MORE BIG BATTLES AHEAD ON ENVIRONMENTAL FRONT

DENVER - If there was one group that benefited most from the 2007 legislative session, it was the environmental movement.

A slew of renewable-energy bills, measures to protect water quality and laws to protect wildlife in areas of oil and gas development all managed to tickle green lobbyists pink.

The sequel agenda for environmentalists, though less discussed than other potential areas of legislation, is no less daunting. Solar-energy, cleanwater and smart-growth bills are ready to go, and climate control is the goal of Gov. Bill Ritter's office.

"We are going to do all we can to build on those gains (from 2007)," Ritter said.

Some observers described last year's gains as "low-hanging fruit," with majority Democrats passing bills -- to do things like make it easier to build transmission lines for wind energy -- that passed with heavy bipartisan support.

Some of this year's proposals use incentives to push their goals. Measures offering tax credits to homeowners who make renewable- energy and energy-efficient improvements and giving similar credits to water-rights owners who put more water back into streams and rivers will be introduced early in the session.

More controversial will be bills that mandate actions by local governments. Environment Colorado is pushing plans to require utilities to establish solar and wind programs and to set up energy- efficiency programs for customers. The Colorado Environmental Coalition, meanwhile, is lobbying for a measure to require cities and counties, when considering whether to approve a new development, to ensure there is a sustainable water supply for the growth.

Rep. Claire Levy, D-Boulder, will try to break new ground with a bill that would prioritize state transportation dollars to cities and towns that implement "smartgrowth" plans that allow for more compact development and use of public transit.

Those plans, rolled out at a news conference Thursday, do not contain the overt goals for emissions reduction that Ritter put forth in November. Pam Kiely, legislative program director for Environment Colorado, explained, however, that by cutting the need to make electricity from nonrenewable sources and by reducing the number of miles driven by vehicles, the proposals would meet such goals.

Ritter's package included broader aims for the state, such as a 20 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 and an 80 percent drop by 2050. It proposes the creation of new efficiency standards for autos and the lobbying of the federal government to do things like accelerating the development of clean-coal technologies.

In addition, Rep. Marsha Looper, R-Calhan, said she is looking at ways to improve groundwater quality and sustainability and to allow hydropower plants to qualify for renewable energy credits.

Rep. Kent Lambert, R-Colorado Springs, said he looks at many of the measures, especially the mandates with a suspicious eye.

"Obviously, conservation measures can be good and alternative energy can be good, but we want to be within a reasonable cost- effectiveness paradigm," Lambert said.

THE SERIES

The Gazette looks this week at the major issues facing the Legislature in 2008:

Monday: Health care Tuesday: Transportation Wednesday: Education Thursday: Business issues Friday: Environmental issues Saturday: Constitutional questions

Sunday: Overview of the session