Second Regular Session
Sixty-first General Assembly
LLS NO. R980564.01 GWF
STATE OF COLORADO
BY SENATORS Dennis and Johnson;
also REPRESENTATIVE Spradley.
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 98-010
CONCERNING THE IMPACT OF THE COLORADO AIRSPACE INITIATIVE.
WHEREAS, The General Assembly values the dedication
and expertise of the members of the Colorado Air National Guard
as well as their commitment to securing and maintaining the safety
of the public in this state; and
WHEREAS, The Colorado Air National Guard and the
Air National Guard Readiness Center have proposed the Colorado
Airspace Initiative as a new airspace training program in South
Central Colorado; and
WHEREAS, The Colorado Airspace Initiative would include
the creation and expanded use of new military operations areas
and associated military training routes; and
WHEREAS, The Colorado Airspace Initiative would expand
the number of military training flights and the area in which
such flights would be conducted in the state; and
WHEREAS, The Colorado Airspace Initiative is designed
specifically to make use of the Airburst Range near Canon City
even though the Colorado Air National Guard itself has called
for that range to be relocated and has referred to the range as
"too small", "terrible to accommodate maneuvering",
and "environmentally saturated"; and
WHEREAS, The Colorado Airspace Initiative would result
in increased noise and other adverse impacts upon the people who
live and work near and in the affected areas; and
WHEREAS, The initiative will adversely affect the
peace and quiet in federally designated wilderness areas and in
other natural areas that the state is dedicated to preserving;
and
WHEREAS, Environmental study documents issued by
the proponents of the Colorado Airspace Initiative do not adequately
assess the impacts of, or consider the need for, the initiative
and fail to consider other, less damaging alternatives; and
WHEREAS, Military training associated with the Colorado
Airspace Initiative will have a disproportionate impact on certain
rural regions of the state that derive no economic benefit from
but instead are economically damaged by the military units conducting
military training; and
WHEREAS, Implementing the Colorado Airspace Initiative
will adversely affect the economy, the environment, property
values, and tourism in the affected region; and
WHEREAS, Air units from other states and even foreign
nations would be authorized to conduct military training in such
airspace; and
WHEREAS, The concerns of residents who will be affected
by the Colorado Airspace Initiative has further increased after
a United States military jet flying too low to the ground recently
caused the death of twenty civilians near Cavalese, Italy; and
WHEREAS, The concerns of such affected residents
and alternatives to the Colorado Airspace Initiative have not
been adequately considered; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Senate of the Sixtyfirst
General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the House of Representatives
concurring herein:
That it is the will of the General Assembly that
the Colorado Air National Guard should take all necessary actions
to ensure that the people who will be affected by the proposed
Colorado Airspace Initiative are made aware of the nature of the
initiative and the specific impact of the initiative upon their
lives, their safety, and their property.
Be It Further Resolved, That
the Colorado Air National Guard should conduct public hearings
and actively solicit public input concerning the Colorado Airspace
Initiative at the local level throughout the areas affected by
the initiative.
Be It Further Resolved, That
the Colorado Air National Guard should make a good faith effort
to consider local input and concerns about the Colorado Airspace
Initiative, the need for the initiative, and alternatives to the
initiative.
Be It Further Resolved, That
the Colorado Air National Guard should receive approval of the
boards of county commissioners of each county that will be affected
by the Colorado Airspace Initiative.
Be It Further Resolved, That
the Colorado Air National Guard should submit a copy of the Colorado
Airspace Initiative to the Colorado General Assembly.
Be It Further Resolved, That
the Colorado Air National Guard should specify the reasons for
and the impact of allowing Colorado airspace to be used as a training
ground for foreign military forces.
Be It Further Resolved,
That no foreign or outofstate military units be permitted
to conduct training in Colorado airspace without the prior approval
of the General Assembly.
Be It Further Resolved, That
the Colorado Air National Guard should be held accountable to
the people affected by the Colorado Airspace Initiative for the
impacts of the initiative upon their lives and their property.
Be It Further Resolved, That copies of this Resolution be sent to the Colorado Air National Guard, the Federal Aviation Administration, the United States Department of Defense, and the Governor of the State of Colorado.