Commentary: Gov. Ritter talks water, land and health care

Last week, I spent half an hour with Gov. Bill Ritter talking about issues that are important to the Colorado Springs business community. It was a frank, far-reaching discussion, held in the governor's spacious office in the Capitol.

First agenda item: Pinon Canyon. When asked whether the Army could overcome the opposition of ranchers, property owners and residents of southeastern Colorado and successfully implement an expansion, Ritter was cautiously optimistic.

He was adamant about one point: he would oppose any use of eminent domain by the Army. But he believes that the Army's initial approach failed in part because of poor communication with the affected community.

Ritter suggested that approaches other than outright acquisition might be more successful, and could enable ranchers to continue ranching and retain title to their land, while leasing space to the military on carefully defined terms.

Ritter continued by addressing the importance of the military to the economy of the Pikes Peak region, and indeed to the state. He said that he is well aware of the pivotal importance of Fort Carson, and of the role of military installations as both underpinning the regional economy and continually creating new opportunities for civilian entrepreneurs.

Next, I asked what he considered to be the most successful initiative from the Capitol since he took office in January, the governor cited, without hesitation, legislation and executive orders which he believes will make Colorado the national leader in renewable energy.

By mandating that 20 percent of the electricity supplied by state energy providers come from renewable sources and by facilitating the construction of transmission lines to bring wind energy from eastern Colorado to the Front Range, state government has, Ritter said, removed obstacles to creating a diversified and sustainable energy portfolio.

He thinks that renewable energy will become a major contributor to the state's economy and, by extension, the Pikes Peak region, as companies and entrepreneurs create and discover new opportunities in this suddenly exploding field.

During a long discussion about the proposed Southern Delivery System, which would bring Arkansas River water from Pueblo Reservoir to Colorado Springs, Ritter made several interesting points.

As governor, he emphasized, he has to look at the needs and capacities of the entire state, and is reluctant to involve himself directly in regional disputes, such as that between Pueblo and Colorado Springs about the nature, scope and desirability of a particular project.

But while not passing judgment on any particular aspect of SDS, the governor ticked off several conditions that he believes ought to be integral to water projects throughout the state.

*Multiple uses and water-sharing ought to be encouraged, such as agreements between cities and agricultural users that call for fallowing irrigated farmland during dry years, thus giving farmers options other than the outright sale of their water rights.

*Conservation is absolutely essential. Cities need to curb wasteful uses wherever possible, and encourage and/or mandate low water landscaping in new construction.

*Recycling is important as well, to allow water to be re-used to the greatest extent possible, thus minimizing the need for new supplies.

*And finally, calling for new and/or increased storage in the Front Range, Ritter acknowledged that long-term supply problems cannot be solved by conservation, recycling and water sharing alone.

While the governor refused to speculate about the terms of a possible agreement between Pueblo and Colorado Springs, it seems clear that he would support a deal that combined SDS, an enlarged Pueblo Reservoir and extensive recycling of treated effluent from Colorado Springs.

Such recycling might involve a flood control dam on the Fountain, as Pueblo leaders have suggested, or other yet-to-be-built facilities.

Health care

Like many other states, Colorado is seriously considering creating a plan to provide health insurance to every resident. To this end, the legislature created the so-called 208 Commission, a group appointed by the governor to design a plan to cover the state's uninsured. The commission is currently considering four different plans, all of which call for substantial tax increases.

I asked Ritter a double-barreled question: did he think that the voters would approve the needed tax hikes, and, given the impending changing of the guard in Washington, might it not make sense to wait for a comprehensive national health care initiative?

Answering the second part of the question first, Ritter argued strongly that states need to take the lead in reforming health care. It isn't a partisan issue, he said, since Republican governors in both Massachusetts and California have spearheaded efforts for comprehensive reforms in their states.

Waiting for the Feds to act might simply mean that the problem will fester for years, and we can't afford to wait -- the needs are too urgent.