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Democracy Under Assault
Theopolitics, Incivility and Violence on the Right
Michele Swenson
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Communities around the state are organizing to address threats to air, water, soil and human health
posed by the fast-tracking of horizontal hydraulic fracturing (fracking), as oil companies rush to cash
in on numerous public and private land leases for gas drilling in rural and urban areas of the state.
Some sites exist adjacent to, or on residential property, farms and schools. "Split-estate" is the title of a documentary film, and refers to conflicts that may arise between surface land owners in the western United States and
those who own and extract energy and mineral rights below that property.
Within the past decade, hydraulic fracturing has been combined with horizontal drilling techniques
that have increased access to deep underground shale deposits, expanding large-scale natural gas
drilling into many new regions of the country.
On Earth Day a cross-section of some 20 statewide groups, including Commerce City Unite, Erie
Rising, LongmontROAR, What the Frack?! Arapahoe County, Boulder-based Clean Energy Action
and Denver Community Rights gathered at the state Capitol. A core issue for these groups is the
right to regulate oil and gas development locally to protect air and water quality and personal
property, as at least 40 communities nationwide have done, many by writing their own local Bill of
Rights. The Governor's Task Force is largely seen as an attempt by the state to trump local control.
Indeed, the industry has been given a free pass to pollute water and air since the
so-called "Halliburton Loophole" (inserted into energy legislation by former Halliburton CEO Dick
Cheney in 2005) created an unprecedented oil and gas industry exemption from 8 federal health and
safety laws, including the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts. The regulatory vacuum surrounding the
impacts of fracking "precludes urgently needed wide-scale scientific study," observes Sonia Scrima,
an organizer of What the Frack?! in Arapahoe County, who describes the industry calculation as
"short-term gain for the few." She is assisting residents in Green Valley Ranch in northeast Denver organize around proposed fracking activity, where "One well is sited within 1/4 mile
of GVR schools and residences," she notes.
Oil companies have refused to reveal chemicals used in fracking, considered proprietary, including
some known neurotoxins, carcinogens, and endocrine disruptors. The proposed federal Fracturing
Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals (FRAC) Act is written to require disclosure of chemicals
pumped into the ground with water to force natural gas to the surface; and to restore regulation under
the Clean Water and Safe Drinking Water Acts.
Effects on Air Quality
In 2010, Theo Colborn and three co-authors published a paper entitled Natural Gas Operations from a Public Health Perspective, in which were
identified health effects for 353 chemicals used to drill and fracture natural gas wells in the U.S. Of
these, 71 are particularly noxious, each associated with 10 or more different health effects. Pittsburgh University Center for Healthy Environments and Communities (CHEC)
researchers report that organic compounds in the shale are released to the surface with the flowback
fluid or "produced water" that are often stored in open pits. The offgasing of the organic compounds
in such waste water results in Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs). Increased chance of exposures to
volatile chemicals occurs by inhalation, ingestion and absorption through the skin.
A New York environmental impact statement calculated annual methanol emission of 32.5 tons from
fracturing fluid waste stored in a centralized open impoundment. The EPA reports that "chronic inhalation or oral exposure to methanol may result in headache, dizziness, giddiness,
insomnia, nausea, gastric disturbances, conjunctivitis, visual disturbances (blurred vision), and
blindness in humans."
Separate spills of thousands of gallons of hydraulic fracturing fluid in Pennsylvania have polluted several waterways and killed fish. In 2005, a failed valve on a Kerr-McGee wellhead in
Colorado disbursed about 200 gallons of flowback fluids into the air, drifting offsite and leaving a
deposit as much as ½ inch thick on pasture land. In 2005, numerous Colorado residents
experienced severe odors and health impacts related to flowback and drilling pits and tanks in Garfield County - said one resident, the
smell is so bad that "I can't go outside and breathe." The Colorado Oil & Gas Commission's website
has reported 1,000 spills alone in Weld County from 2003 to 2012.
Hydraulic fracking results in an estimated "average accident per day in Colorado, including incidents
of blowout, fire, explosion and spills," writes Scrima. Heavy industrial activity that include trucking and
fracking operations occur 24/7, often within relatively short distance of homes and schools,
compromising "other commercial sectors, such as real estate, tourism, recreation, organic farming
and ranching," she notes.
A recent 3-year study
by the Colorado School of Public Health study linked air emissions from hydraulic fracturing
activities to increased risks of cancer and non-cancer illnesses, citing air pollution that may contribute
to "acute and chronic health problems for those living near natural gas drilling sites." Specifically, it
found that residents of Battlement Mesa in Garfield County who reside within 1/2 mile of a
hydraulically fractured well have an increased risk of contracting illnesses due to volatile organic
compounds (VOC) that drilling operations release into the air.
Battlement Mesa residents are part of what is deemed a test case for class actions alleging harm from
hydraulic fracturing, contending that gas development at a well pad near the community has
resulted in residents' health impacts from air and water contamination, as well as reduced property
values related to plans to drill up to 200 additional wells with town limits. Redlining by banks and
mortgage companies of communities where oil and gas drilling is planned has been reported by
some realtors.
