Republicans announce plan to protect environment and promote renewable energy

Addressing growing concerns over the future health of the environment, GOP lawmakers announced their blueprint for environmental sustainability today at the Capitol.   Touted as a balanced approach to developing Colorado's resources, the plan includes measures to empower citizens through incentives to buy energy-efficient appliances as well as a comprehensive approach to preserving forestland from pine beetles and wild fires. 

Republicans from both chambers stressed the need to safeguard Colorado's natural beauty and quality of life while also preserving the state's dynamic economy.  They say their plan can achieve these goals without imposing "heavy-handed, across-the-board mandates" -- a charge that has been leveled at the governor and his fellow Democrats' approach to the environment.

"Gas prices are through the roof and going higher, we need to maximize all of our energy production to protect the pocketbooks of working Coloradans," Sen. Greg Brophy of Wray said.  "The good news is that the Republican agenda will do that while still protecting Colorado’s incredible environment."

Brophy is sponsoring a bill in the GOP environmental agenda that facilitates the construction of clean-energy plants by streamlining the permit-review process for building clean-power plants.

Also included in the Republicans' plan is a proposal that would address the devastation of Colorado's forests due to pine beetle infestation.  One provision would set up a pine beetle mitigation fund to remove infested trees from state forests. 

The pine beetle proposal also would create incentives for consumers and businesses to collect wood from infested areas, waiving state sales tax on the purchase of treated pine-beetle wood to entice consumers to use the lumber.  The bill also creates incentives for companies to gather and use wood that is removed through pine beetle mitigation efforts.

"Our forests are under attack by the Mountain Pine Beetle," a sponsor of the bills, Rep. Kevin Lundberg, R-Berthoud, said. "We need to do something to stop this pest dead in

its tracks, otherwise we not only lose irreplaceable trees but we also lay ourselves open to an onslaught of extremely hazardous wildfires."

Those fires devastate not only the land but also the atmosphere, the lawmakers say.

The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, which runs the National Center for Atmospheric Research, concluded several years ago that Colorado's 2002 wildfire season gave off carbon dioxide emissions equaling, "an entire year's emissions from statewide transportation activities.”

In another effort aimed at shoring up the state's public lands, the GOP's Sen. Mike Kopp, of Littleton, and Rep. Spencer Swalm, of Centennial, are sponsoring a bill that would help maintain state parks.  It creates a special state park pass for users who wish to contribute extra funds to cover the cost of park maintenance. 

"Colorado's state parks are among our most prized natural resources," Kopp said.  "This legislation provides an opportunity for citizens -- who are interested -- with a small,  tangible way to invest in preserving these assets."

The Republicans' legislative package on the environment also includes several bills that create incentives for renewable energy innovations. 

The GOP's Sen. Shawn Mitchell, of Broomfield, and Republican Rep. Cory Gardner, of Yuma, will propose a measure that encourages community colleges to offer programs in renewable energy management.

"We have to prepare tomorrow's workers for the new economy in order to keep them on the cutting edge," Mitchell said.

Lundberg and Mitchell also will carry a bill providing a tax credit for consumers buying energy-efficient appliances.