In the wake of two events, Coloradans across the state are calling for buffer zones between oil & gas and water.

The tragic floods that surged through northern Colorado, and the Parachute Creek Spill near the Colorado River, has underscored the need to protect water quality and public health against oil & gas activities.

The Front Range Floods of September 2013 resulted in oil & gas wells being washed away, inaccessible access roads, tipped storage tanks, and spilled toxic fluids.

On the west side of the Rocky Mountains, the Parachute Creek Spill of Garfield County is a spring 2013 reminder that water can get contaminated by oil & gas infrastructure and threaten regional supplies like the Colorado River.

With these two examples, Front Range and Western Slope groups are united in striving for reforms. An emerging coalition is calling for statewide rules that move oil & gas away from our precious water.  Voices from Weld, Boulder and Larimer Counties are seeking rules that address floodplains; and western Colorado residents are calling for rules that apply to pipelines, seasonal streams, and more.

The real tragedy, however, is this: In 2008, the Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission declined to update rules governing “Riparian Area Setbacks,” or the distance between water and oil & gas facilities. For over five years, Colorado residents, wildlife, and communities have been waiting for oil & gas to be pushed back from waterways.

Contact Governor Hickenlooper today! Let him know that his action is needed today to protect public health and rein-in oil & gas!

Gov. John W Hickenlooper
136 State Capitol
Denver CO 80203-1792
Phone
: (303) 866-2471
Fax: 
(303) 866-2003