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Colorado’s oil and gas boom is polluting the state’s air

by Cindy Lin Posted on July 8, 2013

Colorado’s oil and gas boom is polluting the state’s air

By John Upton

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Frackers and drillers are sullying Colorado’s air.

The oil and gas industry isn’t just polluting the water in Colorado. It’s also fouling the air.

The 50,000 oil and gas wells in the state are collectively pumping hundreds of tons of pollution into the air every day, making the drilling industry the state’s largest source of airborne volatile organic compounds and third-largest source of nitrogen oxides. That’s according to a report in The Denver Post:

Colorado health officials are mobilizing to deal with air pollution from oil and gas industry sources that emit at least 600 tons of contaminants a day. …

But as the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment emphasizes balance as it edges toward possible new rules to reduce pollution, Front Range residents increasingly are riled by a lack of scientific certainty about whether emissions harm their health.

Anti-drilling groups are making health fears the focus of campaigns against drilling near communities. …

A nine-member panel of air quality control commissioners appointed by Gov. John Hickenlooper would vote on any proposed air pollution rules. …

Industry officials from Encana Corp. are already reviewing and commenting on proposed CDPHE rules, “giving input on what kinds of reductions are possible, given current technologies,” spokeswoman Bridget Ford said.

The Fort Collins Coloradoan reports that three-quarters of recent air pollution enforcement cases in the state were related to the oil and gas sector:

Of the 98 air pollution enforcement cases the Colorado Air Pollution Control Division, or APCD, handled in January, February and March, 73 involved oil and natural gas production, exploration or transmission companies, a Coloradoan analysis of the quarterly air quality enforcement summary report shows.

Most of the state’s enforcement actions against oil and gas companies involved emissions and reporting violations.

Of the 12 penalties the state assessed against air quality regulations violators, nine were levied against oil and gas companies.

The fact that only nine of the 73 oil industry violations have so far resulted in fines might offer a clue as to why frackers and drillers continue to flagrantly pollute the air — and it reminds us that new rules will only help if they are enforced.

John Upton is a science fan and green news boffin who tweets, posts articles to Facebook, and blogs about ecology. He welcomes reader questions, tips, and incoherent rants: johnupton@gmail.com.

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Colorado’s oil and gas boom is polluting the state’s air

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Boulder and other Colorado cities try to fight fracking

by Eliza Kurth Posted on June 10, 2013

Boulder and other Colorado cities try to fight fracking

By John Upton

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Boulder tells frackers to piss off — for the next year, at least.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) loves fracking — he once even drank fracking fluid to prove it — but other elected officials in the state are not so gung ho. A handful of Colorado cities are trying to limit or ban the practice — and are finding that it’s not so easy to do.

Boulder is the latest Colorado municipality to take on the frackers. Last week, its city council unanimously passed a one-year moratorium on fracking within city limits and on city-owned open space, and council members are considering options for a more long-term policy. From the Boulder Daily Camera:

Several council members … said they are warm to the idea of bringing forward a ballot measure in November to approve a longer-term ban — a process that would involve study sessions and public hearings in coming months. …

Several residents asked the City Council to go further by approving a longer fracking moratorium, an all-out ban or turning the issue over to voters. …

[But a]n analysis by Boulder City Attorney Tom Carr determined a one-year moratorium was the safest option because it addresses public health and safety concerns while protecting the city against potential lawsuits.

Boulder is right to be worried about lawsuits. The city of Longmont, Colo., where voters passed a fracking ban in November, has been sued by both the state government and the Colorado Oil and Gas Association. The industry argues that the fracking ban constitutes an illegal “taking” of mineral property and that only the state has the authority to regulate such practices.

Fear of lawsuits prompted the Fort Collins City Council last month to ease its recent ban on fracking. Prospect Energy, which had been fracking within city limits before the council passed the ban in March, will be allowed to resume its operations. From a May 22 article in the Fort Collins Coloradoan:

Mayor pro tem Gerry Horak said the council had little choice on the matter.

To continue the ban on Prospect Energy would invite a lawsuit the city would have little chance of winning, he said.

The Colorado Oil and Gas Association is taking the lead in fighting frack-averse cities. You might recall that this association tried to convince Fort Collins to shy away from a fracking ban by providing the city council with a petition full of fake signatures. The Coloradoan now brings us the news that the city’s police department is investigating whether any crimes were committed in producing that seemingly bogus petition.

John Upton is a science fan and green news boffin who tweets, posts articles to Facebook, and blogs about ecology. He welcomes reader questions, tips, and incoherent rants: johnupton@gmail.com.

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Boulder and other Colorado cities try to fight fracking

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Fort Collins, Colo., passes fracking ban; state and gas industry threaten to sue

by BakenKesselring341 Posted on March 6, 2013

Fort Collins, Colo., passes fracking ban; state and gas industry threaten to sue

By John Upton

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Barbara Tripp

Lovely Fort Collins, where frackers are not welcome.

