Posts tagged Boulder County
No more geeky hardware in the trash or go to jail
Jun 22nd
Many Electronics will be Prohibited from Trash Bins Starting July 1
The Electronic Recycling Jobs Act bans electronics from landfills
Boulder County, Colo. – Effective July 1, Boulder County residents can no longer place computers and many other types of electronics at the curb, or in waste bins, for collection and disposal. The Electronic Recycling Jobs Act, signed by Governor Hickenlooper in April of 2012, intends many benefits for the state including job creation through material recovery, diversion of hazardous material from landfills and reduction of energy and raw material resource demands from mining and manufacturing.
Banned devices include:
- television sets
- central processing units (CPUs)
- computer monitors
- peripherals
- printers
- fax machines
- laptops
- notebooks
- ultra books
- net books
- electronic tablets
- digital video disc players
- video cassette recorders
- video display devices with a screen greater than four inches
The law requires that consumers deliver their electronic equipment to collection facilities or collection events. Boulder County will no longer accept waste electronics at the Nederland or Allenspark transfer stations or county recycling drop off centers. Residents of Nederland and Allenspark can expect county-organized collection events on or around Labor Day weekend.
Electronic devices contain a number of hazardous elements that can migrate if disposed in a landfill, potentially contaminating groundwater and soil. Brokers and recyclers with an e-Steward or R2 certification have demonstrated that they meet specific environmental standards and safely manage used electronics. Residents of Boulder County can find a list of certified electronics recyclers and local collection events atwww.bouldercounty.org/env/recycle/pages/ewaste.aspx.
For more information, contact Jeff Callahan, Boulder County Resource Conservation Division at 720-564-2221 orjcallahan@bouldercounty.org.
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Oil and gas exploration (fracking) moratorium till health studies in
Jun 18th
Citing a changing regulatory environment and the need for more public health studies to assess the health impacts of oil and gas development, the County Commissioners voted unanimously to extend the moratorium until the end of 2014
Boulder County, Colo. – By unanimous decision, the Board of County Commissioners today voted to extend the temporary moratorium on oil and gas development in unincorporated Boulder County for 18 months to expire at the end of 2014.
Citing the need for further health and safety studies to test the impacts of oil and gas development on air and water quality, the commissioners stated that the county is not yet prepared – in terms of inspection and monitoring staff, health data, baseline testing and technical expertise – to process new applications for oil and gas development in unincorporated Boulder County.
The commissioners also noted that with a dynamic regulatory environment around the issue, new rulemaking could affect how the county regulates oil and gas under its own authority in the future.
“We are living in a regulatory environment where regulations and rules are changing rapidly,” said County Commissioner Deb Gardner. “A short delay in extraction is legal, necessary and appropriate when balanced against our fundamental duty as elected officials to protect public health, safety, welfare and the environment from potential adverse impacts of oil and gas exploration and development, and to minimize potential land use conflicts between those activities and current or planned land uses.”
Gardner’s sentiments were supported and confirmed by her fellow commissioners, Cindy Domenico and Elise Jones.
Extensive feedback on the moratorium was received from members of the public over a period of 16 months from February 2012 to the present. Over 1,100 comments were submitted this week alone by the time of the June 18 public hearing, all but about a dozen of which stated a preference for extending the moratorium.
In general, public comments have overwhelmingly supported extending the moratorium to assess health and safety impacts of oil and gas drilling to area residents. In addition, on June 5th the Boulder County Planning Commission, by a vote of 7-0, recommended that the Board of County Commissioners extend the current temporary moratorium.
Today’s public hearing also included a decision to table indefinitely Docket DC-12-0003 “Proposed Amendments to Article 12 of the Boulder County Land Use Code (oil and gas regulations), to include a phasing plan.” With the extended temporary moratorium in place, Land Use staff will to continue to work on developing an inspection and implementation plan for permitting oil and gas applications.
A taped archive of the hearing is available at: www.bouldercounty.org/gov/meetings/pages/hearings.aspx.
For more information about the county’s role in oil and gas development, please visit the county’s Oil and Gas Development webpage.
The heat is on–partII
Jun 13th
Due to a Boulder County fire ban, the City of Boulder has implemented a City Manager’s Rule banning all sources of fire including camp stoves and smoking on all Open Space & Mountain Parks (OSMP) properties. OSMP imposes these bans during extreme fire hazard conditions for public safety and resource protection. Fire danger is currently at a very high level.
In addition, users of the following City of Boulder parks are prohibited from using park charcoal grills and no charcoal grills may be brought into the specified parks due to the proximity to natural lands and forests, until further notice:
● Chautauqua Park, located at Grant Street and Baseline Road
● Eben G. Fine Park, located at 3rd Street and Arapahoe Avenue
Gas grills are only allowed in the Chautauqua Park green area and in Eben G. Fine Park with a permit. To obtain a permit, the Parks and Recreation Department requires two weeks’ notice and a $100 deposit. Eben G. Fine Park also requires a shelter rental. For information, call the Parks and Recreation administrative offices at 303-413-7200 or visit www.BoulderParks-Rec.org.
Violators are subject to criminal prosecution with penalties up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. OSMP and Boulder firefighters appreciate the public’s cooperation.
–CITY–
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