NORTH FORK TIMES
SURFACE CREEK NEWS
GROWTH DOLLARRETAIL Dollar General store &ENERA[ coming to Paonia, B1
SPORTS
CREATIVE ACTIVITIES
Cedaredge’s summer theatre camp showcases young talent, C1
DELTA COUNTY
SWIMMERS COMPETE Barracudas host five-team regional swim meet, C3
JULY 10, 2019 VOL. 136, NO. 28
75¢
INDEPENDENT
www.deltacountyindependent.com
Hemp growers asked to notify DCMCD BY EMY LYNN ROQUE CISNEROS Staff Writer
Delta County Mosquito Control District 1 is asking growers, processors and storers of industrial hemp to notify them. According to district manager Terry Stalcup, the pesticide used in fogging, one of the methods used to control mosquito populations, has not yet been approved by the Environmental Protection Agency for use with commercial hemp. The Colorado Department of Agriculture website has a list of 338 pesticides approved for use in cannabis production. “We can go next to everything else like avocados, peaches and lettuce but use near hemp has not been approved yet,” he said. “If you’re growing commercial hemp, storing it, or have a processing facility you need to let us know.” The main issue identified by one grower is that the permethrin appears in CBD oil. While not harmful to humans
it could impact labeling. One challenge Stalcup identified that Mosquito Control will need to manage is that those living next to areas marked for hemp will also not receive fogging treatment. The effective range for killing the mosquitoes with fogging is 300 feet, but Mosquito Control is currently unsure how far the chemicals can drift and affect the hemp plants. To be safe, they’ll fog a significant distance from hemp until the information is clarified. A list of industrial hemp registrants by county is available on the state website, but many addresses listed are for post office boxes. Stalcup said the board is planning a mass mailing. Growers are being asked to contact Mosquito Control and then submit the map they already sent to the state outlining their growing or processing area. To notify Mosquito Control, please call 970-874-4384.
Photo by Emy Lynn Roque Cisneros
District Manager Terry Stalcup outlining on their coverage map two hemp farms at Delta County Mosquito Control District 1. These areas outlined in green will not be fogged. Currently the formula used for fogging is not approved by the FDA in commercial use. Those growing, processing or storing hemp who do not wish to be fogged are being asked to notify Mosquito Control.
DMEA thinks court should delay Tri-State vote BY KATHARHYNN HEIDELBERG Montrose Press
Delta-Montrose Electric Association wants a court order blocking Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association from an action the local cooperative contends will deliberately stymie efforts to buy out its contract. The association in turn said DMEA’s filing is an “inappro-
priate attempt” to prevent it from considering policy decisions to benefit all its members. DMEA on Tuesday filed in Adams County District Court for a temporary restraining order and an accompanying complaint alleging breach of contract, lack of good faith and lack of fair dealing. It wants an emergency
order to forestall an upcoming vote of the Tri-State board to add a new type of member owner — one that is not a rural electric co-op like DMEA and more than 40 other members in three states that purchase power from Tri-State. That type of new member — as yet unnamed by TriState — would place Tri-State under the rate authority of
Delta Fire Department uses new tricks at fireworks show BY EMY LYNN ROQUE CISNEROS Staff Writer
For decades, Delta Volunteer Fire Department (DVFD) has planned an annual July 4 fireworks show. Before being held at Confluence Park, many may recall seeing the display at Cleland Park. Those watching this past July 4 may have noticed that firemen pulled out a few extra tricks. For example, volunteer firefighters Bobby Esplin and Ken Decker shot fireworks off from the island for the first time. Some of the fireworks were designed to interact with the water. The electronic system used for firing a majority of the shells, including the grand finale, was recently upgraded from the 20-year-old system. “Our new setup allows us to do better and cooler things,” said fire chief Bryce Atchley. District manager Shannon Crespin said the DVFD aims to keep the show at about 30 minutes. This year, more than 350 shells were fired, not including the 10 cake boxes. Fireman Robert Winkler designs the sequences each year, placing emphasis on the openers and finale. The fireworks show is
INDEX
Accent ........................... A4 Activities ....................... A5 Back Page ................... D6 Business ........................ A6 Cherry Days ...................B5 Church ........................... D4 Classifieds .................. D1-2 Editorial ......................... A2 Legals ............................ D3 North Fork Times ........B1-2 Obituaries ......................B6 Service Directory .......... D5 Sports ..........................C3-4 Surface Creek News ...C1-2 TV Listings ..................B3-4
Photo by Emy Lynn Roque Cisneros
