Colorado is falling for a federal infatuation with a technology that is distracting us from the renewable energy sources we actually need.
fracking
Posted inEnvironment
Air emissions, water demands skyrocket as 72% of Colorado’s new oil and gas activity centers on the Front Range
Annual state report shows regulators approved 838 new wells in 2022, with a sharp increase on the Front Range
Posted inOpinion Columns
Opinion: A pro-oil Texas lobbyist aims to undermine Colorado’s progress in reducing the health impacts of drilling
Don’t fall for it. Colorado must be vigilant to turn back such front groups and their self-serving motives.
Posted inBusiness, Climate, Energy, Environment, News, Politics and Government
Colorado oil and gas companies said a 2019 state law would destroy them. That didn’t happen. But here’s what did.
The demise of the oil and gas industry in Colorado — predicted after the passage of legislation and regulations focused on protecting public health, safety and the environment — does not appear to be imminent. Plans for nearly 1,900 new oil and gas wells are before the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission in 2022 […]
Posted inBusiness, Climate, Energy, Environment, News, Politics and Government
Colorado air pollution regulators are so behind that they didn’t get around to a hearing on one company’s permit for 13 years
In March 2009, a Western Slope oil company filed an application for a state air emissions permit for its wastewater treatment facility. On Thursday, state regulators got around to holding a hearing on that permit — about almost 13 years behind schedule. “We are asking for the same thing we asked for 13 years ago, […]
Posted inClimate, Energy, Environment, News
Federal judge blocks plan for 35 gas wells on national forest land in western Colorado
A U.S. District Court judge blocked a plan approved by federal agencies for 35 fracked gas wells across 30,000 acres of U.S. Forest Service land between Gunnison and the Grand Mesa, handing a victory to environmental groups suing the government for failing to take climate change into account in approving new drilling. U.S. District for […]
Posted inBusiness, Energy, News, Politics and Government
Kerr-McGee’s plan to drill oil and gas wells within 2,000 feet of homes in Firestone is rejected by regulators
A bid by the state’s largest oil and gas producer to drill 26 wells within 2,000 feet of 62 homes in Firestone was rejected Thursday by Colorado regulators. It was the first major test of the state’s requirement that oil and gas drilling be set back at least 2,000 feet from homes and schools. Both […]
Posted inBusiness, Energy, Environment, Health, News, Politics and Government
Colorado’s largest oil and gas producer wants permission to drill closer than 2,000 feet from homes
The buffer between homes and oil and gas drilling in Colorado is by rule 2,000 feet, except when it isn’t, and a move to drill in the middle of a residential area in Firestone is raising questions about how secure that buffer will be. The state’s biggest operator, Occidental Petroleum, through its Colorado subsidiary Kerr-McGee, […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: The 3 biggest contributors to our sickly air: wildfires, fracking, and auto emissions
As if we don’t already have enough to worry about, the quality of the air we breathe is rapidly slipping well beyond agreed health standards. From Colorado Springs to Fort Collins, low-level ozone is causing stinging eyes and throats, chest pains, coughing, and breathing difficulty. We notice this in particular when winds from wildfires blow […]
Posted inOpinion
Opinion: If we don’t drill for oil and gas on federal lands, we’ll buy it from Russia
The budget reconciliation bill before Congress would, if passed with all the public lands provisions, drive oil and natural gas producers off federal lands in Colorado and across the West to other areas of the country or overseas. If passed as-is, it would achieve the President’s goal of “no federal oil.” The dozens of policies […]