Planning Commission rejects oil wells in west Greeley!

Tribune opinion: 
Denying project in west Greeley smacks of favoritism

The Triple Creek Directional project was the first multi-well oil and gas project denied by the Greeley Planning Commission in recent memory. We have no idea why. What was it about this project that made it so offensive to those on the planning commission? Well, we have a pretty good idea, and it’s an idea that leaves us disturbed.

But let’s take another look at the project first. The facility would be on a 69-acre piece of property surrounded by nine existing well sites. The setbacks would be 1,000 feet, twice the minimum distance required by the state. The company planned to use electric drilling rigs, which eliminate the loud noises that come from the diesel engines of other drilling rigs. The company hoped to put up berms and a sound wall while the wells were drilled and employ a new tool that would help suck up emissions.

We see nothing wrong with the project there. Maybe it’s the fact the project would be near a residential neighborhood. 

Oil and gas facilities have no place near residences, right? Well, actually, in 2013, the commission approved up to 18 wells and 20 tanks near Northridge High School. Another one features 40 wells near 35th Avenue and 4th Street, a location in the heart of residential neighborhoods. In 2014, the commission approved 58 wells on an existing pad near U.S. 85 and U.S. 34, even with neighbors complaining about the pad being too close to a new school and a new subdivision.

 OK, so maybe it’s that this is a new thing to Greeley, and we just haven’t grown used to seeing oil and gas wells. We hope you’re laughing at that last argument. Yes, Greeley is an oil and gas town, just like the county where it sits.

There are around 450 wells throughout Greeley. That’s why we have such a problem with the planning commission rejecting this site. 

Extraction Oil and Gas went well beyond what we’d call reasonable measures to appease the residents who were understandably concerned about their homes. And yet the commission rejected it anyway. Why?

 Well, we can’t find a reason, save for two speculations that leave us troubled. The first is the fact

100 people showed up to squawk about it

and the second is the fact this facility is in an area full of middle-to-upper-class homes. It’s a much nicer area, or at least a richer one, than the site off 11th Avenue near Island Grove Regional Park, where 22 wells were approved in 2011, or the 58 wells near U.S. 85 and U.S. 34. Check out the comments of Planning Commissioner Eddie Mirick, who seems to be making our argument for us, even while he rejected the site.

 “It would be very detrimental to the community in and around the area, who have lived there a long time, enjoy their homes and environment, and contribute greatly to the city and have for years in many ways.” 

 So these people apparently don’t deserve to have wells near their homes because they contribute greatly to the city. So apparently people who contribute greatly to the city, financially or otherwise, should get more of a say about what goes near their homes.

We disagree. Greeley is an oil and gas town. We’ve enjoyed millions in tax dollars from the boom. There’s already several precedents. Therefore, if a company turns in a good proposal for oil wells, one that goes well beyond the state’s requirements to make life easier on the residents,

the commission should approve it, regardless of the influential people who live nearby. 

Otherwise we’re inconsistent, and that’s dangerous.

Inconsistencies encourage homeowners to file lawsuits and inspire hard feelings, and they tend to hurt people with lower incomes the most, because they don’t have the financial resources or the back-slapping connections to shoo away things they don’t want near their home.

The planning commissioners seem to be playing favorites here. We almost hope Extraction will appeal the decision to the Greeley City Council, where the constant threat of being voted out of office helps keep them focused on the whole city, not just those who want special treatment.

 — The Tribune Editorial Board

Source: http://www.greeleytribune.com/news/opinion/20023293-111/tribune-opinion-denying-project-in-west-greeley-smacks

Hundreds Represent Thousands at Anti-Fracking Protest

Click on the yellow links to be directed to the full stories.

Anti-fracking activists converge in Denver for meetings, protests 

"The activists targeted Saddle Butte Pipeline, the EPA, Halliburton, the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission and Gov. John Hickenlooper's mansion. They set up a 20-foot mock drilling rig. Three activists were ticketed for blocking traffic at the mansion." 

