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New “Test for Success” Challenges Colorado Oil and Gas Task Force To Protect Families and Communities from Fracking

Date
November 18, 2014
Contact
Jeremy Nichols, (303) 437-7663
In This Release
Climate + Energy  
#KeepItInTheGround
Denver – Success or failure of Governor John Hickenlooper’s Oil and Gas Task Force, set to meet in Loveland on November 20th and 21, will hinge on four key principles, each critical to protecting Colorado’s families and communities from fracking. Those four principles were highlighted today when WildEarth Guardians presented a “Test for Success” to the Task Force.

“The oil and gas task force has an unprecedented opportunity to ensure Colorado families and communities are put first, but success hinges on whether these four commonsense benchmarks are met” said Jeremy Nichols, Climate and Energy Program Director at WildEarth Guardians. “If the interests of the fracking industry are put ahead of our health, of local control, and ahead of common sense regulation, the Task Force will have failed our future.”

In a report submitted today, WildEarth Guardians presented a “Test for Success,” which hinges upon the Task Force following four key principles: 1) a right to know what chemicals are being used in Colorado communities, 2) safety triggers to shut down operations when pollution standards are exceeded, 3) a ban on oil and gas bad actors that repeatedly violate state or federal regulations, and 4) local control for communities to watchdog state agencies and step in when necessary.

The meetings in Loveland are a fitting location for the Task Force to meet and for the Test for Success to be unveiled. Communities up and down the Front Range north of Denver have been grappling with a surge in fracking, spurred by newly developed horizontal drilling technologies. Many communities near Loveland are dealing with fracking for the first time, posing a challenge to local governments wishing to safeguard their residents from industrial pollution. Towns near Loveland, including Longmont, Fort Collins, Broomfield, and Lafayette have all voted in bans or moratoriums on fracking. Most recently, Boulder County voted to extend a moratorium on fracking for three years.

The Test for Success takes a results-oriented approach and lays out four simple standards that any final deal reached by the Task Force must meet to assure safety for Colorado families and communities. The report provides no recommendations on specific measures, such as setbacks or fracking bans, but instead focuses on metrics such as whether local control is respected and whether bad actors are prohibited from operating.

“This isn’t about whether fracking is good or bad, it’s about whether we’re going to take reasonable steps to ensure it doesn’t endanger Coloradoans,” said Tim Ream, WildEarth Guardians Climate and Energy Campaign Director and author of the Test. “The Governor claims fracking in Colorado can be managed. If that is the case, this is how Coloradoans will measure whether or not the Governor has lived up to his promise.”

As the Test notes, “Any deal that does not protect our families and communities from fracking is not a compromise, but a failure.”

 

Other Contact
Tim Ream, WildEarth Guardians, 541-531-8541, tream@wildearthguardians.org