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Show Grand County would have begun receiving $1.93 million annually from this change, up from the $1.15 million it currently receives. Instead with the new formula. Grand County will receive $1.20 million, a net loss of $730 thousand. Where is the rest going? Salt Late million to $8.7 million and Salt Lake City grows from $35 County's share increases from $6 million to $5.4 million. We not only have to pay for our growth and development, but we too. And it was unanimous, Keele Johnson, where get to pay for Salt Lake Valley's growth W6TG YOU? The silence of the State legislature on federal land issues is disturbing One thing I have never clearly understood is, what would be different in Grand County of 1963 had never been adopted? Would there be any more today if the Wilderness Act in the designated Wilderness Study Areas (WSA)? Probably mining, drilling, development not. The previous inventory process weeded out any valuable real estate, including areas that were wilderness and didn't have any mineral value and were thereby worthless. So what is the fight over Wilderness about? Nothing would have happened in the WSAs in the past 34 years, so what are the opponents to Wilderness so concerned about? As far as the BLM reinventory, I would point out the area north of the Colorado River from Arches National Park almost to Dewey Bridge. It fits all the criteria of the Wilderness Act, it's at least 20,000 acres, and it wasn't included because the initial survey included it in the Yellow Cat area. When Yellow Cat was removed because of its mineralization, so was the north side of the Colorado River. It should be added as wilderness and could be called the Forgotten Wilderness. Grand County's new Master Plan calls for areas that fit the 1963 criteria to be so designated as wilderness. I know so because Councilman Ray Pene made the amendment, which startled me. Ray voted against almost all wilderness proposed in the Grand County local process despite the fact that most of the land met his Wilderness criteria. When Stiles asked if I would be interested in writing Moab in a Nutshell, I was hesitant As Jim mentioned in the last real Zephyr, Dec. 96, Charlie Peterson would be hard to replace, if not impossible. I can only agree. Charlie Peterson exemplifies every thing that is positive about the profession of attorney. His patience, wisdom, ability to focus on solving the problem and not to compromise his principles in the process always left me in awe and still does. Working with him for two years was a real treat and an educational experience. When Charlie was at a meeting, I knew some progress would result, a direction would be set. Even if I didn't agree with the direction, I knew it resulted from a fair, open and informed process. And I will try to do the same here. Although I can never follow in his footsteps, I will try to use what I have learned to move ahead and give my own views on how I see Moab evolving. The one huge negative that I do bring is that I lost my sense of humor somewhere along the way and I've no idea where. (In this matter Jim and I will get along handsomely.) It's something I was always amazed at, how certain politicians could maintain their sense of humor, still focus on solving problems and always be easily Yet another Special Service District.. This winter yet another Special Service District was bom in Grand County. In case you missed it, it is a water and sewer district on the North side of Moab to compliment the Spanish Valley Water and Sewer District to the South. Its main proponent pursued the District as an alternative to annexing into the Citys systems. The question is not what is the best way to develop the northern corridor into Moab City. It is sometimes too easy to be distracted by the best way of doing something instead of just doing what the law allows for. The curious point here is, why would the competitors of a business subsidize their competitor's business operations with their taxes and fees while also assuming a proportional share of the risks, while not getting any services themselves? Sour Grapes ??? I could hear a collective sigh of relief coming from the courthouse, the Moab coffee Atlas and after I Iarvey Merrill was sworn in. Order was minutes shops Corporation just restored. Even Jimmy Walker was rejuvenated and seen cajoling around the courthouse halls again. That new order included in the new county council's very first meeting spending $3000 of unbudgeted funds to sue the federal government over the wilderness rcinventory by Interior Secretary Babbitt. Would they have voted the same if it came out of their salaries? Assuming it didn't, where did the money come from? It's easy to spend money that isn't yours, particulary if you have an ideology. Let the taxpayers rally around their own causes with their own money as was done with the proposed Grand County land sale to the Sportman's Gub for the shooting range. WALU and its supporters should do the same concerning Wilderness.. Atlas.... The Final Technical Evaluation Report was made available by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to the public on March 7th, 1997. ( www.nrc.govopareports) To no one's surprise it concludes that The Reclamation Plan meets 10 CFR Part 40 requirements, as defined by the NRC, that the, "... tailings disposal area to be dosed in accordance with a design which provides reasonable assurance of control of radiobgical hazards to be effective for 1000 years, to the extent reasonably achievable, and, in any case, for at least 2 00 years I Appendix A, Criterion 61" For geologic stability, erosion protection, slope stability and no active maintenence requirements, the NRC had to employ their definition of Public Health and Safety of : "..effective for 1000 years, to the extent reasonably achievable, and, in any case, for at last 200 years Appendix A, Criterion 6J." The report acknowledges that beyond 1000 years, there are forces at work (salt dissolution subsidence) that will cause the tailing pile to fail and that without active maintenence, cause the tailings pile to go down the Colorado River. It is not a question of if, but when? The TER reiterates 37 times throughout the document that the NRC has only to provide for the safety of the pile (and presumably U.S. citizens) for 1000 years, to the extent reasonably achievable, and, m any case, for at least 200 years. And the report concludes: "Staff (NRC) disagrees with Grand County; based on the analysis described in sections 2, 3, and 4, tlx staff concludes that there is reasonable assurance that the control of radiological hazard will be effective for at least 1000 years, with even higher confidence in effectiveness for 200 years." (Comments 7.6.3 of Final TER Mar97) Woodward-Clyde- , chief geological consultants for Atlas Corp., state, "subsidence, ... will only continue as long as there is salt to dissolve and enough fresh water flowing through the rocks to dissolve it" Letter to NRC, 6 Nov 96. Somehow the NRC has taken a regulation that states that they must control radon for 1000 years and interpreted it to mean that they only have to protect U.S. citizens for 1000 WARNING!!!! DANGER!!!! So read the headlines in a recent advertisement from WALU, the Western Association of Land Users (and environmentalists are accused of preaching FEAR?). It continues: "GRAND COUNTY IS POLARIZED...." and "The silence of the State legislature on federal land issues is disturbing." and finally it concludes: "It is apparent that more acts of violence and bloodshed (mentioned above) in the early 1990,s will recur and will get worse because the underlying causes remain." Great, so what was the State Legislature up to instead of preventing an all out war? One of the biggest bills the State Legislature passed unanimously redistrited the County and City Road Funds to a formula that is based primarily on permanent population and paved road miles, factors which Grand County has little of. Last year, the Legislature diverted l8th of the state sales tax to road and water projects, beginning this July 1. This was because the State Sales Tax is indexed to inflation while the State Gas Tax is not, and the additional resource would keep pace with the added demands of growth. SPRING SALE! ALASKA! 13 OFF Polo Shirts CHARTER AIR SERVICE All Sweat Shirts All LongSlceve Shirts BEACH OFF all 25 6 Selected T-Sh-irt T-Sh-irt 6 GLACIER LANDINGS GLACIER BAY NATIONAL PARK Dresses Designs PLUS a Treasure Chest Full of 12 Price Shirts! And ask for our Locals Discount Sale price effective while supplies last or until rammer solstice. Made with 100 Pure Red Dirt Pmdise Sportswear Southwest Division 82 S. Main St. Moab. (801) 259-DIR- T or UT 84532 MOUNTAIN FLYING SERVICE Paul Swanstrom P.O. Box H(H Haines AK 99827 907-766-30- 07 or in Haines |
