pretty sad when us backwoods hicks....

[rattler]

....have to take the lead

Crow Nation, Energy Company Sign Agreement for Energy Project First New Coal Mine in MT in Three Decades

(HELENA) – Governor Brian Schweitzer today joined tribal leaders of the Crow Nation as well as executives from Australian-American Energy Company (AAEC) in announcing that the tribe and company have formed a partnership to move forward on a coal-to-liquid facility and a new mine to be located on the Crow Reservation. “Montana is on the move,” said Governor Schweitzer. “This project means supplying American energy produced by American workers to the country. This is the first new coal mine in Montana in 30 years and will be a significant contributor to our nation’s energy security.” Governor Schweitzer was introduced to AAEC at an international coal-to-liquids conference in New York during the summer of 2007 and invited the company to more closely assess Montana’s abundant resources. His administration has worked closely with both the Crow Nation and the company in helping make this project a reality.

“Significant economic stimulation – in an area of economic dislocation has been a priority of my administration and I applaud our friends from AAEC for choosing this partnership,” said Governor Schweitzer.

The partnership between the tribe and the company has been in the making for nearly a year. The Crow Reservation was chosen for the project because of the abundant coal resources that tribal leadership is willing to develop.

“Yesterday, tribal leaders made an important decision that will not only benefit their own people, but will be a huge step in ensuring energy security for the United States,” said the Governor. “I want to extend to Chairman Venne my deepest gratitude in being a part of the solution.”

The project, called Many Stars, is initially targeted to convert 38,000 tons of coal per day into 50,000 barrels per day of ultra-clean diesel, jet fuel and naphtha. The project would provide up to 4,000 jobs during construction and 900 permanent jobs on the reservation after start up, which is expected in 2016.

 

[Wolfn]

Are you Native American too?

 

[herenorthere]

Wait until the war over how much water that'll consume and contaminate.

 

[rattler]

Ahmad....im a white boy living on an indian reservation.....the hick comment was referring to Montanan's in general...

Bruce from what i have seen those are not great concerns....i would love the tribes up here to set one up....only thing is the reservation here is sitting on oil, not coal though they could get the coal from all of 40 miles away...

 

[herenorthere]

This - http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2006/07/20/opinion/guest/50-guestopinion.prt - says the ratio is 5 gallons of water per gallon of diesel consumed, but I haven't confirmed that ratio. If true, the facility the Governor is touting will use as much water as a city of ~140,000, which is a heavy hit for only 900 jobs. Especially if that water is truly consumed and can't be used by the next place downstream. The water a city takes is used again and again. Also, politicians are even less trustworthy when predicting new jobs than when claiming they didn't have an affair. MT needs to be careful how it spends its water because it's likely to have significantly less in the future.

 

[seedjar]

I'm not sure why anyone would be trusting of the coal industry; haven't you seen what people in coal towns have been put through? It'd be nice if it were just what that article says it is, but politicians love to screw over indians (we see it all the time over here in the PNW.)
~Joe

 

[Wolfn]

Ahmad....im a white boy living on an indian reservation.....the hick comment was referring to Montanan's in general...

Bruce from what i have seen those are not great concerns....i would love the tribes up here to set one up....only thing is the reservation here is sitting on oil, not coal though they could get the coal from all of 40 miles away...

Ah, okay.

I'm half Ojibwe Indian, so that's why I was asking.

 

[rattler]

I'm not sure why anyone would be trusting of the coal industry; haven't you seen what people in coal towns have been put through? It'd be nice if it were just what that article says it is, but politicians love to screw over indians (we see it all the time over here in the PNW.)
~Joe

actually i see more of something else.....indians screwing over indians is FAAAAAAAAAR more common than politicians doing it......the only reason the indians on the reservation i live on arent some of the richest in the state, or likely for several states around here, is that they have a very hard time not arguing with each other who's hand gets to be in the cookie jar robbing thier own ppl blind......this reservation is sitting over enough oil to make any Texas oil man jealous and its easy to get to but there are very few wells cause the tribal ppl will not cooperate with each other long enough to get a hole punched.........i dont like politicians but i aint likely to blaim them for most current tribal woes...........atleast in this state........and as far as politicians go i have to say our governor is one of the few im inclined to believe....

Bruce....aint worried about water, that part of the state doesnt get much rain which makes most anything but dryland farming difficult(like my par of the state) however like in my part of the state water isn hard to come by as a couple major rivers are with in easy reach.......besides they are likely using tribal water rights which means your going to have to change alot on a federal level to over rule them....and in this country that continually slips farther and farther down the PC slope that aint likely to happen.....the feds will quit floating barges on the Mississippi before they try and yank tribal water rights.......

 

[seedjar]

actually i see more of something else.....indians screwing over indians is FAAAAAAAAAR more common than politicians doing it......the only reason the indians on the reservation i live on arent some of the richest in the state, or likely for several states around here, is that they have a very hard time not arguing with each other who's hand gets to be in the cookie jar robbing thier own ppl blind......

Well, I never specified the ethnicity of those politicians... Sounds all too familiar. I don't care if they're white, indian or a martian, I can assure you that there is some sort of leader that is in the pocket of the energy concerns who is pushing this hard as the magic bullet to all the region's problems, with no mention of the fallout after construction, or the environmental consequences, or the contract terms that often come about as close to indentured servitude as you can nowadays without being a branch of the military. Even when there isn't an official structure, there's almost always some sort of bureaucratic BS going on. Unfortunately, some vices are just human nature.
~Joe