Casper Star-Tribune from Casper, Wyoming • 19

SlarVlYibune Index Obituaries B3 Regional news B4-5 Weather B6 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2007 Sute editor Ctuid B-ikMin can be reached at (JU7) (8UU) bbMbSJ or staWcaiurtiitxjne not SEQION IN BRIEF FROM STAFF WIKE REPORTS A 7 m. aren Wyop ews ts get good Bebout takes oath of office CHEYENNE -Eli Bebout was sworn in as a member of Two Wyoming students at Va. Tech escape harm cell not working, shooting on campus, one dead, no classes, turn to cnn. JAKE OPFER a junior liDiiH.illiitr. in lixl message I iium jor and a 2004 Campbell County High School valedictorian.

McDuff's son, Gavin, is a freshman building construction major at Virginia Tech. Two weeks ago, he dropped a 10 a.m. urban policy and planning class in Norris Hall the building where at least 20 people were killed in a Monday GILLETTE (AP)-Two local parents with children attending Virginia Tech spent anxious moments calling people and watching television re- Eorts of the campus shooting efore learning their children were OK. Doug McDuff, owner of Ace Hardware in Gillette, got a call at 9 a.m. Monday from one of his employees that a massacre was going on at his son's school.

Pi. EPA, DEQ find fault in Anticline plan Changes could come to the Green River landfill if local managers decide to move to a regional landfill system in southwest Wyoming. Limiting landfills? By WHITNEY ROYSTER Star-Tribune environmental reporter JACKSON Two agencies charged with protecting the environment are asking the Bureau of Land Management to do more for the Pinedale Anticline to ensure natural resources are protected in light of growing natural gas development. The Environmental Protection Agency and Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality both asked the BLM to tighten the reins on development in their official comments on the Pinedale Anticline supplemental draft environmental impact statement. That document calls for a significant increase in energy activity in the area.

EPA told the BLM it had not gone far enough to identify a "range of alternatives," while the DEQ called for more requirements that gas operators protect air quality as development progresses. Robert Roberts, EPA regional administrator, said in a 19-page letter to BLM Wyoming State Director Bob Bennett that EPA has three "primary areas" of concern: that an insufficient range of alternatives was analyzed, and harm to air quality and wildlife. shoulders. "Dad, he's OK," she said. Cheryl Offer's sigh of relief came in the form of a text message from her son, a Virginia Tech junior from Gillette, at 8:39 a.m.

MST: "cell not working, shooting on campus, one dead, no classes, turn to cnn." The Gillette woman watched the television in utter shock until her phone rang at 11:45. She had always thought of the campus as being safe and beautiful a place of tranquility, not of grave danger. "Just to let you know, I'm OK and we're on lockdown," said Jake Opfer, a biochemistry ma- Jeff Gearmo, Star-Tribune der the new state incentive program that aims to bring communities together to handle their solid waste programs. Concerns about garbage polluting groundwater from leaking landfills across Wyoming prompted the Legislature to pass a law in 2006 requiring local governments that operate landfills to prepare and maintain 20-year integrated solid waste management plans. The plans will look at the current and future solid waste needs in areas such as Sweetwater County, where the natural gas boom is fueling high population growth, said DEQ.grant coordinator Craig McOmie.

DEQinitially identified nine potential "planning areas" to help local governments evaluate which of their neighbors they might work with to begin the planning process. The planner will collect a variety of data about area landfill use including current and projected waste volumes and populations that will be used as the basis for the drafting of "reasonable management alternatives" for consideration. All possible alternatives and their economics will be analyzed in the draft plans, McOmie said. Those could include hauling waste to a regional site, lining and maintaining individual landfills, or ramping up recycling efforts. He said the legislation provides $1.3 million in financial assistance for the integrated plan preparation.

McOmie said direct plan preparation expenses will be eligible for up to 90 percent reimbursement by the agency, when three or more entities join as planning partners. A single entity's plan preparation expenses will be reimbursed at a 50 percent rate, according to the new law. Southwest Wyoming bureau reporter Jeff Gearino can be reached at 307-875-5359 or at gearinotribcsp.com. rmmirimiiililli iM McDuff hung up the phone and called his son. No answer.

