Protect Our Wells, a local nonprofit organization that advocates for private well owners, hosted a meeting at Falcon Middle School April 19. Weston Wilson and Phil Doe spoke to the topic of the meeting, ìDangers of Oil and Gas Development.îWilson, a former Environmental Protection Agency engineer for 35 years, presented information to debunk myths about oil and gas processes.One myth Wilson addressed: ìFracking is a 60-year-old, safe and proven technology.îìHigh-volume chemical fracking (hydraulic fracturing) in horizontal wells from multi-well pads is 5 to 6 years old,î he said. Fracking hasn’t been around long enough to be defined as safe and proven technology, Wilson said.The EPA is still studying contamination caused by fracking cracks that meet up with natural cracks in the earth, he said. The chemicals could potentially seep from one crack to another, eventually coming in contact with an aquifer from which drinking water is taken, Wilson added.Other sources of contamination he discussed: bad well construction; spills of undiluted fracking fluids; leaking pits; and production fluids mismanagement.Wilson also described contamination from the evaporation of toxic fracking fluids and volatile organic compounds from open pits as air pathway contamination. Evaporated volatile organic compounds could later condense and then ìrainî on the surrounding environment, he said. ìI’m convinced that air pathway contamination is the biggest risk to public health,î Wilson said.In Garfield County, Colo., a citizens group found hydrogen sulfide in the ambient air (air that humans and other organisms breathe) near gas wells at five parts per million, which is ìworrisome,î Wilson said. The compound is deadly at 100 parts per million, he said, adding that a citizen’s class action lawsuit is under way.On April 18, the EPA issued a national regulation on air pollution, Wilson said. The new rule states that the Clean Air Act does apply to high-volume fracked wells. Operators will be forced to collect and resell volatile organic compounds that evaporate from the pits, which should account for about 40 percent of volatile organic compounds emitted, he said. Wilson said the rule won’t go into effect until 2015.The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission claims their data shows no groundwater contamination, he said. ìThe state uses domestic wells, where homeowners volunteer their wells,î Wilson said. These private wells are maintained by the homeowner and aren’t suitable for scientific studies, he said.Wilson also presented information from the COGCC’s Web site showing that, in a report of the results of 1,000 spills, 42.7 percent appear to result in groundwater contamination.In the event of contamination, the state and the industry fail to determine a cause in almost all cases, he said. If the industry is at fault, they will likely have the homeowner sign a nondisclosure agreement to prevent further investigation, Wilson said.ìRight now, the industry is innocent until proven guilty,î he said. ìIt’s not that way with other chemical industries. They hold liability based on ownership.îWilson said another myth is that Colorado cities cannot stop the drilling because of legislative preemption. ìColorado Home-Rule communities have authority under the state’s Constitution to restrict industrial activity,î Wilson said.Pittsburg has banned natural gas drilling, and Las Vegas, N.M., is the first western town to completely ban drilling, he said.Doe, environmental director for Be the Change USA and former manager of water distribution at the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, focused on water issues associated with fracking.(Be the Change USA is a nonprofit organization founded in 2004 to initially support ìprogressive candidates and issuesî in the 2004 presidential election. The organization has evolved to ìsupport progressive political issues and increased grassroots involvement and influence in the Democratic Party in particular, and in the political process as a whole.î)ìGiven our present technology, in 1 square mile, there can be eight wells,î Doe said. ìFor each well, 5 million gallons of water are needed for fracking. The total is 40 million gallons of water. That’s enough water for the domestic needs of 160,000 people.îWith only 3 percent of the earth’s water usable for drinking and less than 1 percent accessible, Doe said he is definitely concerned about fracking. ìThe truth of the matter is when they frack with our water, they destroy it,î he said.Sandy Martin, president of Protect Our Wells, said the organization is planning to hold its next meeting in August.
