Local Democracy vs The Oil & Gas Industry

6/11/2013

As Oil and Gas companies like Encana Oil and Gas, attempt to claim Colorado land for Hydraulic Fracturing, which is known to have dangerous impacts on the water, health and air of those in close proximity, cities and counties are organizing to keep them out through ballot initiatives for moratoriums and Bans. Longmont was the first city in Colorado to achieve a ban, but now are being sued by by the State Government as well as the Oil and Gas industry

On June 4th, the city of Boulder passed a one year moratorium on fracking to allow for more health and environmental impact studies and Lafayette is currently in the process of pursuing a citywide ban.

While City bans and moratoriums are a great start, countywide action will have a much more significant impact. For the past several months, thousands of Boulder County citizens including environmental scientists, members of the medical community and attorneys have provided countless reasons for why Boulder should extend the moratorium for gas and oil drilling. Thousands of citizens have sent emails, postcards, made phone calls and showed up to public hearings to personally plea with commissioners to make the logical, responsible and prudent decision to extend Boulder County's Moratorium on oil and gas. On June 18th the commissioners will take a vote on the future of Fracking in Boulder County. Your voice counts, please Email the commissioners now!

Below are some public testimony given by Boulder citizens to the Boulder County Commissioners:

5 Comments

Kimberly

6/25/2013 02:16:40 pm

I work in the oil and gas industry. I am very proud of what I do and of the services my industry provides. I too, am a female concerned about the health and safety of my future children, my neighbors, and of this great state we live in. However, what concerns me the most is the fear mongering surrounding Hydraulic Fracturing. The testimonials shared above are not based on scientific evidence. They only promote fear and hatred for a process you know little about nor make any effort to educate yourself about.

You have presumed us to be public enemy number one, yet you enjoy the benefits of hot water, heat, electricity, cars to get to work, to go skiing in our mountains, to purchase fresh, local food at all of our farmer's markets that are transported in trucks (running on fuel) from our farms across Colorado.

The people who make up the oil and gas industry in Colorado live here too. We are not perched up in mountain chalets or in downtown lofts, we live amongst you. We go to the same grocery stores, our children attend the same schools, why would we want to destroy the lands, the air, or the water in which we use too? We work hard to provide you with the energy that you and your family requires on a daily basis. I am not anti-renewable energy. I believe that oil and gas, especially natural gas can co-exist and even help develop wind and solar. The equipment used to mine for the minerals (crystalline silicon) that make up the composition of the solar panels are mined with gas powered vehicles. In order for the turbines to start rotating, they are powered by electricity, provided by natural gas. Wind alone is not strong enough nor dependable enough to continually run the turbines nor to create the amount of power we demand as a State and as a Nation. Again, I stress that I and many within the O&G community support the development of renewable energy. We are willing to work with you, yet you have vilified us and show no effort to work or communicate with us.

I urge you to research the evidence and facts on your own.
http://www.coga.org/pdf_studies/COGA%20Written%20Comments%20-%20Denver%20EPA%20Air%20Quality%20Hearing.pdf

http://www.coga.org/FactSheets/GroundwaterFastFacts.pdf

http://www.coga.org/FactSheets/HFDisclosure.pdf

I look forward to the continued progress within our industry and within the state of Colorado.

Dave

8/29/2013 12:50:20 pm

Well said Kimberly. If fracking was as bad as these folks claim, everyone would be dead near the millions of wells in the country. Take a look at the movie "frac nation" and see how folks like this are duped into thinking that frac'ing is dangerous.

chuck link

7/5/2013 09:21:21 pm

You want fack facts.....go to....

Http://www.coloradospill.com

5000 spills documented by the state of colorado

Dan Brockway

7/31/2013 09:55:23 am

Note that Wyoming is listed on the FrackFreeColorado web site as having better water quality than Colorado despite being the most fracked area in the world. Fracking must not be as bad on water as the anti frac groups say which has always been my own contention.

Ryan-- How much money did FracfreeColorado donate to the flood victims of the flood waters? I know the industry donated well over 1 million dollars almost instantly to help the displaced and rebuilding of infrastructure.

10/19/2013 03:04:24 am

Local Democracy vs The Oil & Gas Industry

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