Smoke-filled schedule for City
The room could get smoky at Durango City Council’s next meeting. A public hearing has been added to the agenda for those hoping to comment on the proposed smoking ordinance that would define where in Durango someone could light up.

Residents will get their chance to ask questions, voice their opinions and make suggestions concerning the proposal at the City Council’s regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tues., Oct. 16.

The ordinance, developed by the city in collaboration with Lasso Tobacco Coalition and the San Juan Basin Health Department, is intended to build upon the Colorado Clean Indoor Act, passed in 2006.

According to the ordinance, the council found “that a balance should be struck between the health concerns of nonconsumers of products that produce environmental tobacco smoke or secondhand tobacco smoke and the need to minimize unwarranted governmental intrusion into, and regulation of, private spheres of conduct and choice ... .”

The six-page document outlines the purpose, restrictions, definitions and enforcement for the ordinance. For example, it explains what would be considered smoking and how that definition would be applicable to fines, which are $100 for the first offense, $200 for the second and $300 for each additional violation within a calendar year.

Smoking would not be allowed at bus stops, enclosed patios, open air patios, Hookah bars, city-owned recreational facilities and ball fields, the Animas River Trail, and city-owned or operated parks, playgrounds and picnic areas.

Another key restriction is that smoking would not be permitted within 15 feet of a restricted area, like an entryway to a public place or an enclosed patio. Also, any owner, operator, manager or other person who controls private property can designate that property as a smoke-free zone.

For additional information or to view the complete ordinance, visit www.durangogov.org.

$43M flows to Navajo water project
The long-awaited Navajo-Gallup Water project has taken another major step forward. Earlier this month, Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar announced $43 million in financial assistance for design and construction of a portion of the $1 billion project which will pipe water from the San Juan River to parched parts of northwest New Mexico and eastern Arizona.

 Salazar called the appropriation a “major milestone” in the project, which has been fast-tracked by the Obama Administration.

The $43 million will enable the Navajo Nation to complete the lower reaches of the Cutter Lateral – one of two branches of the project. The Navajo will be responsible for the design, construction and oversight of approximately 43.4 miles of water pipeline, a pumping station and four storage tanks. Construction will take place on the Navajo Reservation, along U.S. Highway 550 south of Farmington. Ground was broken in June, and water delivery to communities along the Cutter Lateral could occur as soon as 2015.

When completed, the project will provide a sustainable water supply to 250,000 people, including 43 Navajo chapters; the City of Gallup; and the southwestern portion of the Jicarilla Apache Nation. Gallup currently relies on groundwater, which has been depleting at a rate of 20 feet per year.
“The Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project is a great project for the Navajo Nation,” said Navajo President Ben Shelly. “We are going to bring safe drinking water to thousands of Navajo families. We are also going to create more than 600 jobs for our people.”

The first construction contract for the portions funded by the $43 million is expected to be awarded in the spring of 2013 with construction set to wrap in 2016. The pipeline will extend from an area near the community of Counselor and tie into the existing distribution systems for the communities of Ojo Encino, Torreon and Pueblo Pintado.

The larger Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project is the cornerstone of the Navajo Nation Water Rights Settlement and was authorized by Congress in 2009. The project consists of two branches, Cutter and San Juan Laterals; 280 miles of pipeline; two water treatment plants; and several pumping plants and storage tanks.

The project is one of 14 high-priority infrastructure projects identified by the Obama Administration to be expedited through the permitting and environmental review process. The first construction contract was awarded in April 2012 for the San Juan Lateral. The entire project is scheduled to be completed by 2024.

FLC prof building a better nanohoop
A Fort Lewis College professor has received a prestigious grant to do his work, but he did jump through some hoops to get there.  William Collins, assistant professor of chemistry, was awarded funding last week to continue his research on nanohoops, a type of carbon molecule that could lead to more efficient electronics or better ways to screen for plastic explosives.

 
The funding came from the Tucson-based Research Corp. for the Advancement of Science (RCSA), one of America’s oldest nonprofit scientific foundations.

Collins, who received his Phd from University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and did a post-doctorate fellowship at M.I.T., will use the money to fund research on ways to literally build a better nanohoop. Simply put, nanohoops are tiny rings of carbon atoms. Current methods to build them are either extremely complicated, highly toxic, produce low yields or are too costly.

Collins is working on a more efficient method that “coaxes” carbon atoms into the desired shape using a type of iodine salt, which acts as a mold. If successful, the new method could have major implications for scientists studying other types of molecules as well.

Collins received his RCSA award under the foundation’s Cottrell College Science program. It was created in the early 1970s to promote research as a vital component of undergraduate education at the nation’s smaller schools.

“These grants provide funds and encouragement for young professors to pursue their research in a collaborative setting, while at the same time fostering the participation of their students in real-world research projects,” said RCSA President and CEO James M. Gentile. “It is a highly effective way to help young scientists just starting out, as well as to inspire the next generation of students to enter America’s scientific workforce.”

– Tracy Chamberlin and Missy Votel