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Volume 11, Issue 43
In This Issue:
October 28, 2020
* Page 2 * Page 4
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Gardner Thanks Firefighters, cont. PUC Dismisses La Plata Electric
Gardner Thanks Firefighters and First Responders Battling Wildfires Across Colorado Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO) spoke on the floor of the United States Senate today thanking the firefighters and first responders who are battling wildfires across the state of Colorado. “So I come to the floor just to thank the men and women who are fighting these fires. To the leaders in these communities, the county commissioners, the sheriffs, the law enforcement personnel, first responders who›ve done a magnificent job in protecting structures, protecting their communities, protecting their people,” said Senator Gardner. “I hope that all my colleagues will join me in prayers for our state and states across the country that have been affected by wildfires and know that we’ve got more work to do to prevent the loss of some of our greatest natural resources.” Remarks as delivered: Mr. President, I look forward to coming to the floor and speaking about the nomination that›s currently before the United States Senate and the nomination of Judge Barrett to be placed on the United States Supreme Court. But at this point, I think it›s important that we talk about what›s happening in Colorado as we speak because of the heroic men and women who continue to fight our nation›s fires and certainly the devastating and catastrophic fires that we›re seeing right now in Colorado. This year we›ve already seen two of the largest fires in Colorado history, burning over 200,000 acres – wildfires that started out at
20,000 acres, 25,000 acres, and then within hours grew 80, 90, 100 thousand acres in a day. That’s unheard of growth for wildfires. The picture that I am showing you here is Estes Park, Colorado. Most people may be familiar with Estes Park, it›s the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park. You can see Lake Estes here and the town here. The town has been evacuated, a town of thousands of people has been evacuated because of two fires that are now threatening the area. One fire is the Cameron Peak Fire, which became the largest fire in the state history only to be challenged by another fire coming through Rocky Mountain National Park called the East Troublesome Fire. Both are impacting Rocky Mountain National Park, the city of Estes Park, the city of Grand Lake, the City of Granby. Overnight they did receive a winter storm, it›s snowing now and it is reducing the fire activity. It will not put the fire out, but my prayers and thoughts continue with the men and women who are fighting this fire so valiantly and the people in these communities who are in harm›s way. We know that homes have been lost. We don›t know how many, but we know that homes have been lost and we certainly acknowledge the loss of life that has already occurred, a couple in Grand Lake who stayed in their home when the fire came through. They were together, but we pray for them and their families, and we mourn their loss. The East Troublesome Fire is in the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest and Thunder Basin National Grassland. It›s got a Type 1 Management Team already assigned. It’s the number one priority of the U.S. Forest Service in the country right now because of the aggressive fire behavior with the spotting that has threatened places like Estes Park. Evacuations, road closures, trail closures, it has over 500 people right now assigned to this fire. The Cameron Peak Fire has about 1,100 personnel working on the fire right now. We know about 470 structures have been lost, it›s over 208,000 acres. The CalWood Fire in Boulder County has a Type 2 Management Team fighting the fire right now. There are evacuations in effect. Nearly 400 people fighting this fire, 28 structures lost. The Ice Fire, an ironic name, in the San Juan National Forest near Silverton, Colorado. We know that it›s about 600 acres right now. The Williams Fork Fire, which has been burning for months in Colorado in Grand County, Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests. We know that there have been several communities and infrastructure, energy infrastructure threatened by all of these fires. And if you think about this entire town being evacuated, the Colorado-Big Thompson Project, which provides a great deal of water to the Front Range of Colorado and through the South Platte River Valley diversions were stopped, energy production impacted, major utility transmission lines have been lost. And of course the loss to some of the most magnificent areas of Rocky Mountain National Park, perhaps an untold story that we will learn about in the coming days. Cont. on Page 2, See Gardner Remarks
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T H E T R I B U TA R Y
Gardner Thanks Firefighters and First Responders Battling Wildfires Across Colorado
