Fracking Our Future: Western Resource Advocates

Source: Western Resource Advocates

We are entering a new era in oil and gas development in the West, and nowhere is that more evident than along the Front Range of Colorado. Increased drilling and production near communities and populated areas — much closer to population centers than in previous decades — are raising new questions about potential impacts to water supplies, air and water quality, noise levels, and property values.


This report addresses one of the most important issues: that of water availability for new oil and gas development in Colorado. Specifically, it addresses the questions, “How much water is required for new production, and where will that water come from?” Colorado is a semi-arid state with limited water resources that must be shared by a wide variety of water users. Western Resource Advocates (WRA) — along with communities, businesses, institutions, and citizens throughout the state — have concerns about water needs for oil and gas development and how that demand impacts our water resources. This report will inform elected officials, decision makers, communities, and families about oil and gas industry water needs and the potential impacts and tradeoffs that must be addressed. It provides specific recommendations that decision makers can use in creating policies to make sure that Colorado’s water resources are properly managed along with oil and gas development. 



LINK TO PDF

Hickenlooper apologizes to enviros over pro-fracking ad

FOX31 News
March 1, 2012,
by Eli Stokols

DENVER – Gov. John Hickenlooper Thursday looked to explain his decision to celebrate fracking in a radio ad on behalf of the oil and gas industry, and to apologize to environmental groups who were upset by it.

“Maybe we should have talked to the environmental groups before we did the ad,” Hickenlooper told FOX31 Denver during an exclusive interview at the Capitol.

Hickenlooper explained that the ad was meant to celebrate the new rule, agreed to last year by both the oil and gas industry and environmental groups, that forces companies to disclose more of the chemicals used during hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking”, a process in which a water-sand-chemical mix is shot deep beneath the ground to loosen mineral reserves for extraction.

“The oil and gas industry asked if we’d do some sort of an ad celebrating this compromise,” Hickenlooper said. “It wasn’t about celebrating oil and gas, it was celebrating this compromise. And we said sure.

What we should have done is reached out to the environmental community and asked if they were okay with the language. A few tweaks here and there and I think they would have been fine. Certainly, they would have appreciated being asked in advance.

“So I take that. That’s my fault.”

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Really Gov? What's really your fault is the lack of transparancy and what appears to be a hand-holding contest with the oil and gas industry.  You have appeared to step waaaay over the line and now your back-peddling.

Ever make beer Gov.? Ever drink too much?

Open Letter to Governor Hickenlooper [FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE]

Hey Gov,... you got a little oil and gas on your tooth.
WTFrack.org

Coalition for a Clean Colorado

Open Letter to Governor Hickenlooper

The Coalition for a Clean Colorado is a newly formed alliance of grassroots citizen groups working to protect their communities from destructive oil and gas drilling and fracking. We are united in our belief, that clean air and water, clean government and an economy powered by local, clean energy are essential for healthy communities and a livable future. We depend on and expect our elected officials to represent and protect our interests.




Your recent advertisements on behalf of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association (COGA), an industry that stands to reap billions from the accelerated extraction of dirty and life threatening fossil energy, is in direct conflict with your sworn duty to prevent adverse environmental and human health impacts to the People of Colorado, and a shocking breach of public trust.

The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission’s own database confirms over 1,000 oil and gas spills have impacted groundwater since 2009. These releases and other chemical emissions, legalized through multiple industry exemptions, have long impacted the health, safety and welfare of our communities. It’s time these impacts be acknowledged and mitigated with the level of diligence the citizens of Colorado deserve.

County land use regulations, ordinances and charter amendments empowered by the Colorado Constitution and upheld by the courts, are the only means left for people to protect their communities from the abuses of an overly powerful industry. Two weeks ago, thousands of citizens and the legislature spoke firmly against total state preemption as embodied in HB 12-088 and in favor of local regulatory authority over oil and gas activities.

Your executive order on fracking goes against the will of the people and undermines our democratic process. We, the people of Colorado who will be directly affected by its decisions, are in no way represented by the Task Force; therefore, we call on you to rescind the executive order.

Respectfully,

· Jennifer Palazzolo, for Coalition for a Clean Colorado
· Ceal Smith, for Renewable Communities Alliance
· Keli Kringel, President for Citizens for Huerfano County, La Veta
· Sonia Skakich-Scrima, Founder, for What the Frack?! Arapahoe
· Joe Bassman, for LongmontROAR, Longmont
· April Beach, for Erie Rising, Erie
· Rick Blotter, for Elbert County Oil & Gas Interest Group (ECOGIG), Agate
· Ken Regelson, for RenewablesYES!, Boulder
· Doris LeDue, for The South Park Coalition, Inc., Como
· Phil Doe, for Be The Change, Denver
· Robert James IV, for Be The Change, USA, Lakewood
· Kyle Elston, for Routt County Frack, Steamboat Springs
· Alison Gannett, Founder for North Fork Fracking, Paonia
· Lisa Bracken, for Journey of the Forsaken, Silt

· Greg Eells, PE for Coloradoans for Fair Rates and Clean Energy (CO-FORCE)
· Kathleen Dudley, for Drilling Mora County, Mora, NM
· B. Arrindell, Director for Damascus Citizens for Sustainability, Milanille, PA

New signatories since first release:
· Fred Kirsch, Director for Community for Sustainable Energy, Ft. Collins
· Cecelia Severance, for Rural Property Owners Association, Walsenburg
· Tracy Dahl, North Fork Ranch, Weston
· Ashley Collins, for Citizens for Safe Fracking in Adams County, Commerce City

SIGN the c3 PETITION HERE

to tell Hickenlooper: Clean Up Colorado!

