In Greeley Protest is Futile!

What is so surprising about city councils, or boards of education for that matter, bowing down to corporations and lawyers, and ignoring the wishes of its residents? The Greeley City Council is once again showing that, no matter how many people protest oil and gas pads near their homes, it is futile. Still, the more elected officials get confronted with concerns and protests, the harder it will prove for their conscience to ignore those, that is...if they have a conscience. Thankfully two city council members have, and they voted to uphold the planning commission's decision!

But, where is the concern by the others for the well-being of children who have to live within close proximity of an industrial site that spews VOC's? Yes, I mention children as they are the ones so easily ignored and overlooked in all matters of policy making. 

As long as we disregard the well-being of the children in our society, we shouldn't be surprised that we end up with a large number of people in governing positions who  have no compassion and/or integrity to do what is right for people and the environment. 

Is it not a farce, let alone a blatant lie, when we read this on the city's website?

Following are excerpts and photos that were published in the Greeley Tribune. 

After six hours of testimony on Tuesday, the Greeley Council overturned its planning commission, allowing a 22-well oil and gas facility in west Greeley — a move that aligned with the city’s own development code rather than public sentiment.

Hundreds of people turned out for the hearing, an appeal by Denver-based Extraction Oil and Gas, of the Greeley Planning Commission’s January decision to deny its project, 6-0. The hearing filled the hearing room at the Greeley-Evans School District 6 administration building, as well as its lobby, where almost 300 chairs were brought in to accommodate the crowds, filled with neighbors against the project and hundreds of oil and gas workers wearing stickers that read, “Oil and gas feeds my family and yours!”

Read the whole Tribune article here: Greeley City Council overturns Planning Commission denial of Triple Creek project.

The Greeley-Evans School District 6 administration building.

Mayor Tom Norton holds up more than 1,000 pages of letters
 for and against the Triple Creek project.

Oil and gas industry workers had come from outside of Greeley

 and wore stickers in support of their jobs.

But, does Oil & Gas not also pollute and poison?

Mayor Norton: I sympathize with the neighbors and sympathize with comments, but I think beyond that we have to protect private property rights of the many citizens of Greeley who have mineral rights and have a right to access them.

Sandi Elder: I’ve had experience with wells in my backyard and have no problems, and my neighbors and I asked for no mitigations. They offered to put up bushes and trees, but we wanted to see mountains and still do.

Mike Finn: ..what I would worry about us voting against this .You’re just opening up a lawsuit. If I were sitting as a judge, it’s so clear they have a right for this. It blows me away that people don’t see it.

Rochelle Galindo: We appoint a planning commission for a reason and I have every right to trust in their decision and the information presented to them. As far as what was presented tonight, I find it really hard to support his particular development, mostly because it does have a huge impact on traffic flow in that area.
Also the raptor breeding season will definitely prolong the project for several months. For those reasons, I’m going to vote to uphold decision.

Randy Sleight: This has been one of the toughest things I’ve had to grapple with and deal with...I’m a firm supporter of oil and gas development, I work in the industry. I deal with compounds, facilities like this on a daily basis. So in this area, I don’t happen to believe this facility is suitable for the area. It is too intense, too large, there’s too much going on. Too much storage. That’s the emotional side.

On the practical and legal side, the applicant has in fact followed everything they’ve been asked to do. Unemotionally, this is a use by special review issue. I don’t consider it too much of a mineral rights owner issue. If extraction was not going to do what they’re doing, what would they do about their mineral rights? So that’s a moot point. [emphasis mine]

What matters is the fact that the state compels us to apply certain standards to oil and gas development within any zoning area. ... Legally, as a council ... we have the obligation to go ahead and overturn what the planning commission did. That’s not to say they were wrong, but when take emotion out of it and you look at the facts and evidence, the applicant has done everything they’ve been required to do. I’m going to have to support overturning of the decision.

Why Even Let Citizens Speak?

It is so sad that it all falls on, clearly willfully, deaf ears! I would hope that a thousand Debra Figueroas, and other concerned and impassioned residents, could make a difference in the decision making process regarding fracking, but I think the game is rigged (pun intended) against the common people. But, at least none of the commissioners can wash their hands in innocence, although they'd like to!

They can not say, like many German people in WWII did, when questioned about the concentration camps, "Wir haben es nicht gewusst", which means "We didn't know". Well, many surely had an uneasy feeling about it, but willfully pushed that thought away, willfully chose to stay ignorant, but that did not change the reality and the facts. Nor can the commissioners (and all others who ignore concerns and pleas of the people they are supposed to serve) claim they didn't know of the dangers and health risks of fracking! They have been informed over and over again, but it falls on willfully deaf ears! 

 I commend all the residents who go to these meetings to speak out, even if it has no immediate effect. All they will ever hear is an insincere "Thank you very much", and then get to witness the authoritarian, unanimous vote against what they seek. There's nothing democratic about unanimity! 

But, the more elected officials get confronted with concerns, the harder it will prove for their conscience to ignore those, that is...if they have a conscience. After all, is it not unconscionable to allow oil and gas pads near home and schools?


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Watch Debra Figueroa address Adams County commissioners about a fracking moratorium:

Click on the video below and go to 5:41:30

"Your real investment are your children. If you do not have an educated, healthy society, you can't have the other things. So you can't have economic development if your people are sick and stupid."

"I have been listening to it all, but it is greed what I hear. We talk about, "Let's demand real science! Where is it? We have it, but you don't want to listen to it!"

Hear Phil Doe speak at 5:52:00

"If you look at the bill of rights, it says all government is derived from the people, is instituted wholly for the good of all."

Sadly, the reality is this, and it plays out over and over again to the frustration of all who come before boards or councils to 'petition', or share their grievances.

“[N]othing in the First Amendment or in this Court’s case law interpreting it suggests that the rights to speak, associate, and petition require government policymakers to listen or respond to individuals’ communications on public issues."

         See: http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/petition-overview

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