Firemen with the Delta Volunteer Fire Department dig trenches to setup the manual hand fires for the July 4 fireworks show at Confluence Park. Steel tubes handle the heat well and provide safety from shrapnel in case fireworks fire improperly. Wetting the dirt helps keep the heat down. funded entirely by donations raised by firemen during the month of June. Volunteers spent five days last month gathering contributions from ACE Hardware, Maverik, Walmart and City Market. The night of the show, volunteers gathered donations at the gate. Putting on a show like this
each year takes hours of setup and cleanup. Volunteers start early the morning of the show, setting up the barricades for gates and the electrical fireworks. In the evening they finish digging trenches for steel tubes that hold manual fires. After the show, cleanup takes another couple of hours. NEW TRICKS TO A3
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Tri-State is the power wholesaler for DMEA, the latter of which wants to end its contract before a 2040 expiration date. After more than two years of negotiation resulted in a figure DMEA found “grossly” unreasonable, it asked the Colorado Public Utilities Commission to hear its petition for a “fair and nondiscriminatory” exit fee. The PUC previously handed DMEA a win, by ruling it has jurisdiction over the matter as a rate issue, although Tri-State had argued it was a contract dispute and contended the PUC did not have jurisdiction. Tri-State’s recent efforts to become FERC-regulated amount to little more than “forum shopping,” DMEA said and on Tuesday, the co-op also said the move would strip oversight from the PUC. It’s Tri-State’s third attempt to sidestep the law, DMEA’s chief executive officer, Jasen Bronec, said, in a statement calling the move “a rushed, un-vetted and secretive proposal to add a new member.” Tri-State said its board of directors’ job it is to make decisions on behalf of 43 members, such as whether to pursue FERC rate-regulation. The board “recognizes the challenges that come with being rate-regulated in several states with differing priorities and results,” spokesman Lee Boughey said. “FERC rate regulation would provide a single point of regulation for Tri-State and its members, as the association moves toward meeting the goals of becoming increasingly flexible and increasingly clean. “It provides a pragmatic response to inconsistent rate
regulation among the states in which Tri-State has operated for decades, saving the association’s members money and reduces timelines for decisions.” DMEA hopes for an emergency injunction to prevent Tri-State’s board vote, which could take place next week. The order, if granted, would also declare that under board policy, DMEA has the right to final resolution and Tri-State must therefore allow the PUC proceeding to run its course until that state body delivers a final ruling. If the Tri-State board is allowed to proceed with the FERC vote before that time, DMEA “will suffer immediate and irreparable harm,” the coop’s complaint and motion for injunction both argue: It will be deprived of its contractual right to withdraw from TriState’s “voluntary” membership and have to begin anew the expensive process of seeking an exit fee. “Tri-State’s repeated and ill-conceived efforts to strip the (PUC) of its jurisdiction over the exit charge dispute ... constitutes a violation of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing implied to every Colorado contract, including the bylaw contract at issue here,” DMEA’s complaint says. Tri-State has said previously that DMEA does not have an automatic right to have an exit fee set. It also said it has considered FERC regulation well before the PUC complaint was filed. Further, it said in June, FERC regulation won’t reduce the oversight under which Tri-State falls; instead, for the first time, the association would be fully rate-regulated, as would its wholesale contracts. COURT BATTLE TO A3
CHC withdraws lawsuit
Rep. Soper & AG Weiser town hall
A lawsuit filed by Citizens for a Healthy Community against Delta County was voluntarily withdrawn on June 28 after District Court Judge Steven Patrick denied on June 19 a temporary restraining order. Judge Patrick stated that the order “did not meet the burden of real immediate injury or irreparable harm as more fully discussed on the record,” according to a Delta County press release. CHC filed the suit claiming the county had failed to properly follow its land use process in approving a seismic exploration project for Gunnison Energy. The organization had requested the temporary restraining order to prevent the county from allowing the seismic project to proceed.
State Representative Matt Soper and Attorney General Phil Weiser will hold a joint town hall style meeting in the Delta County Commissioner Chambers, Room 236, at the County Courthouse, on Tuesday, July 16, at 2:30 p.m. Rep. Soper said, “The meeting is geared towards talking about new developments in law and we strongly encourage local attorneys and the legal community to attend, along with members of the public.” This is Attorney General Phil Weiser’s first official visit to Delta. During the legislative session, Rep. Soper worked with the attorney general on several key pieces of legislation, including bail reform and consumer protection. Rep. Soper serves on the House Judiciary Committee, the Committee on Legal Services, the Health and Insurance Committee, and the Colorado Tourism Board. He also serves during the interim on the Colorado Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice and the All Payer Claims Database Council.