He was terrified. He began calling anyone and everyone who might know something. The boy's mother answer. The boy's sister no answer. He thought about getting on his plane and flying out to see for himself.

Finally, he got through to his daughter and heard three simple words that lifted a huge weight off his Hews Tracker Last we knew: The state Legislature passed a new landfill planning and monitoring law that requires local governments to prepare integrated solid waste management plans. The latest: Sweetwater County Solid Waste Disposal District 1 and a handful of other communities met Thursday to discuss the formation of a multHurisdktional group to oversee the drafting of such a plan for southwest Wyoming. What next Participants will draft a letter of intent to develop the plan and submit it to the Wyoming Department of Erirvironmental by July 31. relations effort on this," Sugano said. "We need to show (residents) what we're trying to accomplish and why.

and maybe we can nip some of that criticism before it comes out," he said. The Sweetwater County district is seeking to partner with the city of Green River and the Eden Valley, Baggs and Upper Platte River solid waste dis- districts to map out ef-orts to improve the management of garbage disposal in the region. The landfill operators met Tuesday in Rock Springs to discuss the possible formation of a multi-jurisdictional group. The group would help meet new legislative requirements that call for the preparation of integrated solid waste management plans by all of the state's landfill operators. The plans must be submitted to the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality by July 1, 2009, for state approval.

Wyoming has about 52 licensed and operating municipal landfills. But that number could shrink considerably un bloodbath. "I'm sure he shot at that class," said Gavin McDuff, who recently decided he'd been taking too many credit hours to be able to adequately manage his schedule. "I'm just really fortunate to have picked that one, or I might not be here today." News Tracker Last we knew: The BLM was accepting public comments on a supplemental study for the Pinedale Anticline natural gas field through April 6. The latest: State and federal environmental agencies say the document doesn't go far enough to protect natural resources.

What's next: The BLM expects to develop a final document this year, with a decision finalized later this year. The National Environmental Policy Act requires analysis of "a range of reasonable alternatives to a proposed action," Roberts wrote. "Given the magnitude of potential impacts to the environment, EPA recommends the BLM fully analyze at least one additional alternative that considers a development plan with the same number of total wells over a longer period of time." EPA questioned why BLM didn't analyze a "conservation alternative" and "reduced pace of development alternative" in detail. Steven Hall, spokesman for Please see PLAN, B2 to the virtual exclusion of many of these other resources," including wildlife, fisheries, recreation, cultural and wilderness resources, she said. She said oil and gas production on public lands is important and can be "vibrant" while protecting other resources.

But she said the BLM has been unable to strike a balance between conservation and development. She said the rapid pace comes from the false notion that too many restrictions have impeded development on the West's public lands. "The fact of the matter is that most BLM public lands in the five Rocky Mountain states containing substantial natural gas resources are available for development and have been for a long time," she said. Morgan said the BLM routinely waives permit conditions that protect wildlife and habitat, inadequately funds inspection and enforcement, cannot meet commitments to monitor wildlife and air-quality impacts and opens more sensitive lands Please see FOCUS, B2 the Wyoming Senate Tuesday afternoon before a eroim of family, friends and legislators. Bebout, 60, who served as state House sneaker in 1999 and 2000, will fill the vacancy in the Senate District 26 seat caused by the death in March of Bob Peck of Riverton.

Wyoming Supreme Court Justice William Hill, who administered the oath of office, said he first heard Bebout's name when he won several events at a track meet in Riverton. Hill also is from Riverton. "You never really fill anyone's shoes, especially someone like Bob Peck," Bebout said. "I will give it my best efforts. I'm very humbled to again have the opportunity to represent Fremont County." Also attending the ceremo ny was Gov.

Dave Freuden-thal, who defeated Bebout in the 2000 general election for governor. Senate Majority Floor Leader John Hines, R-Gillette, substituting for Senate President John Schiffer of Kaycee, noted that the Legislature this year adopted a proposed constitutional amendment to shorten the oath of office if voters approve. "You don't think it's very long until you stand up here by yourself," Hines said. College changes coaches to staff POWELL A decision by the Northwest College board of trustees to no longer hire athletic coaches as faculty members has raised dissent from some of the college's faculty. The trustees voted 3-2 recently to modify the faculty handbook so new coaches will be classified as professional staff instead of faculty members.

