Posted on 07/07/2015 3:06:14 PM PDT by george76
The community of Craig is holding its collective breath today, waiting on the feds to decide by midnight whether they will bother to challenge a court decision that threatens to shutter the Colowyo Mine.
The Interior Department has gobbled up the entire period allotted to them to decide whether to appeal. We can only hope they have used this time wisely to decide in favor of the 200 plus workers whose jobs are on the line.
And the lines in the proverbial sands have been clearly drawn. On one side is the radical environmental group WildEarth Guardians, who brought the questionable case with complaints that not enough public comment was considered when the mining plan was approved nearly a decade ago. That’s the same group the Denver Post aptly nailed in an editorial, for claiming to just want an honest conversation about the future of mining. And by future, the envirowhacktivists mean coal should have none.
Siding with WildEarth Guardians is Judge R. Brooke Jackson, friend to U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet and former Sen. Mark Udall, who was appointed to his post by President Obama. Bennet has been mostly silent on the issue, instead pawning the problem off on a staffer to set a meeting with the powers-that-be in Washington and a Moffat County commissioner. Too bad none of those meetings were actually with the Interior Department.
Also, there’s the New Belgium Brewery, a past financial supporter of WildEarth Guardians. The brewery is on the fence now, reconsidering their support after nearly the entire town of Craig kicked their kegs of beer to the curb in a boycott.
On the other side of the battle we have everyone else – the miners, their families, the workers at the electrical power plant that the coal fuels, their families, the businesses in town supported by these industries and their elected representatives.
In essence, it’s society versus a privileged few.
If the Interior Department refuses to challenge the court order and fight their original approval of the mine, it sends a dangerous message to radical environmentalists – go ahead and bankrupt taxpayers by challenging every government approval of energy development across the land. We won’t lift a finger to stop you.
Where was Bennet when Coloradans needed him?
The only lie that Obama did not say was he was going to shut down coal.
I guess the majority did not get the memo or were in agreement.
Build more Nuke power Plants and pronto.
Good for them on the boycott. I would like to see more of that.
Yep. IIRC, Candidate Obama said he was going to tax them out of business.
Thanks for taking the time to reach out regarding our funding of WildEarth Guardians. We absolutely recognize that coal makes up a great deal of our own power mix here at the brewery (in our case it comes from the PRPA Rawhide plant northeast of Fort Collins). As a consumer of fossil fuels, we believe we have the responsibility to minimize our consumption, and also work with partners who advocate for the best energy solutions for our communities here in Colorado. In this specific case, however, our funding dollars were specifically allocated for healthy watershed projects in Colorado & New Mexico, and no money was given to overturn mining operations. Below please find our public statement on the issue which I hope might address some of your concerns:
At New Belgium Brewing, we support non-profit partners who advocate for healthy watersheds. WildEarth Guardians first contacted New Belgium in 2008 seeking grant money for restoration projects along the Colorado River. We supported these efforts because Colorado businesses, residents and the environment are dependent upon sound water management.
Specific to any work WildEarth Guardians has done regarding the ColoWyo and Trapper mines, we were unaware of it at the time and that is outside the scope of our grant allocations. In this case, our funding dollars were allocated for healthy watershed projects only, and no money was given to overturn mining operations. Additionally, we have never granted operational funds to Wild Earth Guardians and we have no future funding plans at this time.
I really do appreciate hearing feedback, both positive and negative. Public comments are always welcome and will be considered when we review future funding opportunities with non-profit partners. Please know that we take public comments to heart and we will make sure your thoughts are considered as we look toward future funding opportunities. We'd hate to lose you as a beer drinker, and please do let me know if there's anything else I can do to help clarify the situation.
A S
I F
obama promised he’d destroy the coal industry.
See? he does keep some campaign promises!
Lets see if I get this right. Dept. of interior issues a permit 10 years ago, which causes investors to risk millions of dollars to build mines which positively affect the lives of tens of thousands of people by creating jobs and fuel for a power plant. Fast forward 10 years and some eco terrorists find an Obama appointed judge to rescind the permit and the only protection these tens of thousands of people have is the Dept. of interior, IF it decides to act on their behalf, can challenge this judges ruling?
If ever there was a case for giving federal scum the finger and going on with business as usual this is it.
Why can’t the town of Craig just declare those federal regulations null and void, I mean if Denver can declare they won;t enforce immigration laws, then why can’t Craig do it too...
With Democrats in charge?
Good luck.
If Denver can illegally declare itself an illegal alien sanctuary city, Craig can too! Call itself the Coal Sanctuary.
“If Denver can illegally declare itself an illegal alien sanctuary city, Craig can too! Call itself the Coal Sanctuary.”
Obunghole will not send marshals with assault rifles to uphold the law in Denver...He will send them to ColoWyo, however
They might want to familiarize themselves with the word 'fungible.'
NOT ONE WORD! NOT ONE WORD! GO BACK TO YOUR FREE PHONE AND RANT AND RAVE..NOT TO ME.
Scott Walker is the only candidate with a real record of cutting the big government spending that enables the anti-competition, anti-production political class to dominate in politics, business and academia.
Why doesn’t the town of Craig...declare themselves a Sanctuary City?
The Obama regime doesn’t give a damn about miners, even if they are registered Democrats. They can always go on unemployment and become welfare addicts to the Dems.
Unless a miracle occurs (and Obama doesn’t like miracles), this mine and the miners are toast.
OBAMA: YES I DID!
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