|
Request for Hearing on TR-1 1 1 for the West Elk Mine (Permit No. C-1980-0007) Page 4
<br />June 20, 2008
<br />of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report at 622, 629-630.' In Colorado, for
<br />example, the range of the pika, a diminutive alpine relative of the hare, is shrinking, almost
<br />certainly as a result of the increase in global temperatures over the last century. American robins
<br />have been found to arrive, and marmots have been found to end hibernation, earlier in the spring
<br />at a site in the West Elk Mountains. Such seasonal changes place wildlife at risk and are
<br />anticipated to increase as the climate warms. Inouye, et al. at 1631-1633.
<br />Global warming has also reduced available freshwater resources in the Rocky Mountain
<br />region and is likely to leave the region with even less water in the coming decades. IPCC's
<br />Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report at 621-622, 627. There is
<br />concern that climate change-related drought coupled with a lack of available unappropriated
<br />water in Colorado, could lead to "shutting off half of the water which is now used by the major
<br />municipalities of the Front Range of Colorado where 85% of the state lives."3
<br />IV. Venting Methane Would Waste One of Colorado's Most Valuable Commodities.
<br />Methane, a primary component of "natural gas," is also a commodity that, if vented to the
<br />atmosphere, will be wasted, depriving the residents of Colorado of a valued resource and
<br />significant revenue. Venting methane also misses an excellent opportunity to reduce impacts to
<br />other state resources that would result from harvesting a desired product (natural gas) without
<br />requiring additional exploration and production activities.
<br />According to Federal Energy Information Administration figures, the value of the seven
<br />million cubic feet of methane to be vented daily at the Mine represents a commodity worth
<br />$52,220 per day or more than $19 millon per year. 4 Loss of this desired commodity is a loss to
<br />the economy of Colorado and a direct loss to the citizens of the state through lost royalty and
<br />severance tax payments.
<br />' Field, C.B., L.D. Mortsch„ M. Brklacich, D.L. Forbes, P. Kovacs, J.A. Patz, S.W.
<br />Running and M.J. Scott, 2007: North America. Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and
<br />Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group H to the Fourth Assessment Report of the
<br />Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, M.L. Parry, O.F. Canziani, J.P. Palutikof, P.J. van
<br />der Linden and C.E. Hanson, Eds., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 617-652.
<br />2 David W. Inouye, Billy Barr, Kenneth B. Armitage, and Brian D. Inouye, Climate
<br />change is affecting altitudinal migrants and hibernating species, PNAS, Feb 2000; 97: 1630 -
<br />1633
<br />3 Written Testimony of Bradley Udall, Director, NOAA-University of Colorado Western
<br />Water Assessment, Hearing on Impact of Climate Change on Water Supply and Availability in
<br />the United States before the Subcommittee on Water and Power, Committee on Energy and
<br />Natural Resources, U.S. Senate, June 6, 2007.
<br />4 Energy Information Administration Natural Gas Prices (http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/
<br />ng/ng_pri_sum_a_EPGO_PG1_DMcf m.htm, last viewed June 19, 2008). The most recent price
<br />cited for Colorado is $7.46 per thousand cubic feet for March 2008.
|