 |
 |
 |
|
Fight over ski area water rights continues |
|
Tuesday, January 10, 2012 08:14 |
|
By Bob Berwyn, Summit County Citizens Voice
A recent flareup in the water war between the federal government and the ski industry took yet another turn last week when a former Forest Service official charged the industry with taking advantage of a lax regulatory environment under the Bush administration to try to acquire water rights using “fraud and deception.”
The National Ski Areas Association complained to Congress in Noember that the Forest Service was trying to “take” privately held water rights by revising a ski area permit condition that was adopted in 2004. Since then, the ski industry has threatened to sue the Forest Service over the new water rights clause.
But Ed Ryberg, who headed the agency’s ski area program from 1992 to 2005, says it’s the other way around. According to Ryberg, the ski industry used its political connections in the Bush administration to lobby for regulatory changes that were subsequently implemented without public input or review under federal environmental laws.
Read more about the issue and a letter Ryberg sent to senators Mark Udall and Michael Bennet and Gov. John Hickenlooper:
|
