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Show -A-16 The Park Record WedThursFri, December 3-5, 2003 n SEE! IB v "C V . t f: ; ,. .. .. . -I , . . . . (TrrrrrfTTn; gp i6nrrlT&i 'snags: figiv ,igwg'"4gn"SswE( A F t gyptuh Theatre Company 5 A p Egyptian Theatre Compact Slllli . . . Don't Tell Santa. Ai We're Giping fe Gift This year! s I I I I I I Hi ;ir -it ji j; 1 I All " , v 1 l Sill - ' OFFER EXPIRES 123103, fill lp1VrtTrK K?l V!A7LnJLI U LLkJULKJ Bwul Oik, l. 20O3 , With completion of exam, cleaning and x-rays New patients only. ll This offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other. !' . U We accept cash, checks, Visa, Mastercard, and American Express, 3 AllUr I J I I J! I HI .ff.f, available. Dr. Kerry Snow CALL TODAY! Snow Country . DEN TAL CAKE 1729 Sidewinder 102 Park City Energy biU down, not out Senate's blockage seen as time out for aimed at West's energy production U was. WASHINGTON (AP) Faced with steadfast opposition, Senate leaders had no choice this week but to turn out the lights on a sweeping energy policy, including provisions aimed at expanding energy produc-, produc-, tion in the Rocky Mountain West. But both sides recognized that blockage in the Senate was a time out rather than a decisive victory. "I'm hopeful that in the next couple of months as we watch things get worse on the energy front, that we will find a way to come back to the energy bill and pass it substantially as it is," said Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. "I hope we don't have another blackout. black-out. If they do and the American people ask what we've done about it, our answer will have to be 'nothing.'" A dispute over protecting protect-ing makers of a gasoline additive from lawsuits and budget-hawk opposition to lavish spending in the $31 billion legislation led to the deadlock in the Senate. Last year, energy legisla tion was abandoned when the Senate and House could not reach agreement. "We hope this monstros- mmmm ity dies the ignominious death it deserves," said Geoff Feltus, an attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council. "It was a special interest bonanza. That's all it was." With concern about the U.S. reliance on foreign oil, a recent energy crisis in the West and a massive mas-sive summer power outage in the Northeast, Republicans believed the time was ripe to pass the new energy policy. The legislation contained dozens of subsidies to energy producers, pro-ducers, exempted some types of gas exploration from environmental environmen-tal regulation, tried to expedite construction of new pipelines, and sought to speed up the permitting process to drill for oil and gas. At the same time, it would also have provided billions of dollars for energy research, authorized spending $50 million to assess renewable energy resources and provided tax incentives for hybrid vehicles. "It seems to me this energy bill was a step in the right direction. To not see its passage is discouraging," The process involves injecting fluids generally water, diesel fuel and other chemicals into the ground to break barriers and release methane pockets. But residents resi-dents near the operations have complained it pollutes the wells where they draw their drinking water. Carl Weston, who has a horse ranch near Durango, Colo., said in years past he would turn on his tap and a blast of methane would knock the glass out of his hand. His neighbors also had murky, cloudy water they believed was polluted by hydraulic fracturing. In the most complete study to date, the EPA said last year that health risks from fracturing appear small, but anecdotal evidence indicates indi-cates that more study is needed. Smith said states already regulate regu-late fracturing and without evidence evi-dence of problems the federal government gov-ernment should not get involved. Another environmental exemption exemp-tion would have prevent- . ed EPA from regulating 77, T 77 I rr T- 77 water runoff from the We hope this monstrosity dies the building of roads, dnii pads, pipeline corridors and refineries to ease the said Marc Smith, executive director of the Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States. "We think there can be a balance between the environmental protections protec-tions and quality of life and I think there are some things in this energy bill that were aimed toward that goal." In April 2001, Vice President Dick Cheney's energy task force made a goal of removing restrictions restric-tions to energy development in the region, which it said placed off limits lim-its 40 percent of the natural gas in the Rockies. Estimates by the U.S. Geological Survey released in January identified 3.9 billion barrels bar-rels of recoverable oil and 139 trillion tril-lion cubic feet of natural gas on federal lands in five prime Western ranges, but noted that all but 15 ignominious death it deserves... It was a special interest bonanza. That's all it Geoff Fettus Natural Resources Council percent was open to drilling without with-out significant restrictions. The industry was not pleased with the findings and the energy bill would have demanded a new study. Democrats and environmentalists environmental-ists complained the bill, hammered out in months of secretive negotiations, negotia-tions, went too far to break down environmental safeguards. "Bad for the country, the bill is particularly bad for the West," said Rep. Mark Udall, D-Colo., during House debate. Udall said it abandoned aban-doned solar and wind energy research. "Instead, it combines big subsidies for energy development with lessening of the procedural and substantive requirements that have been established to protect our lands, water, and environment." environ-ment." One provision would have reversed an appeals court ruling in an Alabama case and prevented the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating liquids used in a mining process called hydraulic fracturing. construction. The bill would have given a break to owners of 648,000 low-producing low-producing stripper wells across the country, reducing reduc-ing the royalties the eco nomically marginal wells had to pay. Backers say it would keep the wells operating. Critics said it was just one of the taxpayer subsidies to industry that made Republican budget-hawks bristle. "They basically had to go shopping shop-ping for votes and at this stage in the session those votes are very expensive and the taxpayers pay the price," said Sen. Jon Kyi, R-Ariz. R-Ariz. A provision that would have sought to streamline regulatory hurdles and environmental studies required to develop energy on American Indian reservations ended up being opposed by the National Congress of American Indians, the nation's largest Indian organization. Pete Morton, an energy specialist special-ist with The Wilderness Society, knows he is only getting a breather before the bill makes a comeback. "You have too many people with lots of lobbying jobs and money invested in it," he said. "They're going to come back with a vengeance." 1. I (ACnOHvur) 0 tfchPet. warmly welcome NATURAL MARKETPLACE 0 MNWBIfll Z30LARAV ff'NNY CKEEN THO PSOfT Ultimate NUTRITION to Pcirk City! (Opening December 3rd at Kimball Junction) WWW.NUTRACEUT1CAL.COM 800.669.3009 PARK CITY, UTAH -- EE3 LISTED |