The city council of Fort Collins, Colo., voted Tuesday to ban fracking within city limits. The move has strong support from residents, but it makes the city the target of lawsuits from the state government and the oil and gas industry.

The new regulations [PDF] will block gas and oil exploration and ban the storage of hazardous fracking chemicals within the city, which is 65 miles north of Denver and home to 150,000 people.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) said last week that the fracking ban would constitute an illegal “taking” of mineral rights. He said he doesn’t want to sue Fort Collins, but that his principled approach to his job obliges him to do so. “Bans like the one under consideration in Fort Collins violate state law,” his spokesman said. “The governor takes no joy in suing local government. He respects local planning and control.”

The council voted to keep frackers away from the city anyway. From the Fort Collins Coloradoan:

Mayor pro tem Kelly Ohlson said state regulators have no credibility with him, nor does Gov. John Hickenlooper, who said last week the state would sue the city if it passed a ban.

“I believe the governor should spend his time protecting the health and safety and welfare of citizens of Colorado rather than acting like the chief lobbyist for the oil and gas industry,” he said. “In fact, I think he should literally quit drinking the fracking Kool-Aid.”

That was a reference to Hickenlooper drinking a cup of fracking fluid given to him by none other than Halliburton.

Also planning to sue Fort Collins: the Colorado Oil and Gas Association. This same organization submitted a petition to the city council two weeks ago with signatures showing 55 local businesses opposed the ban. But many of the signatures were apparently faked, and the association attempted to retract the petition after the deception was revealed by the Coloradoan.

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Fort Collins, Colo., passes fracking ban; state and gas industry threaten to sue

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Pro-fracking petition with fake signatures embarrasses gas association

by sreg2 Posted on February 26, 2013

Pro-fracking petition with fake signatures embarrasses gas association

By John Upton

coloradoan.comThe oil and gas industry’s amateur attempt to mislead Fort Collins lawmakers.

Outlawing fracking in Fort Collins makes local business owners sad. At least, that’s what liars working for the Colorado Oil and Gas Association tried to tell local lawmakers.

Anders’ Auto Glass, Meneike Car Care Center, and Computer Renaissance were among 55 businesses whose names appeared with signatures on a petition that the association submitted to Fort Collins City Council. The petition urged city councilors to vote against a proposed ban on fracking within the city.

The petition failed. Following a two-hour Feb. 19 hearing, the council voted 5-2 to ban hydraulic fracturing in Fort Collins.

But it turns out that none of those three businesses support fracking in their town, they told Fort Collins Coloradoan reporter Bobby Magill. Why on earth would they?

Following up on a tip, Magill hit the phone and reached 33 of the businesses listed on the petition. A full two-thirds of those denied signing or endorsing a petition opposing a ban on fracking in Fort Collins. Not only was the petition a big fat lie, it was a laughably amateur effort to deceive the city’s lawmakers. From the Coloradoan:

Cali Rastrelli’s name is signed at the bottom of a petition submitted to the council. At the top, the petition says in bold letters, “Vote NO on the Fort Collins fracking ban.”

“Big Bill Pizza” is written in the blank where the signer could enter their business or organization.

“I haven’t signed any petition in the last month,” said Rastrelli, a Colorado State University student who lives in student housing. “I didn’t put my name on this. I’m not sure why somebody would have thought to sign my name.”

Big Bill Pizza, Rastrelli’s former employer, is in Centennial, and staff there were unaware of an effort to ban fracking in Fort Collins, said manager Leonna Gara.

Whoever signed Rastrelli’s name spelled it “Rasterelli.”

“I don’t know why I would have misspelled my own name,” she said.

The signatures were reportedly gathered by consulting company EIS Solutions. Memo to EIS and the Colorado Oil and Gas Association: Astroturfing shouldn’t be this hard! Hell, an intern going door to door with a bag of tacky corporate gifts and some printed propaganda should be able to return to the office with actual petition signatures.

By the end of last week, the association was acknowledging that “mistakes were made.” A subsequent internal audit “identified numerous areas for improvement.” Now association officials are trying to retract the petition. And they are failing. From Magill’s latest article:

“COGA has ascertained we made mistakes in the collection of signatures on a petition submitted to City Council last week opposing a ban on hydraulic fracturing,” COGA President and CEO wrote in an email to the council on Monday. “As a result, we withdraw that petition from the record.”

But Fort Collins city officials will not remove it from the public record, said Rita Harris, deputy Fort Collins city clerk.

“We’re not giving it back,” she said.

Once a petition is part of public record, it can’t be withdrawn, said City Councilman Gerry Horak.

If the oil and gas guys can’t get something like this right, why should they expect anybody to trust them to inject poisonous chemicals into their soil?

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Pro-fracking petition with fake signatures embarrasses gas association

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