Colorado State Legislature Introduces New Fracking Bills

The Colorado House and Senate introduced four new bills that, if passed, would affect state-wide fracking regulations. Note that the first bill is intended to overturn the recent, precedent-setting court ruling that would allow Gunnison County to regulation fracking at the county level.

12-088

CONCERNING THE PREEMPTION OF LOCAL REGULATION OF OIL AND GAS OPERATIONS.* * Local regulation of oil and gas regulations would become illegal under state law.

12-1164
CONCERNING A REQUIREMENT FOR DISCLOSURE REGARDING SEVERED MINERAL ESTATES UPON THE CONVEYANCE OF REAL ESTATE.

HB12-1173
CONCERNING RESTRICTIONS ON THE USE OF OPEN PITS IN CONNECTION WITH HYDRAULIC FRACTURING. After July 1, 2014 an oil and gas operator may not use,store, or dispose of hydraulic fracturing fluids or flow-back from a hydraulic fracturing treatment in an open pit...and must use a closed-loop system for hydraulic fracturing treatments. However, the oil and gas conservation commission may approve the use of open pits where the commission determines there is no risk to occupied structures or water sources, and operators can use open pits if the fluids are clean enough to discharge directly into state water without a permit.^**

** There is no requirement under state law for oil and gas operations to test for toxic chemicals in the pit!

12-1176
CONCERNING OIL AND GAS, AND, IN CONNECTION THEREWITH, INCREASING THE COLORADO OIL AND GAS CONSERVATION COMMISSION'S AUTHORITY TO REGULATE OIL AND GAS OPERATIONS AND INCLUDING WITHIN THE TERM "SURFACE OWNER" THE OWNERS OF LAND OVERLYING THAT PORTION OF A GEOLOGIC FORMATION WITHIN WHICH HORIZONTAL HYDRAULIC FRACTURING IS CONDUCTED.Increased setbacks from wells that will be treated with hydraulic fracturing.  The commission must require setbacks of at least 1000 feet from any school or residence.  That Best Management practices for new technologies be established by rule prior to use of the new technologies.

Oil and gas activist groups buoyed by Gunnison County District Court ruling

Grassroots citizen-activist groups seeking more local control of oil and gas drilling are touting a Gunnison County District Court decision earlier this month finding “there is no express or implied preemption” of local regulations by the state of Colorado.

This month’s Gunnison County ruling comes as lawmakers consider legislation that would give more authority to cities and counties as oil and gas drilling – and its commonplace hydraulic fracturing of wells – picks up in the Niobrara Shale formation along the state’s populous Front Range.

Read the complete article in The Colorado Independent.

“This is a huge win for the Colorado public and its local governments, acknowledging that preemption is not assumed,” writes Sonia Skakich-Scrima of the activist group What The Frack? Araphoe. “In effect, local governments can proceed to argue that closed-loop systems that capture all gases and emissions, sound barriers, non-toxic frack fluids and other mitigating measures do not present ‘material obstructions’ to the state’s interests, but rather that they ‘materially harmonize’ the local government need to control land use and protect public health and safety with the state’s interest in oil and gas extraction.”

However, Governor John Hickenlooper, in his State of the State address last week, warned against too many local regulations, saying, “… the state can’t have 64 or even more different sets of rules.” Colorado has 64 counties.

Fracking would emit large quantities of greenhouse gasses

Scientific American article reports "Fugitive methane" released during shale gas drilling could accelerate climate change By Mark Fischetti | Friday, January 20, 2012 | 3

Opposition to the hydraulic fracturing of deep shales to release natural gas rose sharply last year over worries that the large volumes of chemical-laden water used in the operations could contaminate drinking water. Then, in early January,earthquakes in Ohio were blamed on the disposal of that water in deep underground structures. Yesterday, two Cornell University professors said at a press conference that fracking releases large amounts of natural gas, which consists mostly of methane, directly into the atmosphere—much more than previously thought.

Robert Howarth, an ecologist and evolutionary biologist, and Anthony Ingraffea, a civil and environmental engineer, reported that fracked wells leak 40 to 60 percent more methane than conventional natural gas wells. When water with its chemical load is forced down a well to break the shale, it flows back up and is stored in large ponds or tanks. But volumes of methane also flow back up the well at the same time and are released into the atmosphere before they can be captured for use. This giant belch of "fugitive methane" can be seen in infrared videos taken at well sites.

Howarth said he is particularly concerned about fracking emissions because recent data indicates that the planet is entering a period of rapid climate change. He noted that the average global temperature compared with the early 1900s is now expected to increase by 1.5 degrees Celsius within the next 15 to 35 years, which he called "a tipping point" toward aggressive climate change. More and more fracking would speed the world to that transition or undermine efforts to reduce emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases. The notion, Ingraffea said, that shale gas is a desirable "bridge fuel" from oil to widespread renewable energy supplies several decades from now "makes no sense" in terms of climate change.

Read the complete article here.

Occupy Denver Mourns the Loss of Civil Liberties

On Saturday, January 21st, Occupy Denver held a "funeral" march and rally to mourn the loss of civil liberties in the U.S. The march was prompted by the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which legalizes indefinite detention without trail of American citizens. The march featured three coffins and about 200 demonstrators dressed in black, who marched down the 16th Street Mall in downtown Denver and rallied at the Federal Courthouse.

The demonstrators also raised concern about the push by Congress to pass bills that would effectively censor the internet in order to protect media companies from copyright infringement. These bills include Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and PROTECT IP Act (PIPA), which were the target of massive online protest by internet sites such as Wikipedia, who shut down their web sites on January 18th in protest. The online protest triggered a retreat by several congress people who withdrew their support from these bills.