House Committee on Agriculture, Livestock, & Natural Resources (01/21/2009)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, LIVESTOCK, & NATURAL RESOURCES

Date:	01/21/2009	ATTENDANCE

Time:	01:33 PM to 03:51 PM	Gardner C.	X
		Hullinghorst	*
Place:	HCR 0107	Labuda	X
		Looper	*
This Meeting was called to order by		McKinley	X
	Representative Curry	McNulty	*
		Pace	X
This Report was prepared by		Solano	*
	Lauren Ris	Sonnenberg	X
		Tipton	X
		Vigil	X
		Fischer	X
		Curry	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
HB09-1062 HB09-1060 HB09-1017		Postponed Indefinitely Postponed Indefinitely Amended, Referred to Appropriations

01:34 PM -- House Bill 09-1062

Representative Curry, bill sponsor, presented House Bill 09-1062 concerning the authorization of a water quality monitoring program in the Piceance Basin relating to the effects of oil and gas operations. Representative Curry asked for the bill to be postponed indefinitely. She explained that with this bill, she was trying to ask the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to support funding from the environmental response fund for a baseline water quality analysis in the Piceance Basin. She explained that the U.S. Geological Survey and partners have started a study but is only in phase I and this bill would provide funding for the second phase. Therefore, Representative Curry felt that the timing was not right for this bill. Representative Curry answered questions about whether funding would have been available.


BILL:	HB09-1062
TIME:	01:42:10 PM
MOVED:	Curry
MOTION:	Moved to postpone House Bill 09-1062 indefinitely. The motion passed on a 12-0.
SECONDED:	Labuda
		VOTE
	Gardner C.	Yes
	Hullinghorst	Yes
	Labuda	Yes
	Looper	Excused
	McKinley	Yes
	McNulty	Yes
	Pace	Yes
	Solano	Yes
	Sonnenberg	Yes
	Tipton	Yes
	Vigil	Yes
	Fischer	Yes
	Curry	Yes

Final YES: 12 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

01:43 PM -- House Bill 09-1060

Representative McKinley, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 09-1060 concerning information to be provided to visitors at Rocky Flats. He explained that the bill requires the Department of Public Health and Environment to develop and post public notices regarding public health and safety information at entrances to the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge.

The following individuals testified:

01:45 PM -- LeRoy Moore, Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, testified in favor of the bill. He distributed a handout (Attachment A). He explained that a large quantity of plutonium remains in Rocky Flats and that, in his view, it poses a danger to public health. He discussed the health effects of exposure to plutonium, and how exposure to plutonium could occur at Rocky Flats.

01:56 PM -- Jim Hawklee, Tallahassee Area Community, distributed a handout (Attachment B). He began by describing other incidents involving exposure to chemicals from abandoned uranium mines which may have resulted in illnesses in the community. He explained that his concern was that these sites did not have warnings explaining that the site was contaminated. He testified that he supports this bill because it would provide notice about the history of Rocky Flats.

02:01 PM -- Kay Hawklee, Tallahassee Area Community, distributed a handout (Attachment C). She described other incidences involving contamination at sites where warnings were not posted. She testified in favor of the bill.

02:06 PM -- Representative Curry indicated that she was not happy with comparisons to other contaminated sites without knowing whether contamination levels were similar at Rocky Flats. Representative McKinley explained the contamination levels at Rocky Flats after the site's clean-up.

02:08 PM -- Dr. Harvey Nichols, Boulder citizen, distributed a handout (Attachment D) and testified in favor of the bill. He described research he conduced in 1974 on particles in snow at Rocky Flats that he concluded was contaminated with plutonium. He answered a question from Representative Fischer about his research.

02:19 PM -- Anne Fenerty, Boulder citizen, distributed a handout (Attachment E) and testified in favor of the bill. She commented that a variety of scientific reviews of the cleanup effort have expressed concern about the effectiveness of the remediation. She testified that in her view the public has the right to know the history of the wildlife refuge.