Time to Clean up Colorado

2/29/2012


Why This Is Important

The Coalition for a Clean Colorado believes that a clean environment, clean government and an economy powered by local, clean and renewable energy is essential for our livable future. To achieve this, we need elected officials who will fight to protect the health, welfare, safety and environment of our communities.

Governor Hickenlooper, your ad campaign on behalf of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, an industry that stands to reap billions from the accelerated extraction of dirty and life threatening fossil energy, is wholly inappropriate and an insult to the People of Colorado.

The claim that since 2008, "we have not had one instance of groundwater contamination associated with drilling and hydraulic fracturing" is incorrect. The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commissions own database documents over 1,000 oil and gas spills that have impacted groundwater since 2008. These spills and the significant chemical emissions allowed through multiple industry exemptions, are directly impacting the health, welfare and safety of our communities.

County land use regulations empowered by the Colorado Constitution and upheld by the courts, are the only means left for local communities to protect themselves from the abuses of an overly powerful industry that has corrupted our government and undermined prospects for a clean energy future.

Therefore, we the undersigned, demand that you immediately rescind the executive order on fracking, withdraw the COGA ad and get dirty energy out of the State house.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN PETITION

Hickenlooper forms task force to address drilling regulations

DenverPost.com
2/29/2012
Mark Jaffe

Facing a rash of local initiatives to control oil and gas drilling, Gov. John Hickenlooper Monday created a task force to "clarify" the roles of state an local governments in regulating drilling.

"This is an important step to better define state and local jurisdiction regulatory structures as Colorado's oil and gas industry continues to grow," Hickenlooper said.

Spurred by the discovery of oil in the Niobrara formation, which stretches from El Paso County to the Wyoming border, companies have been buying up mineral leases and ramping up drilling.

In 2011, Weld County had the most drilling activity in the West, according to a study by Headwaters Economics, a Montana-based natural resource consultant.

That lead 10 Front Range municipalities and counties to develop drilling rules, raising concerns among drillers that projects could be stalled.

"This is makes attracting investment a real challenge," said Tisha Schuller, president of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, a trade group, which will have a spot on the task force.

The task force also will include a representative the Colorado Petroleum Association, two members of the state oil and gas conservation commission and one environmental group representative.

"The composition of the task force seems weighted in favor of industry," Kate Zimmerman, the National Wildlife Federation's senior policy adviser, said in a statement.

Continue reading...  Who's on the task force?

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Who the hell got to select the task force members? This is botched from the start. Apologetic,special interest, backdoor soothsayers,with hands in your cookie jar.

 Let the people vote.

Colorado Govenor Hickenlooper issues executive order on fracking

FOX31
2/29/2012

DENVER — Gov. John Hickenlooper, already having irked Colorado environmentalists this week for voicing a radio ad in favor of hydraulic fracturing on behalf of the state’s oil and gas industry, issued an executive order Wednesday afternoon creating a task force to determine whether the state or local cities and counties have control over fracking operations in the state.

“This is an important step to better define state and local jurisdiction regulatory structures as Colorado’s oil and gas industry continues to grow,” Hickenlooper said in a statement.

“We want to protect public health, the environment and wildlife and to avoid duplication and conflict between different regulations of oil and gas activities. We expect these efforts to also help foster a climate that encourages responsible development and enhances existing cooperation and coordination between state and local government.”

The order comes after the town of Erie voted Tuesday night to draft an emergency 180-day moratorium on fracking, a common process used by oil and gas companies to loosen mineral reserves for extraction by shooting a mix of water, sand and chemicals more than mile beneath the surface.

The town had rejected a moratorium proposal a month ago, but reversed course based largely on a report last week from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that showed levels of propane — a chemical used in fracking — 10 times higher in Erie than in other cities.

Environmentalists have long argued that fracking is contaminating groundwater and causing health problems for people living nearby.

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Get a clue Governor, your statements appear wrong in that, that this rogue oil and gas industry is not causing groundwater contaminations, air quality degradation etc... 

OVERTURN THE FEDERAL EXEMPTIONS THE INDUSTRY DOESN'T HAVE TO ABIDE BY AND LET'S SEE IF THE INDUSTRY CAN OPERATE! 

Enough already!