Cont. from Page 1 This Congress and the past Congress has not been idle in the work that we have done to protect our resources. In fact, this last Congress we put an end to a practice that was known as fire borrowing, which involved raiding accounts that were not meant to go to suppression of wildfires to pay for increasingly expensive firefighting seasons. The fix for fire borrowing was included in the 2018 omnibus spending package. What that means is we will no longer be cannibalizing funding for fuel reduction, for mitigation that could have prevented a fire like this. Instead, we will be fully funding the firefighting effort and allowing those mitigation dollars, those fuel reduction dollars, to continue to be used so that we can prevent this kind of fire from occurring. We›ve also passed legislation for water resilience projects, categorical exclusions to help with forest management. We›ve passed Healthy Forest Restoration Act language that includes fire and fuel breaks. We›ve worked on 20 year stewardship contracts with Cottonwood reform. We›ve proceeded with reforms to fire hazard mapping initiatives, and to fuels management for protection of electric transmission lines, and Good Neighbor Authority to help make sure that we can continue to give tools to our land managers. The 2018 Farm Bill built on many of the reforms that we passed in 2014 Farm Bill changes. We›ve worked to expand the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program, doubled its funding, and to help expand Good Neighbor Authorities to Tribes and to counties. All of these tools will help us deal with the wildfires, but certainly they›re not going to put this fire out today. So I come to the floor just to thank the men and women who are fighting these fires. To the leaders in these communities, the county commissioners, the sheriffs, the law enforcement personnel, first responders who›ve done a magnificent job in protecting structures, protecting their communities, protecting their people. I commend you, and know that you have the support of everybody here in our efforts to give you the tools you need to do your jobs, to be safe, and to protect our greatest resources and communities. And so Mr. President, again, I look forward to coming to the floor to speak about Judge Barrett and her nomination, but for now, I think it›s important that we take this time to recognize the challenge that Colorado faces and the need for continued work in this chamber to address forest management, healthy forest initiatives to make sure that we can prevent these fires. These are some of the original beetle kill areas that came in 30, 40 years ago, insect dead and downed trees that we knew at some point could be a major challenge if there was a fire and that›s exactly what we are seeing. So Mr. President, I hope that all my colleagues will join me in prayers for our state and states across the country that have been affected by wildfires and know that we›ve got more work to do to prevent the loss of some of our greatest natural resources. Mr. President, I yield the floor. Cory Gardner is a member of the U.S. Senate serving Colorado. He sits on the Energy & Natural Resources Committee, the Foreign Relations Committee, the Commerce, Science, & Transportation Committee, and is the Chairman of the Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy.
October 28, 2020
TRIVIA What letter adorns Cinderella’s coach, in the Disney movie? C Which Roman numeral is the bigger number - IX or XI? XI What kind of wrestling is Japan’s Kitanoumia a master of? SUMO WRESTLING Which is farther east - Chicago or Detroit? DETROIT Who delighted the crowd on Disneyland’s 30th anniversary TV special with Too Late for Goodbyes? JULIAN LENNON Was George Washington over six feet tall? YES Which of the Seven Dwarfs doesn’t want to wash his hands and face before dinner? GRUMPY Where are the taste buds most sensitive sweetness - at the back or tip of the tongue? THE TIP OF THE TONGUE What attraction at EPCOT Center resembles a huge golf ball? SPACESHIP EARTH What country contributes the most money to the United Nations? THE U.S. What song has Snow White singing: “Though he’s far away, I’ll find my love some day”? SOME DAY MY PRINCE WILL COME What do U.S. airport security guards seize at an average of eight a day? GUNS What movie sees its hero moan: “Snakes. Why’d it have to be snakes?”? RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK What do hamsters often inflate before swimming? THEIR CHEEKS What are newbord Cappage Patch Kids infants called? PREEMIES
October 28, 2020
Also on This Day 19TH CENTURY 1886 The Statue of Liberty, a gift of friendship from the people of France to the people of the United States, is dedicated in New York Harbor by President Grover Cleveland. US GOVERNMENT 1919 Congress passes the Volstead Act over President Woodrow Wilson’s veto. The Volstead Act provided for the enforcement of the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, also known as the Prohibition Amendment. WORLD WAR II 1940 Italy invades Greece. Mussolini’s army, already occupying Albania, invades Greece in what will prove to be a disastrous military campaign for the Duce’s forces. Mussolini surprised everyone with this move against Greece; even his ally, Adolf Hitler, was caught off-guard. COLD WAR 1962 Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev orders withdrawal of missiles from Cuba, ending the Cuban Missile Crisis. In 1960, Khrushchev had launched plans to install medium and intermediate range ballistic missiles in Cuba. ART, LITERATURE, AND FILM HISTORY 1998 According to an ABC news report, it was none other than the pop icon Prince himself who happened upon a 29-second home video of a toddler cavorting to a barely audible background soundtrack of his 1984 hit “Let’s Go Crazy” 1905 George Bernard Shaw’s play Mrs. Warren’s Profession, which dealt frankly with prostitution, is performed at the Garrick Theater in New York. The play, Shaw’s second, had been banned in Britain. CRIME 1961 The second so-called “Apache trial” begins for rock-and-roller Chuck Berry. Although his earlier conviction for transporting a minor across state lines for immoral purposes in violation of the Mann Act was thrown out on appeal, the prosecution decided to retry Berry.