02:25 PM -- Lorraine Anderson, Mayor Pro Tem of Arvada, distributed handouts (Attachments F and G) and testified against the bill. She explained that the City of Arvada is committed to informing the public about Rocky Flats, but that the City does not support the bill because it excludes all of the communities, stakeholders, regulators, and agencies that worked to secure the cleanup of Rocky Flats. She also testified that the Rocky Flats Stewardship Council worked with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on signs that will be erected at all trailhead and public access points to Rocky Flats when the site is opened to the public (Attachment G). She responded to a question from Representative Hullinghorst about the timing of making the refuge open to the public.

02:35 PM -- Dr. Mark Johnson, Director of the Jefferson County Department of Health and Environment representing himself, testified in favor of the bill. He testified that in his view the bill provided a moderate way of informing the public about the history of Rocky Flats. He explained what a particle of plutonium does once inside the human body. Dr. Johnson answered questions from the committee.

02:41 PM -- Dr. Gale Biggs, citizen of Boulder, participated in the Rocky Flats Scientific Monitoring Panel, the Rocky Flats Cleanup Commission, and the Rocky Flats Citizen Advisory Board. He distributed a handout (Attachment H) and testified in favor of the bill. He explained the sources of plutonium emissions, and monitoring of ambient concentrations. Dr. Biggs answered a question from the committee about current air quality monitoring.

02:54 PM -- Jeannette Hillery, Colorado League of Women Voters and member of the Rocky Flats Stewardship Council, testified against the bill. She explained that she believes that this issue is the responsibility of the federal government, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. She also indicated that Representative McKinley did not consult the Stewardship Council about this bill. She also spoke about the amount of mitigation already done on the site. She answered questions from the Committee.


BILL:	HB09-1060
TIME:	03:06:08 PM
MOVED:	McKinley
MOTION:	Moved a conceptual amendment on page 6, line 11, after "BY" insert "THE DATE THE REFUGE IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC". The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Fischer
		VOTE
	Gardner C.
	Hullinghorst
	Labuda
	Looper
	McKinley
	McNulty
	Pace
	Solano
	Sonnenberg
	Tipton
	Vigil
	Fischer
	Curry
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection

03:07 PM-- Representative McKinley made closing comments. He asked the committee to consider the potential public health impacts of exposure to plutonium.


BILL:	HB09-1060
TIME:	03:11:01 PM
MOVED:	McKinley
MOTION:	Moved to refer House Bill 09-1060, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion failed on a 5-7 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	Pace
		VOTE
	Gardner C.	Excused
	Hullinghorst	No
	Labuda	No
	Looper	Yes
	McKinley	Yes
	McNulty	No
	Pace	Yes
	Solano	No
	Sonnenberg	No
	Tipton	No
	Vigil	No
	Fischer	Yes
	Curry	Yes
Not Final YES: 5 NO: 7 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL


BILL:	HB09-1060
TIME:	03:12:00 PM
MOVED:	Labuda
MOTION:	Moved to postpone House Bill 09-1060 indefinitely. The motion passed on a 7-5 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	Looper
		VOTE
	Gardner C.	Excused
	Hullinghorst	Yes
	Labuda	Yes
	Looper	Yes
	McKinley	No
	McNulty	No
	Pace	No
	Solano	Yes
	Sonnenberg	No
	Tipton	No
	Vigil	Yes
	Fischer	Yes
	Curry	Yes
Final YES: 7 NO: 5 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

03:14 PM

The committee recessed.

03:19 PM

Representative Fischer reconvened the committee.

03:20 PM -- House Bill 09-1017

Representative Pace, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 09-1017 concerning the Water Efficiency Grant Program cash fund. Representative Pace explained that this bill gives the Colorado Water Conservation Board the authority to spend money transferred from the operational account of the severance tax trust fund to the water efficiency grant program cash fund, which were encumbered in a prior fiscal year, and to allow this money to be carried forward into future fiscal years. He noted that he has a strike below amendment that he would like to move at the appropriate time (Amendment L.001- Attachment J). Representative Pace took questions from the committee regarding grant program funding.