Colorado Oil and Gas Association Statement Not Correct, Again [FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE]

For Immediate Release
February 29, 2012
Sierra Club Poudre Canyon Group and Clean Water Action
Contacts: Shane Davis, 509-570-4422; Gary Wockner, 970-218-8310


Colorado Oil and Gas Association Statement Not Correct, Again

Contamination of Laramie-Fox Hills Aquifer and Residential Water Well Occurred in 2009
Fort Collins, CO -- In the February 28, 2012 online version of the Denver Post, the President of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association is quoted as making this statement:

Colorado's rules include provisions addressing "cementing and casing of wells," Schuller said. And since 2009 "there has not been a drilling or hydraulic-fracturing incident that has affected groundwater, and there have been no incidents which have affected a family's or community's drinking water," she said. http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_20058409

This statement is not correct.

One such "incident" occurred on August 11, 2009 in which toulene and dissolved methane were found in a residential water well in Weld County that included contamination of the Fox-Hills Aquifer. The homeowner filed a complaint ("gas bubbles were present in his water"). The COGCC tested the water and found the contaminants. The COGCC required a nearby gas well to be tested and concluded there was a hole in the casing. The gas well was then shut down. The operator (Eddy Oil) was fined $46,200 and required to remediate the property owner's impacts. The extent of the contamination to the Laramie-Fox Hills aquifer is unclear at this time as is any effort to decontaminate the aquifer.

Here is the "NOAV" Report for the incident: http://cogcc.state.co.us/cogis/NOAVReport.asp?doc_num=200222149

Here is the Spill/Release Report ("Form 19, 6/99"): http://water.clean.home.comcast.net/~water.clean/Form-19-Final-at-02-19-10-EDDY-OIL-CO.pdf

Here is the "Administrative Order By Consent 1V-349" in which it states (http://water.clean.home.comcast.net/~water.clean/Administrative-Order-By-Consent-1V-349.doc):

16. Based on the above facts, COGCC Staff contend that a hole in the production casing in the Well resulted in a significant waste of oil and gas resources and a significant adverse impact on public health, safety or welfare or the environment as it pertains to Rule 324A.a. COGCC Staff further contend that Eddy Oil’s failure to maintain a casing program to prevent the migration of produced gas from Codell Formation in the Well to the Laramie-Fox Hills Aquifer resulted in the degradation and contamination of ground water. (page 3)

"COGA's statement in the Denver Post is not correct," said Shane Davis of the Sierra Club. "Groundwater and aquifer contamination have occurred in a residential water well since 2009."

Further, the Sierra Club and Clean Water Action point out that "since 2009," Spill/Release Reports sent to the COGCC by drilling operators in Weld County show that 46.3% of the 452 spills/releases contaminated groundwater and 2.2% of 452 spills/releases contaminated surface water. (Table here: http://water.clean.home.comcast.net/~water.clean/SC-CWA-to-COGA-Since-2009-2-29-2012.pdf)


"Groundwater and surface water are being contaminated by oil and gas production activities," said Gary Wockner of Clean Water Action.

The Sierra Club, Poudre Canyon Group and Clean Water Action continue to analyze the data from Weld County, Colorado.

--end--

Media Advisory: Northern Colorado Conservation Groups Request COGA Remove Radio Ad from Airwaves

Feb 27th, 2012

Hello Media,

Please be advised that 2 northern Colorado conservation groups have sent the attached letter to the Colorado Oil and Gas Association requesting that this radio ad be removed from the airwaves because it contains information that is not correct. We offer an analysis of Weld County Spill/Release Reports to support our request.

Here's the radio ad: http://www.coga.org/audio/Gov_Hickenlooper_HF_Rule_30sec.mp3

(The letter is also posted here: http://water.clean.home.comcast.net/~water.clean/SC-CWA-to-COGA-2-27-2012.pdf)

In addition, Clean Water Action signed on to the letter to Governor Hickenlooper and the press release attached.

Thank you,

Gary Wockner, Clean Water Action
Shane Davis, Sierra Club

pdf of data
http://water.clean.home.comcast.net/~water.clean/SC-CWA-to-COGA-2-27-2012.pdf

Colorado Approves Fracking Disclosure Rules

CBSDENVER4
December 13, 2011

(credit: CBS)

DENVER (AP) - Colorado will require energy companies to disclose the concentrations of all chemicals in hydraulic fracturing and also ask drillers to make public some information about ingredients considered trade secrets.

Colorado regulators unanimously approved the new rules Tuesday that take effect in April.
The guidelines are similar to those required by a first-in-the-nation law passed in Texas this year but go further by requiring the concentrations of chemicals to be disclosed.

“That’s the big advancer here. We’re getting a full picture of what’s in that fracking fluid,” said Michael Freeman, an attorney for Earthjustice who worked with industry to write the rules.

Also, if Colorado drillers claim a trade secret, they would still have to disclose the ingredient’s chemical family. In emergencies, companies would have to tell health care workers what those secret ingredients were.




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