The decision also changes the rules regarding how coaches are hired and fired. Northwest President Miles LaRowe said the three coaches hired under the old rules men's basketball coach Andy Jensen, women's basketball coach Chad Oletzke and men's wrestling coach Jim Zeigler will remain classified as faculty members and the change applies only to coaches hired in the future. LaRowe had suggested the classification change, saying the new classification frees coaches from the responsibility of teaching, streamlines the hiring and firing process and opens the college to a bigger pool of coaching candidates. Trustee Carolyn Danko, who voted against the change, worried that the emphasis at the college is shifting away from students' academic performance and toward a dependence on winning in athletics. Beartooth Pass to open on time YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK Beartooth Pass should be open on time this year, thanks to mild weather and softening snow, a Yellowstone National Park official says: "We're pretty sure we're going to make it by Memorial Day," Steve Iobst, the park's head of maintenance, said Monday.

Earlier this year, park officials had raised doubts about meeting that deadline because of concerns about funding to clear snow over the 43-mile stretch of highway that starts at Yellowstone's east entrance and winds toward Red Lodge, Mont. Iobst said the snow is breaking up and it is not as deep as usual, which should make it easier to clear this year. Your Events More events, Page B2 UW events if A Real Big Fish tonight at 7 auditorium. $25 for the Ex-BLM official raps oil, gas focus Southwest Wyo communities consider regional plan By JEFF GEARINO Southwest Wyoming bureau ROCK SPRINGS There may be better, more cost-effective ways to get rid of trash in southwest Wyoming. One idea being pushed by the state is the possible establish ment of a regional landfill which would serve communities including Rock Springs, Green River, Eden and Baggs.

The landfill would be con structed with engineered containment systems, which include liners to prevent leaks to groundwater, an ailment that filagues many of the state's land-ills. While it may be the trend of Wyoming's waste disposal future to regionalize, southwest Wyoming municipal landfill op erators warned Tuesday that any such change will need the full backing of the public before being implemented. And cost-sharing details to pay for initial studies will also have to be carefully worked out, particularly in areas such as Rock Springs and Green River, where the intense rivalry between the nearby cities has quashed project proposals in the past when equal costs could n't be agreed upon. "Public participation is going to be the key to this It's so very important to get people involved ahead of time on this and get their support from the start," said Glenn Sugano, general manager of the Sweetwater County Solid Waste Disposal District 1, the lead agency in the organizational effort. "We want to try and smooth things out from the very start and have a good, strong public By NOELLE STRAUB Star-Tribune Washington bureau WASHINGTON A former Bureau of Land Management state director testified Tuesday that energy development has become the predominant use of public lands wherever oil and gas resources exist and that BLM policies facilitate development to the near exclusion of other priorities.

But a Republican congressman derided her testimony as inaccurate during a House Nat ural Resources Committee hearing on the implementation of the on-shore gas and oil drilling provisions of the 2005 Energy Policy Act. Ann Morgan, who served as a BLM state director between 1994 and 2002, including five years in Colorado, said the BLM has moved to an "extreme pace" of development over the past six or seven years. She is now vice president ot public lands for The Wilderness Society. In recent years, the BLM policies have facilitated the extraction of oil and gas resources Percussion Ensemble in the Fine Arts Center concert hall, Admission is free. 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

Friday, Students for a Sustainable Environment celebrate Earth Day in Pi exy's Pasture. Admission is free. Earth Day event 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Fort Laramie National Historic Site joins Camp Guernsey's Youth Chal-leNGe Program in the celebration of Earth Day. Participants will join with park staff and volunteers to clean up 21 acres of land donated to the park.

Bring work gloves. Tools and lunch will be provided. Info: 307 837-2221. three-band concert with Slightly Stoopid, and Rx Bandits will take place in the College of Arts and Sciem Tickets are for students and genera! public. Tonight through Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

and 2 p.m. Sunday, the UW Department of Theatre and Dance will present "Picasso at the Lapin Agile, by Steve Martir; and directed by Leigh Selttng in the Fine Arts Center Main Stage Theatre. Tickets are $7 for students, $11 tor seniors and 14 for the general public. p.m. Thursday, the UW Department of Music presents a performance by the UW.