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July 23, 2009 07:07 PM UTC

Penry AWOL On Mesa County Mercury Storage?

  • 23 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

They’re turning against proposed federal plans to store mercury in the desert near Grand Junction, reports the Sentinel:

The U.S. Department of Energy should look elsewhere for a place to store the nation’s mercury, said state Rep. Steve King, R-Grand Junction.

King’s 54th District includes one of the seven sites being considered by the agency for the storage of as much as 17,000 tons of the liquid metal.

Whether the site below Grand Mesa and atop a 700-foot-deep layer of impervious Mancos shale would make for a suitable location for mercury encased in heavy steel flasks is beside the point, King said.

The Energy Department gave its word that the Grand Junction Disposal Site would be used only for uranium mill tailings, King said.

“The Energy Department should go to other sites where they haven’t made these promises,” King said Wednesday after attending a scoping meeting conducted by the Energy Department at Two Rivers Convention Center.

“It goes back to the Code of the West,” he said.

The other “code” that might be worth mentioning here is the code of silence, as the latest word at the Sentinel yesterday from the area’s other state representative…is no word.

State Sen. Josh Penry, R-Grand Junction, didn’t return calls seeking comment Tuesday.

After all, it’s still his back yard too, isn’t it? We assume he’s just really busy right now.

Comments

23 thoughts on “Penry AWOL On Mesa County Mercury Storage?

      1. Here’s what Ritter has to say, in a release this afternoon:

        GOV. RITTER OPPOSES PROPOSAL TO SHIP MERCURY TO GRAND JUNCTION

        Gov. Bill Ritter said today he will oppose the federal government if it moves ahead with a proposal to ship thousands of tons of mercury to a waste storage site south of Grand Junction.

        The governor he will convey his reservations about the proposal to the Department of Energy in a letter in the coming days.

        “Colorado’s Western Slope is no place for the federal government to deposit thousands of tons of mercury,” Gov. Ritter said. “The risks to ground and surface water are too great. The risks to our air quality are too great. The risks of transporting elemental mercury over long distances and on routes that run adjacent to or cross major water sources, such as the Colorado River, are too great.

        “This dangerous and harmful material should be stored in close proximity to where it is generated, rather than dumping it on the Western Slope,” Gov. Ritter said.

        The Grand Junction Disposal Site in Mesa County, which currently stores uranium mill tailings, is one of seven locations under consideration for mercury storage by the U.S. Department of Energy. Others are in Idaho, Missouri, Nevada, South Carolina, Texas and Washington.

        The DOE intends to have a mercury storage site selected and operational by 2013.

  1. Note the difference in his comments above (one day after the public meeting in GJ) compared to his position immediately after the meeting.

    As reported by the GJ Daily Sentinel on Tuesday:

    Asked for his thoughts on the plan, Republican state Rep. Steve King took a middle-of-the road stance, expressing neither support nor opposition.

    As is typical, Rep. King had know informed position on an issue, outside law enforcement, until Kathy Hall gave him his talking points.

    1. The meeting was just a “scoping” meeting for an EIS–public input on what the EIS is supposed to cover.

      It’s premature to start beating people up over this thing at the scoping phase.

      That said, I’m glad King was there, if only to show the flag.  Udall and Bennet had staff there too; the County had two commissioners, the County attorney, and land use and development staff present.

      And to Ben Steins’s A$$, Ritter’s CDPHE was there in spades.  Jim Martin is not giving DOE any wiggle room on this.

      My gut says that this isn’t going to happen, at least not here.  The idea seems to be going over like a fart in church.

      The only people who want this project work at the local DOE office, and they’re just looking for job security.  They shat in their own nest by not informing local, state, and federal electeds that they had put in for this project.  

      There are many more least-resistant paths for DOE to follow.

      But if you have feelings one way or another, the project has a web site and you can submit comments on the EIS scope until August 24.

      http://www.mercurystorageeis.com/

    2. must have told King that he couldn’t figure out how there might be a buck in it for him.

      And Penry’s out-of-state handlers must not yet have told him which gambol jig they wish him to dance to on the issue.

    3. One can hope that she did. Hall was part and parcel on the planning and eventual disposition of the tailings back in the day, and she knows what the deal was between the county and the DOE. That was, ONLY uranium tailings from Mesa County would be stored there. Not anybody else’s tailings, not anybody else’s shit.

      I’m glad Hollywood consulted someone, if he did, who was involved at the time and knew what the deal was.

      Don’t get me wrong. Hall is not the be-all, end-all oracle she’d like to be, but on this one she is spot-on.

      If Hollywood talked to her.

      Hollywood has no informed opinion. He’s Hollwyood.

  2. since the GJ Sentinel says,

    “Penry…gradually will pull up stakes and move to Denver as his bid proceeds.”

    He’s leaving Grand Junction behind.

    1. If I remember the story you’re referencing, I believe Penry is selling a rental property.  Not everyone can afford to live in a huge Highlands Ranch home because they make so much money overbilling clients and candidates.  Couple of questions for the Phaseline Team:  when was the last time Scott McInnis actually lived in Grand Junction?  Next, how are you being paid since Scotter himself blew your cover and exposed that your 527 is indeed coordinating with his campaign?  

      Thanks.

          1. Indeed, there are some things that are

            …embar[r]assingly obvious from reading your comments…

            But I have the impression that you don’t read your comments, so you wouldn’t be able to pick up on this.

    2. that Penry is in a series of secret meetings with a team of political advisors working on the sequel to Penry for Gov. in 2010. After two years as governor, he quits and runs with a popular TV talkshow host from Fox News in the blockbuster, “Palin/Penry 2012”.

      Remember, he is the self-avowed president of the Sarah Palin Fan Club.

  3. Reminds me of a western movie “Dirty Dingus McGee” starring Frank Sinatra and George Kennedy. Sinatra plays Dingus McGee, a petty crook and town character, and George Kennedy plays the sheriff who is just as unscrupulous as McGee. Schemes are hatched, lies are told, and McGee and the sheriff are constantly double crossing each other.

    At one point, when McGee (Sinatra) double crosses the sheriff, Kennedy looks at Sinatra and asks, “Now what’d you go and do that for?” Sinatra simply replies, “Code of the West”

     

      1. Being a Sinatra fan, I saw it when it first came out (1970). I’d love to see it again, or even have it for my collection, but you can’t rent it, it’s not on DVD, and used VHS tapes cost upwards of $70 or more.  

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