Commerce City officials hear comment on fracking ban

By Monte Whaley
The Denver Post

COMMERCE CITY — Council members this evening debated the merits of a six-month moratorium on hydraulic fracturing in the city, which drew sharp comments from some who are afraid oil and gas drilling in the community will lead to environmental disaster.

"I think we need a time out and this community needs to band together and lead the way on this," said resident Kristi Douglas, a critic of the process also known as fracking. "A lot of people are going to be wondering where Commerce City stands on this."

Others, however, said fracking hasn't shown to be quite the danger as some portray it . "There is so much misinformation out there," said councilman Jim Bensen, who held a public forum earlier this month that included several experts on the issue. "I don't think this is the emergency that some people think it is."

By late evening, the City Council went into executive session to talk about the legal implications of a six-month moratorium on fracking

Commerce City — among other cities along the Front Range — has been wrestling with the issue of hydraulic fracturing over the past several months.

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