Posts tagged Public Health
County to host meeting about ag. flood damage 10/31
Oct 30th
Flood recovery informational meeting for farmers, ranchers and land owners Oct. 31
Boulder County, Colo. – Colorado State University Extension is hosting an informational meeting for farmers, ranchers, and landowners affected by the flood. A wide variety of information regarding technical assistance available for recovery will be presented, as well as how to apply for financial assistance. The meeting will be useful for landowners and agricultural producers with flood related damage to infrastructure and businesses and with crop losses.
What: Northern Colorado Flood Recovery Assistance Meeting
When: Oct. 31, from 1 – 4:30 p.m.
Where: McKee building at The Ranch, (Crossroads & I-25) in Loveland
Details: The event is free and open to the public; no pre-registration is required
Boulder County experienced great impacts due to extensive flooding not just in the mountain areas, but certainly in plains as well. Farmers, ranchers and landowners have a long road ahead to recover from these environmental changes, and having the support and knowledge of experts will benefit the community as a whole.
This meeting will feature presentations from agencies and experts ready to help, including:
· USDA/Natural Resources Conservation Service
· USDA/Farm Service Agency
· Colorado State University Extension
· Colorado Farm Bureau
· Rocky Mountain Farmers Union
· Local Food Shift Group
· Living GREEN Foundation
· Colorado Department of Agriculture
· Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment
· Representatives from the offices of Colorado’s congressional delegation
For more information contact Adrian Card, CSU Extension of Boulder County, at 303-678-6383 or Adrian.Card@colostate.edu.
Boulder County’s moratorium on oil and gas drilling permits is scheduled to expire on June 10
May 4th
TAKE ACTION: Contact the County Commissioners @ commissioners@bouldercounty.org to ask for a multi-year moratorium on fracking until we have results of neutral health impact research such as the National Science Foundation study due in 2018. Before issuing any oil and gas drilling permits, we need to first know the public safety impacts of hydraulic fracturing.
A multi-year moratorium based on the need for health impact studies on fracking would allow time for the results of medical and scientific studies now in the works to be finalized, including a 5-year $12 million study funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) being coordinated by the University of Colorado at Boulder, an EPA study on “Potential Impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing on Drinking Water Resources,” and a multi-year study by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment with Colorado State University.
Your personal email will make a difference.
Thank you for your help!
Boulder sheriff wants a fireworks ban in county
May 17th
Public invited to comment at hearing scheduled for May 22 at 9:30 a.m.
Boulder County, Colo. – The Boulder County Commissioners will review recommended modifications to the county’s existing ordinance restricting open fires on “red flag” days at a public hearing on Tuesday.
The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office is recommending that the current ordinance be repealed and replaced with an updated policy that requires permitting for non-agricultural burns and further restricts open burning where the danger of forest or grass fires is found to be high. The new ordinance will address identification of red flag warning days, notification regarding open burning, and penalties for violating statute, ordinance, and requirements of the open burn permit system or the notification system.
“A relatively new state law requires counties to develop a permit system this year, for property owners wanting to burn slash and conduct open burning,” Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said. “The Sheriff’s Office has been working closely with the Department of Public Health to develop a ‘one stop’ permit process which incorporates both the requirements of the state regarding air quality, and our needs regarding safety.”
Part of the plan includes educational and training materials for the individuals seeking permits. It is being developed to be administered online. These proposed new permit requirements do not apply to agricultural burning. They would primarily affect people in unincorporated Boulder County wanting to burn slash piles.
Also to be considered is the recommendation that fire restrictions go into effect under an expanded list of circumstances that contribute to high fire danger, such as during High Wind Advisories. Currently the ordinance only specifies that all open burning, including agricultural burning, be prohibited when the National Weather Service issues a “Red Flag Warning” for fire danger.
“We have found that fires continue to grow out of control on days when the county is under a High Wind Watch or Advisory, and that common sense sometimes does not prevail when deciding whether or not to burn on windy days,” added Pelle. “We wish to include those windy weather conditions under the proposed new ordinance, as times when open burning would be illegal.”
Members of the public are invited to review the draft ordinance online and provide comments in writing or in person at the hearing.
The first reading for the ordinance will be held:
When: 9:30 a.m., Tuesday, May 22
What: Public hearing on an ordinance establishing an open burn permit system, notification process of open burns, and restrictions during red flag days, high wind watch days and high wind warning days
Where: Boulder County Courthouse, 3rd Floor, Commissioners’ Hearing Room, 1325 Pearl Street, Boulder
The hearing can be viewed online at: www.bouldercounty.org/stream.
A copy of the draft ordinance is available at: www.bouldercounty.org (search by keyword “ordinances.”)
On a related note, the Sheriff’s Office will be presenting an amendment to the fire ban currently in effect for the mountain areas of Boulder County at the Commissioners’ next business meeting. The proposed amendment will include a provision to extend the ban on the sale and use of fireworks to all of unincorporated Boulder County. The public is invited to attend and comment on the proposed changes at 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, May 22 in the Commissioners’ Hearing Room.