Sea of lawn signs urges caution as drilling for gas and oil booms
By John C. Ensslin, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published June 23, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.
Photo by George Kochaniec Jr. / The Rocky
A hill near Confluence Park overflows Sunday with 671 signs, one for each new gas well to be drilled in Colorado between July 4 and Labor Day. An environmental group placed them.
Sunday was a typical summer's day at Denver's Confluence Park. Kids floated in Cherry Creek. People waded into the South Platte River, chasing after their dogs while bicyclists passed overhead on the bridge.
Only a handful stopped to notice a group of people who for about an hour turned a nearby grassy knoll from green to a sea of black-and-white lawn signs.
A total of 671 signs dotted the hillside, one for every well scheduled to be drilled in Colorado between July 4 and Labor Day, according to T.J. Brown, Front Range field director for the Colorado Environmental Coalition.
"Most people on the Front Range don't realize how much drilling is going on in Colorado," Brown said. He said his group is trying to drive home that point as people head into the mountains for summer recreation.
"We'd like to see some upgraded protection for our water, wildlife and mountain communities," he said. "We believe the industry can afford to do it right."
Organizers of the event spoke in favor of proposed rules the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission is studying. Formal hearings on the rules begin today with a final decision expected by Aug. 12.
Steve Fenberg, executive director of New Era Colorado, a nonprofit that tries to engage young people in social and political action, said the black-and-white hillside demonstrated "an unprecedented energy boom" that Colorado is experiencing. He said drilling permits are up 9 percent this year and have tripled in the past five years.
In response to Sunday's action, Meg Collins, president of the Colorado Oil & Gas Association, released a statement:
"We continue to support a rule-making process based on sound science and fact, not emotion and hyperbole.
"Unfortunately, that's not what's happening here and, if adopted in their current form, the proposed rules might create an artificial bust - a downturn - among Colorado's No. 1 economic contributor, costing Colorado jobs, tax revenue and, most importantly, a reduction in locally produced, clean-burning natural gas, all at a time when several independent economists report that one of the primary drivers keeping Colorado from entering a recession is the natural gas and oil industry."
ensslinj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5291
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June 23, 2008
10:28 a.m.
Suggest removal
CecilyCSU writes:
TODAY IS THE DENVER COGCC HEARING
The one message everyone can agree on is that more time is needed for any decision on any portion of the rule is made.
So far today....
What the front range press didnt realize was that in the Grand Junction COGCC hearing, most of the speakers initially were not alligned with oil and gas OR environmentalists. Instead the comments were from Realtors, builders, Chambers of Commerce and business owners who rely on the industry. Over 2000 people turned out supporting their livlihoods.
So far the difference between the Grand Junction and Denver hearings:
-Sherman has learned and is Cherry picking the speaker lists to create perceived balance
-Sherman interjects and "educates" the plebs and serfts from the industry, but doesnt interject and "correct" when the enviros or elected officials speak
-Commission is using the word "clarification" trying to parade the terminology as real "modifications" or "changes" Will the public mistakinly fall for this and associate the word "clarification" with what is acually needed -wholesale changes to the draft rules? If Ritter and Sherman can make this work -Ritter wins. If they dont, he is in trouble.CecilyCSU
June 24, 2008
6:11 a.m.
Suggest removal
nurdco writes:
Day one of Denver meetings was so orchestrated by the Industry people where they were reading their speeches without any sense of the content. They seemed to forget that their health effects which would be long term costs on them as well as the property owners who were "directly" affected when the mineral rights are sold out from under their personal properties, a title of "ownership" means nothing when even the state can't defense YOUR rights and the Federal level turns the other way... The state commission couldn't even get on the same page when referencing "revised language" in their own(???) revised rules from March to now, what teeth their was had... was extracted while the operation was happenning since the Grand Junction to current Denver meetings. has the group lost its focus? They can't even resolve the issue of a SAFE distance from the property lines when they reference 150 ft, 500ft then 1/8th mile in their own document, the safe distance therefore should be 1/8 mile NOT the 150ft distance comparatives not the shorter distance!
June 24, 2008
6:14 a.m.
Suggest removal
nurdco writes:
Day one of Denver meetings was so orchestrated by the Industry people where they were reading their speeches without any sense of the content. They seemed to forget that their health effects which would be long term costs on them as well as the property owners who were "directly" affected when the mineral rights are sold out from under their personal properties, a title of "ownership" means nothing when even the state can't defense YOUR rights and the Federal level turns the other way... The state commission couldn't even get on the same page when referencing "revised language" in their own(???) revised rules from March to now, what teeth their was had... was extracted while the operation was happenning since the Grand Junction to current Denver meetings. has the group lost its focus? They can't even resolve the issue of a SAFE distance from the property lines when they reference 150 ft, 500ft then 1/8th mile in their own document, the safe distance therefore should be 1/8 mile NOT the 150ft distance comparatives not the shorter distance!
They can't even get the perverbial problem of Revisions of the Rules under control as changes are taking place in their "Rules" to themselves and the Public for review during this first day.