Dear Editor:We’ve attended many meetings to ask county commissioners to adopt oil and gas regulations that might protect the health and safety of county residents, but it seems like an exercise in futility.Colorado’s ground water and surface water have been contaminated with carcinogenic chemicals many times by faulty well cementing, spills and leaks.†Some Coloradans can light their tap water on fire and are sick from diesel fumes and gases released into the air.As the regulations stand, no water testing is required if no water well exists within 1/2 mile of a drill site.†That describes five of the six current fracking permits in the county.† Waste water containing unregulated amounts of naturally occurring radioactive materials could legally be sprayed on our dirt roads and dumped into our streams.El Paso County leaves air monitoring up to the state, but the state isn’t protecting us.†Nine counties in the Front Range, from Douglas County north to Larimer and Weld Counties, have been out of compliance with federal smog limits since 2007, due in large part to oil and gas activities.†It’s so bad, the BLM was sued and agreed to prohibit fracking on 12 sites.Many other proposed regulations that may have protected us will probably be removed.†If the BoCC continues to cave, oil wells could be drilled 150 feet from houses in the county, which is the state regulation.To learn more than the half-truths told by the oil and gas industry, visit http://SaveColoradoFromFracking.orgTo see some of what’s happening to real people in Colorado, visit http://cogcc.state.co.us, click on Library and scroll down to Quarterly Complaint Reports.Jeff and Phyllis CahillFalcon, CO
