Colorado lawmakers are pursuing legislation to safeguard some of the state’s most fragile waterways from pollution after a U.S. Supreme Court decision rolled back federal protections.
A group of volunteers, as well as project manager Kira Puntenney-Desmond and hydrology research assistant Shelby Weder, are reflected in a flowing stream as they stop to make an observation during a guided Stream Tracker hike on the South Valley Loop trail at Lory State Park in Fort Collins Wednesday, Aug.
16, 2023. The project focuses on gathering data on intermittent streams from community members using an app to submit their observations. Colorado lawmakers are pursuing legislation to safeguard some of the state’s most fragile waterways from pollution after a U.S. Supreme Court decision rolled back federal protections.that requires the state to create a permitting process for people who want to fill in, dredge or pave over waterways. Colorado has had no method to regulate these dredge-and-fill activitiesConservation advocates said it left large swaths of the state’s water supplies vulnerable to irreversible harm from pollution and damage. “Now is such a critical time for Colorado to step up and protect our waterways, in the worst drought that we’ve seen in more than 1,000 years,” said state House Speaker, who is sponsoring the bill. “With disappearing waterways and wetlands, we need to take every step possible to make sure there is no more risk incurred in Colorado.”would require the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to develop a permitting process by May 1, 2025. That process would need to minimize harm to the environment when people want to dig up or fill in waterways while building housing developments, roads or utilities. The permitting process would mirror the federal process that no longer applies to wetlands and seasonal streams. “We live in an arid environment that is going to become more arid because of climate change, and we need to be doing everything we can to protect our water supplies,” said Josh Kuhn, senior water campaign manager at Conservation Colorado. The Supreme Court last year ruled that wetlands and streams that only flow seasonally were not protected under the federal Clean Water Act. Both wetlands and seasonal streams serve critical roles in the state’s environment, conservation advocates said. Seasonal streams deliver snowmelt to larger streams during runoff season. Wetlands act like a sponge in the ecosystem — they absorb floodwaters, serve as critical animal habitat and act as a buffer to wildfire.An attempt to ban all “forever chemicals” in Colorado failed. What will it take to finally get rid of PFAS? “Wetlands, headwater streams, and washes are profoundly connected like capillaries of the circulatory system to larger waters downstream,” Abby Burk, senior manager of the Western Rivers Program at Audubon Rockies, said in a news release. She called the waterways “essential for birds and vital natural systems,” which support the resilience of water supplies in Colorado’s drying climate., would place regulation authority in the Colorado Department of Natural Resources instead of CDPHE. It has not yet been debated in any committee — the first step in the legislative process after a bill is introduced. It includes less stringent requirements than the bill introduced Wednesday, advocates said.Colorado bill to ban purchase, sale of assault weapons passes first voteDish Network to sell Littleton property to billionaire founder’s SPACKeeler: CSU Rams flipped switch against Virginia. And made NCAA Tournament Selection Committee look like morons.Renck: In Year Two, CU Buffs no longer need just Coach Prime, they need an Elite Coach Nuggets recognize Timberwolves as contender after Anthony Edwards leads comeback without KAT, Rudy Gobert: “We always thought they were gonna be good” Nuggets recognize Timberwolves as contender after Anthony Edwards leads comeback without KAT, Rudy Gobert: "We always thought they were gonna be good"Connecticut moves closer to getting rid of tipped wage for restaurant workers. Critics say employees ‘don’t want it’
Please follow us on Google to support usUnited States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News: You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Supreme Court decision on Trump's Colorado ballot case could come MondayThis is additional taxonomy that helps us with analytics
Read more »
Supreme Court to release decisions Monday, with Trump Colorado ruling a strong possibilityLawrence Hurley covers the Supreme Court for NBC News.
Read more »
Trumped: Supreme Court Overturns Colorado Decision on Presidential Primary EligibilityThe ultimate decision on the former president's fate lies in the court of public opinion.
Read more »
Supreme Court overrules Colorado, allows Trump on primary ballot: What this means for Super TuesdayJordan Rubin is the Deadline: Legal Blog writer. He was a prosecutor for the New York County District Attorney’s Office in Manhattan and is the author of “Bizarro,' a book about the secret war on synthetic drugs. Before he joined MSNBC, he was a legal reporter for Bloomberg Law.
Read more »
Supreme Court Hands Trump a Big Win in Colorado Ballot CaseThe Colorado Supreme Court had ruled that Trump was not eligible to be a candidate in the state’s Republican primary because he engaged in insurrection.
Read more »
Colorado Supreme Court bans Trump from the state’s ballot under Constitution’s insurrection clauseThe decision from a court whose justices were all appointed by Democratic governors marks the first time in history that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment has been used to disqualify a presidential candidate.
Read more »