'Not Protesters — Protectors': Fracktivists Descend on Colorado Governor's Mansion

"Colorado has become ground zero in the fight between local municipalities and fossil fuel-soaked state legislatures. The Colorado Supreme Court announced late last month that it would weigh in on this debate as it prepares to hear the cases of two communities which, despite the state's support for the oil and gas industry, voted to ban fracking within their borders."

Anti-FrackingActivistsTake Action in Denver

"The march left Commons Park for the State Capitol, then proceeded to the Governor’s Mansion, where a 20-foot mock drilling rig was erected just feet from his doorstep. Loudspeakers were mounted to the top of the platform, projecting the personal stories of citizens who have been harmed by fracking."

Volunteers Sought for Quality of Life Study

Researchers at the University of Colorado are looking for volunteers to participate in a study on how people respond to oil and gas development in their communities.

"Your participation should take no more than 1 hour at a time for up to 6 visits to our office in Greeley over a 6-9 month period. During the office visits, we will ask questions about your health, collect height and weight data, measure blood pressure and blood vessel health, collect a blood sample, collect a small hair sample, and collect cheek cells from the inside of your mouth with a swab.

You will be compensated with a $30.00 Visa gift card for each visit completed. In order to qualify for this study you must meet the following criteria:

 18 years old or older
 live within 2 miles of an oil or gas well
 be a non-smoker (tobacco and marijuana)
 cannot live with anyone who regularly smokes in your home
 cannot be pregnant
 cannot have a history of diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or chronic     inflammatory diseases
 cannot be taking statins or any anti-inflammatory medications
 cannot be regularly exposed dust, fumes, or solvents 

If you would like to participate in this study, or have any questions, call 970-829-7490 or email lindsay.taylor@ucdenver.edu

Project Title: QBC Study: Quality of Life and Biomarkers in Communities
Principal Investigator: John Adgate PhD, MSPH
Version Date: 8/12/15

Dangers of Fracking Exposed

Drilling in Evans Neighborhood

Noble Energy and other oil companies want people to believe they are caring stewards of the environment, as shown in this video. But how caring are they when they drill smack in the middle of this Evans, CO neighborhood, just 100 feet from the closest home, and 1,000 feet from Ann Heiman Elementary School? (Scroll down for photos)

I doubt the people who live there knew that would be a possibility, because a well head existed before they moved in. Few people realize that putting in a new well is not the end of drilling.  Often wells need to be stimulated into producing again with hazardous substances like hydrochloric and hydrofluoric acid; chemicals you do not want in your neighborhood! Plus, there is the danger of a blowout .

Of note too is this

Toxic vapors suspected in deaths of three Colorado oil and gas workers


The article stays mum on the likelihood that those deaths might be caused by dangerous hydrogen sulfide that can kill within minutes.

What happens when that gas escapes in large quantities? What if such a well has a blowout such as the one in China in 2003 that killed more than 200 people and hospitalized 4,000! See:

Tragedy of errors in Chongqing's gas blowout  

And this! 

Children can suffer DNA damage and illness from leaking sour gas several kilometres away, yet B.C. allows wells within 150 metres of schools


It is appalling and beyond the pale, especially when more and more findings show that less lethal gases that escape are really hazardous to people's health as well!

Fracking may affect air quality, human health  "People living or working near active natural gas wells may be exposed to certain pollutants at higher levels than the Environmental Protection Agency considers safe for lifetime exposure. Air pollution from fracking operations may pose an under-recognized health hazard to people living near them, the researchers concluded."   

(Photos: Robert Winkler)

West of 35th ave and north of 37th st, Evans.

Noble Energy "Community Gardening" TV Commercial

Lightning Bolt Sets Oil Tanks Flying!

"People need to understand the goal of gas and oil development is profit, not protection of our health, safety and the environment." ~ Robert Winkler

On Friday, April 17, a lightning bolt caused a massive fire with explosions at a waste water injection well site just northeast of the Greeley-Weld County Airport. Click here for more, including photos.

