Regional
(2010-04-19)
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Flanked by a bi-partisan group of lawmakers including Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry (R-Grand Junction), Governor Bill Ritter signs HB-1365.
Kirk Siegler
The bill is dubbed as the Clean Air-Clean Jobs Act, but not everyone thinks it will lead to either.
Namely those in the coal industry, who say the bill will lead to the loss of thousands of high paying mining jobs.
"This bill simply allows Xcel Energy to re-power with a much more expensive energy fuel, i.e., natural gas," says Colorado Mining Association President Stuart Sanderson, who argues the state is backing itself into a costly corner.
But the bill could force the coal industry to invest more in researching carbon sequestration and other technologies to reduce pollution at coal plants. At least that's how Governor Bill Ritter puts it. During a bill signing outside the state capitol Monday, the democrat said cleaner burning plants of any kind will help the state get out in front of looming, federal clean air standards.
"This isn't just historic, transformative legislation," Ritter says. "It's part of a comprehensive strategy that now includes a 30% renewable energy standard and a balanced, responsible and modern set of drilling rules."
Specifically, the new law requires Xcel to cut nitrous oxide emissions by up to 80% at several coal-fired power plants along the Front Range and northeastern plains by 2017. To do that, the utility will likely retrofit them to use cleaner burning natural gas. Some may just get decommissioned. Xcel has to submit specifics to regulators on how it plans to do that by August.
Chairman and CEO Dick Kelly was light on details at the Governor's news conference.
"But I think this is one giant step forward for Colorado and we at Xcel are very proud to be a part of it," Kelly says.
House Bill 1365 has forged some strange alliances.
After all, it's rare to see environmentalists lining up with the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, let alone democrats and republicans backslapping one another on something as controversial as energy policy. But Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry, a republican from Grand Junction, says the bill creates a demand for natural gas, which in turn helps the state's rural communities.
"In fact if I were in charge of writing the bill's name (I was not in charge of the writing piece of this), I would have called it the clean air, clean jobs, more drilling act of 2010," Penry jokes.
But not every republican is laughing, especially those from coal-producing districts. They were noticeably absent from the festivities Monday, as was Stuart Sanderson of the mining association.
"The speed with which it was pushed through the legislature speaks volumes about the flaws in the legislation, and about the integrity of the process," Sanderson says.
The Clean Air-Clean Jobs Act passed the legislature in just 17 days.
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