03:26 PM -- Harris Sherman, Executive Director of the Department of Natural Resources, and Veva Deheza who leads the Office of Water Conservation and Drought Planning within the Colorado Water Conservation Board, testified in favor of the bill. Director Sherman discussed the efforts being made in the Department of Natural Resources to work with smaller communities to conserve water and create comprehensive water conservation plans and drought mitigation plans. He testified that he is in favor of this bill because it would allow money that has not been spent in the Water Efficiency Grant Program to be rolled over to subsequent years. Ms. Deheza explained that there are a significant number of applications that do not receive funding every year which creates a backlog of projects.

03:32 PM -- Wesley LaVanchy, Town Administer for the Town of Firestone, testified in favor of the bill. He commented that the Town of Firestone has partnered with this program in the past and discussed how valuable the program is for smaller communities like Firestone.

03:35 PM -- Sara Duncan, Denver Water Board, testified that the Denver Water Board is in favor of the bill and the amendment to be offered by Representative Pace. She took questions from the committee about the Denver Water Board's conservation and monitoring efforts.

03:38 PM -- Jennifer Gimbel, Director of the Colorado Water Conservation Board and testifying on behalf of the Colorado Water Congress, stated that the Colorado Water Congress unanimously approved the bill with the amendment to be offered by Representative Pace.

03:38 PM -- Tracy Bouvette, Great Western Institute, testified in support of the bill. The Great Western Institute works with partners around the state on water projects. Ms. Bouvette testified that a lack of funding from the Water Efficiency Grant Program has been hampering the implementation of projects in smaller communities.

03:42 PM -- Bart Miller, Western Resource Advocates, testified in favor of the bill and distributed a handout (Attachment I). He commented that Western Resource Advocates worked with the Colorado Water Conservation Board in developing the grant program. Mr. Miller explained that the bill would correct a technical shortcoming in the grant program that would remove a bottleneck in funding water conservation projects.

03:44 PM -- Linda Firth, Castle Pines Metro District, testified in favor of the bill. She commented that small communities need the support provided in this bill.


BILL:	HB09-1017
TIME:	03:46:23 PM
MOVED:	Pace
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.001 (Attachment J ). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Solano
		VOTE
	Gardner C.
	Hullinghorst
	Labuda
	Looper
	McKinley
	McNulty
	Pace
	Solano
	Sonnenberg
	Tipton
	Vigil
	Fischer
	Curry
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	HB09-1017
TIME:	03:47:40 PM
MOVED:	Pace
MOTION:	Moved to refer House Bill 09-1017, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. A substitute motion was offered then reconsidered. See vote sheet below. The motion to refer House Bill 09-1017, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations passed on an 11-0 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	Hullinghorst
		VOTE
	Gardner C.	Excused
	Hullinghorst	Yes
	Labuda	Yes
	Looper	Yes
	McKinley	Yes
	McNulty	Yes
	Pace	Yes
	Solano	Yes
	Sonnenberg	Yes
	Tipton	Yes
	Vigil	Yes
	Fischer	Yes
	Curry	Excused
Final YES: 11 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	HB09-1017
TIME:	03:48:02 PM
MOVED:	Sonnenburg
MOTION:	Moved a substitute motion to postpone House Bill 09-1017 indefinitely. The motion passed on a 6-5 roll call vote. Representative McNulty, having voted on the prevailing side moved to reconsider the substitute motion. The motion to reconsider passed unanimously on a roll call vote with Representative Curry and Representative C. Gardner excused. The motion before the committee was the original motion to send House Bill 09-1017, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. See vote sheet above for final action.
SECONDED:	McNulty
		VOTE
	Gardner C.	Excused
	Hullinghorst	No
	Labuda	No
	Looper	Yes
	McKinley	No
	McNulty	Yes
	Pace	No
	Solano	No
	Sonnenberg	Yes
	Tipton	Yes
	Vigil	Yes
	Fischer	Yes
	Curry	Excused
Not Final YES: 6 NO: 5 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

3:51 PM

The committee adjourned.