Sign Delta County Climate Action Needed - Citizens for a Healthy Community

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Dear Delta County Commissioners,

The recent Arctic freeze in Texas and resulting human catastrophe of no heat, no electricity, no potable water, public health crisis, and supply chain failures is yet another cautionary tale. We’ve witnessed climate disasters around the State in terms of wildfires and extreme drought, and around the country in terms severe storms. How many more do we need for Commissioners to take proactive action—not wait to be required to do something by regulation or statute? More importantly, on August 7, 2020, the Washington Post reported that the Western Slope of Colorado, along with 3 counties in Utah has warmed more than 2 degrees Celsius, double the global average, making it the largest 2°C (3.6°F) hot spot in the continental US. With the region’s snowpack shrinking and melting earlier, the ground absorbs more heat. In addition, with early snow melt comes more water evaporation and less water is available to farmers later in the season. Delta County, has warmed 2.1°C (3.9°F) according to the Washington Post climate analysis. But we really didn’t need the Washington Post to tell us that the new norm is hotter and drier, and more unimaginable extreme weather events.

We are sitting right smack in the largest climate hot spot and what have Delta County Commissioners done to date?

1. Delta County just adopted a new Land Use Code in January 2021, which was met with considerable resistance. In particular, the Land Use Code does not address the climate impacts of making it easier for certain industries to operate in the County, in particular fossil fuel and Confined Animal Feeding Operations, which are the largest methane emitters and contributors to climate change.

2. Delta County repealed its oil and gas regulations in September 2019 leaving it with no means to address the climate impacts of oil and gas development within the County.

3. Delta County, as a member of the Western Rural and Local Governments (WRLG) coalition, led by Garfield County, actively worked against statewide regulatory efforts to prioritize the protection of public health, safety, welfare, the environment and wildlife against oil and gas development. This includes perpetuating the climate change impact of oil and gas development.

4. Last year Crawford Area Indivisible and students from the PELA presented to the Delta County Commissioners in a work session and urged them to take climate action with two simple and reasonable requests:

a. Hire a climate action director to identify ways the county could reduce its climate impact as have other counties in Colorado; and
b. Educate Delta County and its citizens by displaying Climate Action pamphlets in Delta County Public Buildings.

Both requests were summarily dismissed and denied.

5. The County sided with the coal mining company Arch Coal in its defiance of an Appeals Court Order, when it illegally bulldozed a mile of road in the Sunset Roadless Area in June 2020 for the purpose of venting methane. The West Elk Coal mine in the North Fork Valley is the largest emitter of methane in the State. The County supported the North Fork Exception to the Colorado Roadless Rule to allow for expanded coal mining. However, as a regulator, it has an obligation to stand up for the rule of law, and it failed to do so.

While efforts to diversify the economy and encourage renewable energy through Solarize Delta County, implementation of the Colorado Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C¬-PACE) program, and coal-mine methane waste capture are commendable, they are not substitutes for a comprehensive climate action plan that addresses the local activities causing and contributing to our increasingly unpredictable, severe, and destructive weather.

We have a pending disaster on our hands and need action and leadership to ensure that Delta County citizens have a livable future. We urge you to take immediate climate action, which starts with admitting, as has the Trump Administration in Federal Court, that climate change is real, and that governments contribute to climate change through land use policies and regulations. Second, the County must budget for climate adaptation across county operations. Third, the County must invest in a climate change/sustainability director to identify ways the county could reduce its climate impact. Lastly, the County needs a climate action plan, policies and regulations, including land use regulations that align with the State’s mandatory greenhouse gas emissions reductions targets of 26% by 2025, 50% by 2030, and 90% by 2050 from 2005 levels.

I would appreciate a response from Commissioners on this important matter, which will determine the future of our County.

Parker, Richard, “Texas Could Have Kept the Lights On”, The New York Times, February 17, 2021 available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/17/opinion/texas-blackout-energy-abbott.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepagehttps://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/17/opinion/texas-blackout-energy-abbott.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage; Serwer, Adam, “Texas Pays the Price of the Culture War”, The Atlantic, February 22, 2021 available at: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/02/texas-pays-price-culture-war/618107/
2 Eilperin, Juliet, “2°C Beyond the Limit: This giant climate hot spot is robbing the West of its water,” The Washington Post, August 7, 2020 available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/national/climate-environment/climate-change-colorado-utah-hot-spot/?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_most

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DELTA COUNTY CLIMATE ACTION PLAN NEEDED!

It is high time for a County Climate Action Plan. Ignoring the problem will not make it go away or protect us.

Please sign the following letter to the Delta County Commissioners. Your letter will be submitted directly to the Commissioners. Thank you for your support!

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DELTA COUNTY CLIMATE ACTION PLAN NEEDED!

It is high time for a County Climate Action Plan. Ignoring the problem will not make it go away or protect us.

Please sign the following letter to the Delta County Commissioners. Your letter will be submitted directly to the Commissioners. Thank you for your support!

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