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This Day in History - October 28, 1965 St. Louis’s Gateway Arch is Completed
On October 28, 1965, construction is completed on the Gateway Arch, a spectacular 630-foothigh parabola of stainless steel marking the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial on the waterfront of St. Louis, Missouri. The Gateway Arch, designed by Finnish-born, American-educated architect Eero Saarinen, was erected to commemorate President Thomas Jefferson’s Louisiana Purchase of 1803 and to celebrate St. Louis’ central role in the rapid westward expansion that followed. As the market and supply point for fur traders and explorers—including the famous Meriwether Lewis and William Clark—the town of St. Louis grew exponentially after the War of 1812, when great numbers of people began to travel by wagon train to seek their fortunes west of the Mississippi River. In 1947-48, Saarinen won a nationwide competition to design a monument honoring the spirit of the western pioneers. In a sad twist of fate, the architect died of a brain tumor in 1961 and did not live to see the construction of his now-famous arch, which began in February 1963. Completed in October 1965, the Gateway Arch cost less than $15 million to build. With foundations sunk 60 feet into the ground, its frame of stressed stainless steel is built to withstand both earthquakes and high winds. An internal tram system takes visitors to the top, where on a clear day they can see up to 30 miles across the winding Mississippi and to the Great Plains to the west. In addition to the Gateway Arch, the Jefferson Expansion Memorial includes the Museum of Westward Expansion and the Old Courthouse of St. Louis, where two of the famous Dred Scott slavery cases were heard in the 1860s. Today, some 4 million people visit the park each year to wander its nearly 100 acres, soak up some history and take in the breathtaking views from Saarinen’s gleaming arch.
SUDOKU
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T H E T R I B U TA R Y
October 28, 2020
PUC dismisses La Plata Electric, United Power exit fee complaints against Tri-State due to lack of jurisdiction
DENVER — The Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) on Thursday dismissed formal complaints filed by La Plata Electric Association and United Power against Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association over exit fees, citing a lack of legal jurisdiction. The PUC, in a 3-0 vote, determined that an order issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in late August concluding it had exclusive jurisdiction over the exit fee disputes preempted the Colorado PUC from acting further on them. That order reversed an initial FERC decision concluding that the complaints could proceed at the PUC. As a result of the exit fee preemption, the only issue remaining in the PUC complaints is whether Tri-State’s admission of MEICO as a non-utility member was proper under Colorado law. Because this question is a matter of corporate law, not public utilities law, the PUC found it does not have the jurisdiction to decide that question. In May, United Power filed a case in Adams County District Court challenging, on various grounds, the MEICO transaction, which is the basis of FERC’s jurisdiction over Tri-State. That court is where the question of MEICO’s membership should be answered, the PUC believes. Because the Commission dismissed the formal complaints without prejudice, the PUC will be ready to adjudicate the exit fee questions if United Power prevails in district court. The decision aids the parties in getting an answer to the question from the proper legal forum, which will ultimately reduce the time needed to resolve this complex and important dispute, the PUC said. ________ About the PUC The Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) serves the public interest by effectively regulating utilities and facilities so that the people of Colorado receive safe, reliable, and reasonablypriced services consistent with the economic, environmental and social values of our state. About DORA The Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) is dedicated to preserving the integrity of the marketplace and is committed to promoting a fair and competitive business environment in Colorado. Consumer protection is our mission. Visit www.colorado.gov/dora for more information or call 303-894-7855/toll free 1-800-886-7675.
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