />cos' last tv.'O preseason games.
<br />McKernan Sli)"S it would cap
<br />hiSyeat ifhe coulc;join the Bron-
<br />cos at Rellant Stadium in Hous-
<br />
<br />hydroelectricity producers.
<br />Several environmental groups,
<br />including Western Resource Ad-
<br />vocates and Trout Unlim1ted, al-
<br />lege in the lawsuit that the agree-
<br />ment violates provisiOns of the
<br />National Park Service Act, the
<br />1999 Black Canyon Act. the Ad-
<br />ministratiVe Procedures Act and
<br />the National EnvironmentalPoll-
<br />cyAct.
<br />"The federal government has
<br />shirked its legal Obligations to
<br />preserve the natural resources of
<br />the park.. M sald Drew Petemell.
<br />an attorney with Trout Unlimit-
<br />ed,
<br />"You can't preserve the Black
<br />Canyon of the ounnison Nation-
<br />al Park 'Without protecting the
<br />river that 15 Its heart_"
<br />OMclals at Colorado's Depart-
<br />ment of Natural Resources de-
<br />clined to conunent on the laW.
<br />
<br />nRIEFING
<br />
<br />tonattheSuperBowl
<br />
<br />ARAPAHOE COUNTY
<br />Businessman weighs
<br />race against Beauprez
<br />A th1rd_generation Coloradan
<br />may take on U.S. Rep. Bob Beau-
<br />pm in the 7th Congressional DIS-
<br />trict.
<br />Businessman John Works. of
<br />Arapahoe County, has set up an
<br />exploratory commlttee, accord.
<br />Ing to records tUed 'With the Fed-
<br />eral Election Commission.
<br />Works, 49, 15 a Democrat
<br />whose grandfather ser....ed in the
<br />state legislature In the 1920s.
<br />Beauprez. a Republlcan. won
<br />election last year by 121 votes
<br />and 15 listed by national pollticos
<br />as one of the more vulnerable
<br />Gap candidates in 2004,
<br />
<br />COLORADO
<br />Water board invites
<br />public to discuss study
<br />U you're interested In water,
<br />the state wants to hear l'romyoU.
<br />On Monday night, the Colo-
<br />rado Water Conservation Board
<br />will host an informational meet-
<br />Ing on a new statewide water
<br />study designed toseewhat differ-
<br />ent regions of the state need and
<br />how those needs can be met.
<br />The meeting, from 7 to 9 p.rn.
<br />at the Tivoli Center at 900 Aurar-
<br />ia Par\..-v.'~' in Denver, 15 hosted
<br />by the Colorado Water Conserva-
<br />
<br />suit, saying they had yet tosee it.
<br />Department of Natural Re-
<br />sources Director Oreg Walcher
<br />has described the Black Canyon
<br />water agreement as a reallstic
<br />deal that round the best middle
<br />ground between ensuring water
<br />for users in the ounnison Basin
<br />and protecting the canyon.
<br />AlsO Friday, a state .....-ater
<br />court judge in Montrose agreed
<br />to delay a declston on whether
<br />the state-federal agreement was
<br />acceptable under Colorado wa-
<br />terlaw.
<br />The jUdge said he may put the
<br />matterotfuntil the new disputes
<br />lodged in federal court are
<br />worked out, sald Bart MUler, an
<br />attorney with Western Resource
<br />Advocates.
<br />~Hopel'ull,y, the federal case
<br />wrn help define the issue ror the
<br />state court," Miller said.
<br />
<br />
<br />tlon Board. For more informa-
<br />tion v1s1t hltpt/cwcb.state,co.u.s
<br />and look for .Statewide Water
<br />supplyIntUative,.
<br />METRO DENVER
<br />Wastewater district
<br />named best in the Us.
<br />
<br />The Metro Wastewater Recla.
<br />mation D15trlct's industrial
<br />waste pretreatment program
<br />has been named the best of Its
<br />size in the naUon by the Env1ron-
<br />mental Protection AgenCY.
<br />It is the th1rd time in seven
<br />years the program has been rec.
<br />ognized as the country's best.
<br />The district serves about 1.5
<br />million people in Denver, Arva-
<br />da, Aurora. Lakewood. Thom.
<br />ton. part of WestminSter and 45
<br />smaller municipalities and sanl-
<br />tationdistrtcts.
<br />The EPA will present the
<br />award to dlstrtct oMclals at an
<br />Oct. 13 conference In Los Ange-.
<br />les,
<br />Industrtal waste pretreatment
<br />programs ensure that customer
<br />companles don.t dwnp toxic or
<br />harmfUlchemlca1sinto the sewer
<br />system.
<br />The metro district's program
<br />regulates the discharges of
<br />about 55 such companies.
<br />As the largest wastewater
<br />treatment organization in the
<br />Rocky Mountain West, the (tis-
<br />trtct treats about 140 mlllion gal-
<br />lons of wastewater a day.
<br />
<br />'DU17!J6
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