A bipartisan group of lawmakers is urging U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to cut through red tape created by his office in order to aid the removal of explosive gas from a local mine.
"The mine is an important economic engine in the region and direly employs approximately 350 mine personal," Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry, R-Grand Junction, and Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Yuma, wrote in a letter to Vilsack.
In October 2009, Elk Creek Mine in the North Fork Valley near Delta submitted a request for the completion of 12 additional methane drainage boreholes in United States Forest Service lands. These holes are critical to mine and worker safety.
In the past, the Forest Service has been able to work directly with Colorado to approve such plans. But a recent memo out of Vilsack's office stripped the Forest Service of the authority to consult on routine changes to mine plans, like additional boreholes. As a result, the request to drill more boreholes has been sitting in limbo for months awaiting a decision.
Penry and Gardner are asking Vilsack to hand authority back to the Forest Service so consultations with the State of Colorado over the Elk Creek Mine boreholes can be completed as quickly as possible. "A delay in action by the Forest Service means delays...in the approval of the boreholes necessary for the safety of the miners," the letter said.
Fifteen lawmakers, Republicans and Democrats, signed on to the Penry-Gardner letter.
Click here to read the letter.