04 Dec ICYMI-Important News Stories From the Past Few Weeks

December 4, 2014 –

The New York Times – The Downside of the Boom
“More than 18 million gallons of oil and toxic wastewater were spilled in North Dakota from January 2006 to October 2014. Most individual spills were contained to the immediate drilling area, but many of the largest spills polluted surrounding farms and waterways.”   READ MORE

Boulder Weekly – Fact to Fiction: A Twisted Tale of How Good Research Became Bad Information
“So how did a study designed to analyze traceable components of fracking fluid so potential contamination in groundwater could be identified get transformed into a headline that declared fracking fluid safe? The answer is poor communication and bad journalism.”  READ MORE

Greeley Tribune – Task Force Met With Environmental Protest
“There are numerous multi-well pads, directly in the confines of my neighborhood,” Barry told the group. “These are highly industrialized work zones and have no place next to churches, schools or playgrounds. The noise, lights, truck traffic, smells, at all times of day and night are appalling and egregious.”  READ MORE

Denver Post – Researchers Assess Emissions from Colorado Oil and Gas Fields
“The shale drilling boom that is sweeping across the country and unlocking vast oil and gas reserves also has unleashed a wave of air pollutants. Scientific studies from research groups around the country are documenting higher emissions of volatile chemicals, including methane and air toxins, than estimated by state and federal regulators.”  READ MORE

Denver Post – Fracking Blast Kills One Halliburton Worker, Injures 2 in Weld County
“Investigators with the federal Occupational Safety & Health Administration in Denver were notified of the accident at about 11:30 a.m. Thursday, said Herb Gibson, OSHA area director. ‘It’s a dangerous industry,’ Gibson said. ‘This is a tragic situation.'”  READ MORE

GJ Daily Sentinel Op-Ed – Roan Settlement Should be Extended to All of Western Colorado
“Last week Interior Secretary Sally Jewell announced a resolution of the Roan Plateau controversy. The settlement, signed off by the Bureau of Land Management, the Bill Barrett Corporation, the state of Colorado and the environmental plaintiffs is a good deal for both the environment and the industry. It will reduce the density of well pads atop the Plateau from one per 10 acres down to 640 acres, one per square mile.  The question now is whether this is a one-time, one-off deal, done grudgingly to settle a lawsuit, or whether the Bureau of Land Management will at last move forward to implement a similar well pad density limitation for all of Garfield County and western Colorado.”  READ MORE

Center for Western Priorities – The Boom from Above: Visualizing The Rapid Pace of Drilling in Colorado’s Communities
“Using publicly-available data from the state of Colorado, [CWP] mapped the oil and gas wells drilled in Colorado between 1990 and 2013. The maps show a sea of red moving across the state and into Colorado’s  communities.”  READ MORE

The Durango Herald – Panel Passes Hermosa Creek Bill
“The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources approved the Hermosa Creek Watershed Protection Act with language that more faithfully follows the original language in the bill developed by community stakeholders.”  READ MORE

BusinessWeek – The American Oil Boom Won’t Last Long at $65 Per Barrel
U.S. production probably will decrease, even if it takes a while. At $65 a barrel, it’s unlikely the U.S. can keep up its record-setting pace of expanding oil production. U.S. oil has jumped from about 5 million barrels a day in 2008 to more than 9 million.  READ MORE & EXPLORE IN-DEPTH