Jen Palazzolo is a founding mom of Erie Rising, which holds that "We all have the unalienable right
to live in a town with clean air, safe water and a healthy environment." The group is working with
parents to prevent hydraulic fracturing that is scheduled to begin May 26 next to Red Hawk
Elementary School. In response to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration study
demonstrating considerably elevated levels of propane and butane associated primarily with oil and
gas production in Erie, the Board of Trustees in early March imposed a six-month moratorium on new applications for mineral extraction,
including fracking (excluding hundreds of active wells). Propane and butane can mix with other
chemicals to create ground-level ozone, a respiratory challenge for many. Nearby communities of
Longmont and Boulder have also instituted moratoriums on new wells.
Recently issued EPA regulations would for the first time limit emissions of volatile organic compounds from natural gas wells that react with sunlight to create smog. However, the EPA granted oil
companies a 3-year period to install technology to capture methane, a potent contributor to climate change.
Effects on Water Quality/Quantity
Of particular concern in the semi-arid climate of Colorado, whose namesake river serves much of the
West, is the shear amount of water used up and permanently removed from the system by fracking.
"In my opinion, the protection of our rivers, or what remains of them, may be the most important
natural resource issue to confront the people of Colorado in recent times," states Phil Doe, former
bureau chief and environmental compliance officer for the Bureau of Reclamation in the Dept. of
Interior, a whistle-blower featured on "60 Minutes."
Addressing the crowd at the Capitol on Earth Day, Doe remarked that each fracking well uses 5
million gallons of water - water that becomes polluted and cannot be returned to system. Every
stream in the front range is already over-appropriated, he notes. Water that has traditionally gone to
agriculture is now used for hydraulic fracturing by oil and gas companies, reportedly the top bidders
at Colorado's premier auction
this spring for water supplies once claimed exclusively by farmers.
It is estimated that the transportation of a million gallons of water (fresh water to the site or waste water from
the site) requires 200 truck trips, not only depleting fresh water supplies and impacting aquatic
habitat, but also impacting local air quality, safety and roads. Mining sand that is transported to inject
into fracking wells also impacts water consumption, air emissions, and health problems related to
crystalline silica.
Doe observes that oil companies are rapidly stepping up their activity, with Anadarko alone seeking
to grow its investor portfolio 64% next year. Despite oil and gas industry assertions of job creation, he
reports that they only created 68,000 jobs over 8 years. Many drilling site jobs are filled by
out-of-state temporary workers.
Studies conducted by the oil and gas industry and interviews with industry regulators reveal that 20 to 85% of fracturing fluids fracturing fluids may remain in the earth,
a continued source of groundwater contamination for years into the future. Fracking was cited as the
source of groundwater pollution in a central Wyoming town by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency in 2011.
Call to Action: Protection of Environment & Public Health
Phil Doe is working with Richard Hamilton to spearhead the effort to place Initiatives 3 and 45 on
Colorado's November Ballot. Initiative 3 establishes through Public Trust Doctrine the public's
ownership of and right of access to Colorado rivers and streams. Initiative 45 defines beneficial uses
and prohibits the destruction of the public's water by any means. The initiatives, recently held up in
the Supreme Court, were reported ready for petition gathering of over 65,000 signatures of Colorado
voters.
Senator Morgan Carroll's proposed legislation, SB107, aims to address the effects of fracking on air
and water quality. Reporting the quantity and source of water used in the procedure would be
required, as well as reduction of air contamination by use of a closed loop technique in place of open
pit storage. With over 45,000 oil and gas wells in Colorado, Sen. Morgan Carroll noted there is only 1
inspector for every 3,500 wells. Her proposal would require testing of water quality before and after
fracking. The environmental bonding necessary would be increased ($25,000 does not cover the cost).
Sen. Carroll observes that Conoco plans fracking operations at Lowry bombing range, a Superfund
site with unexploded munitions, depleted uranium, and wildlife on the site. Jodie Bekke of Commerce
City Unite adds that Rocky Mountain Arsenal, where drilling is planned, is also a superfund site that
stores mustard and sarin gases.
Sen. Carroll has scheduled SB107 to be heard in Senate Judiciary Committee, which she chairs, on
May 2 at 1:30pm. (Call Bill Information for confirmation of hearing date, time and location: 303-866-
3055.) Concerned Coloradans are invited to testify at the hearing or to present written testimony. It
was suggested that each of the 9 Senate Judiciary Committee members be provided with 1-page
summary reports of studies and effects of fracking on various communities. Those not attending can
send an email with a clear statement in the subject line, which may be the only thing that is read; or
write a letter.
Sustainable Fuels
Gregg Eells is a civil engineer who, with his partner, James Pequette, formed the company KALA
Consulting in 2009 to design renewable energy fuel alternatives. They advocate Butanol, or plant-
derived "higher alcohol" fuels that can be "drop-in replacements" for gasoline, while providing
significant supplementation for diesel fuel. Nothing new, they cite the fact that British and Japanese
fighter planes ran on Butanol during World War II. They describe Butanol made from cellulose as a
superior fuel, providing good mileage, lower release of volatile organic compounds, biodegradable if
spilled, and safer to handle, move and store, while capable of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by
88%. The single barrier to greater knowledge of this fuel option seems to be oil company resistance.
,
Eells and Pequette wrote The Strategic Fuels Initiative that would reduce
dependency on fossil fuels and greenhouse gases, while increasing jobs. They have presented the
initiative to Sen. Mark Udall, with no response to date.
Clearly when it comes to environmental protection, public health and sustainable energy, it requires a
groundswell of action by the people.
Note: There will be a showing of the movie "Split Estate" Tuesday, May 1, 7 PM at "Hooked on
Colfax."