Also see: Colorado Fracking Wastewater Injection Site Up In Flames

 

Gas Fumes Force Family Out

The article in The Post Independent below is no longer accessible under its original link (I think!) Try it here:   Silt Mesa family claims gas fumes forcing them out

But luckily I found the content here. In case that disappears too, I have posted the article below:


SILT, Colorado - One of the most vocal critics of gas drilling activities in the Silt Mesa area has been told by a doctor that she and her family have to move for their health's sake.Beth Strudley, her husband, Bill, and their two sons have been house shopping for weeks, after one of the sons reportedly began suffering from severe rashes, nose bleeds and blackouts.

But it was not until Dec. 28 that she got confirmation of her fears from a Grand Junction physician, Dr. Joseph Wezensky of Kokopelli Health & Wellness, said Beth Strudley." He said, 'Get out of that house, now!'" Strudley reported."Our water's screwed, the air is screwed, we have to leave our house," she said on Monday, during a break in the meeting of the Garfield County commissioners.

"We have to get out of Silt Mesa." 

Strudley has been protesting plans by Antero Resources to drill for gas in the area north of Interstate 70 known as Silt Mesa and Peach Valley, which is where she and her family have lived for four years, maintaining that the gas drilling is compromising air and water quality in the area.

Downplaying the concerns and fears expressed by Strudley and other residents of Garfield County in recent years, the industry has maintained that their activities are closely regulated by the state government and do not pose health hazards to nearby residents. The industry position is that there is no conclusive evidence of illness due to a person's proximity to gas wells that have been hydraulically fractured, or frac'ed, despite more than 60 years of the practice in various gas-rich parts of the United States.

In 2005, Strudley told the Post Independent, she called the offices of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission and was told "they'll never drill for gas on Silt Mesa." She said she was told that one gas drilling company had done some testing in the late 1980s and concluded that it was not an economically viable location for extracting natural gas.

But new drilling techniques brought Antero into the neighborhood last summer, and Strudley has been protesting against the drilling rigs, the service trucks and the industry in general ever since. Her most highly public effort involved posting large signs in her yard that proclaimed, "Antero Is Going To Poison Our Water," among other warnings."Unfortunately, that bloody sign, everything I have on it has come true," she said.

William Strudley, 13, was the first to show symptoms, beginning with severe nosebleeds that his mom said could only be stemmed by putting Tampon feminine napkins up his nose. He then developed a persistent rash over much of his body that itches and burns.Then, two weeks ago, his mother said, he passed out in the bathroom for no apparent reason. In the meantime, her other son, Charlie, 11, has begun showing the same symptoms, as have she and her husband."I have to buy a new box of Tampons," Strudley said with a flash of humor. "Everybody's been using them."

Speaking to the Board of County Commissioners, she said, "My son, our whole family, has been chemically poisoned by the toxic fumes that Antero Resources is enveloping Silt Mesa in, on a daily basis, since Aug. 9, 2010," when Antero put up its first rig in the area. "Silt Mesa is becoming the sad twin sister of Divide Creek," she told the commissioners, referring to another part of Garfield County that has seen intensive gas drilling activities.

In her statement, Strudley cited the case of Chris Mobaldi, a former resident of Garfield County who lived south of Rifle. She died last year of a rare pituitary tumor that she, her husband and a family doctor felt was related to her exposure to gas drilling activities.

"The rest of the world is watching in horror of what you are allowing to happen," she admonished the commissioners, adding that Wezensky told her that living where she is living "is on a fast track to all kinds of cancers."This, I believe, is now your problem to fix," she declared. "You need to get Antero Resources away from our homes and families. Well, what are you going to do? How are you going to stop my son from dying?"

The commissioners did not respond to Strudley's remarks, but called on the next speaker on the meeting's agenda.

By John Colson: jcolson@postindependent.com