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.

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