PRESS RELEASE
RBC | The following is the text of a letter sent to the President’s office by the Rio Blanco County Board of Commissioners requesting approval of a declaration of disaster following the Lee and Elk fires.
The Honorable Donald J. Trump
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Re: Support for Major Disaster Declaration Request for Rio Blanco County
Dear Mr. President,
The Board of County Commissioners of Rio Blanco County, Colorado, are counting on your help to enable critical action. We urge you to approve Governor Jared Polis’s recent request for a Presidential Declaration.
Rio Blanco County, a vast frontier county in northwestern Colorado, has been devastated by the impacts of the Lee and Elk Fires. The fires crippled critical power infrastructure, and fire impacts threaten our oil and gas energy development legacy, ranching heritage, and local recreation businesses that sustain families.
The Lee Fire destroyed miles of transmission lines that power the oil and gas industries in the Piceance Basin, which produce 2 billion cubic feet of natural gas each day. On a national scale, the resulting diminished capacity directly threatens core policy objectives outlined in Executive Order 14154,”Unleashing American Energy.” Ongoing diminished production will erode domestic energy supply, undermining national security interests and investor confidence in the county’s oil and gas future.
Electricity for these industries is provided by two Rural Electric Associations; both suffered extensive damage. The primary and secondary transmission lines for electricity feeding the oil and gas industry in this area suffered more than $24 million in damage from these fires. Industry is presently operating on a tertiary backup transmission line that has been de-energized and not maintained for decades.
Without federal assistance, our Rural Electric Association customers- including our oil and gas industries- will face significant rate hikes as local cooperatives seek avenues to finance the extensive repairs.
Debris flows in the wake of the fires have damaged county roads and bridges and repeatedly blocked a major thoroughfare in the Piceance Basin. Post-fire flooding has impacted drinking water for the town of Rangely and recreational river use critical to many local businesses.
The people of Rio Blanco County are resilient, but we need your help. We are confident that with your support, we can overcome this crisis.
We urge your swift approval, and thank you for your consideration.
Respectfully,
Rio Blanco County Commissioners
Jennifer O’Hearon
Doug Overton
Callie Scritchfield
Let’s hope someone reads this letter and we get some help from the federal government!