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Colorado Lawmakers Move To Rein In Utility Eminent Domain After Xcel Land Dispute
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Lawmakers Move To Rein In Utility Eminent Domain After Xcel Land Dispute

By: Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics After months of backlash over Xcel Energy’s use of eminent domain in eastern Colorado, lawmakers representing Elbert and El Paso counties are advancing legislation that would bar utilities from initiating property takings until they’ve secured state approval and all required local permits — a move supporters say will restore fairness and prevent landowners from being forced into legal limbo. House Bill 1278, sponsored by Rep. Chris Richardson, R-Elizabeth, and Sens. Marc Snyder, D-Colorado Springs, and Rod Pelton, R-Cheyenne Wells, would require utilities to receive a certificate of public convenience and necessity from the Public Utilities Commission, as well as all necessary local land use approvals and permits, before initiating em...
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Who decides where power lines go in Colorado? Meet CETA, the unelected authority
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Who decides where power lines go in Colorado? Meet CETA, the unelected authority

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Worried about land use for energy infrastructure? Save some time to watch CETA. There has been a lot of attention paid to Xcel Energy and the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) over where and how electric infrastructure will run in this state.See, for example, Polis encouraging his cronies at the PUC to take up the appeal over Xcel's Power Pathway through Elbert and El Paso in an October 2025 newsletter linked first below for an example.There is another unelected board in this state that does similar work with far less news coverage, however.The second link below is to a 2021 bill (SB21-072) that does a whole lot of things.Screenshot 1 (from the bill's fiscal note) shows you what this bill does with regard to...
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Colorado Faces Deep Cuts to Federal Clean-Energy Funds
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kdvr.com, Approved, State

Colorado Faces Deep Cuts to Federal Clean-Energy Funds

By Gabrielle Franklin | KDVR Fox31 DENVER (KDVR) — Day two of the federal shutdown is winding down. While members of Congress are not set to vote on another proposal until Friday, President Donald Trump and his budget director are working on a plan to cut federal funding and jobs in blue states. Colorado is set to see cuts. The president’s budget director warned that since Wednesday, Colorado may lose some federal funding for clean energy programs. There is now a better idea of exactly what could be cut. Russell Vought is the U.S. Director of the Office of Management and Budget. He also helped write Project 2025. He met with President Trump on Thursday to determine which agencies he should cut. The president said on social media that the two of them would determine if the cu...
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U.S. Supreme Court sides with rail developers in Eagle County fight over NEPA
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Approved, Local, National, Westword

U.S. Supreme Court sides with rail developers in Eagle County fight over NEPA

By J.B. Ruhl | Westword On May 29, the Supreme Court – minus Justice Neil Gorsuch, who recused himself – decided the case of Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado. Getting federal approval for permits to build bridges, wind farms, highways and other major infrastructure projects has long been a complicated and time-consuming process. Despite growing calls from both parties for Congress and federal agencies to reform that process, there had been few significant revisions – until now. In one fell swoop, the U.S. Supreme Court has changed a big part of the game. Whether the effects are good or bad depends on the viewer’s perspective. Either way, there is a new interpretation in place for the law that is the centerpiece of the debate about permitting: the&nbs...
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