Fracking in Colorado
Woman who lived near gas fields dies
Published date:
11/17/2010 - 10:00am
Publication:
Post Independent
A woman who grew gravely ill after living near gas drilling activities in the Rifle area has died in Grand Junction, to where she and her husband moved to get away from the rigs.
Elizabeth “Chris” Mobaldi, 63, died on Nov. 14, at 4:40 a.m., after a lengthy battle with a rare and persistent tumor of the pituitary gland, according to her husband, Steve. read more »
Pennsylvania to Become 'Gasland'?
Published date:
11/08/2010 (All day)
Publication:
The Real News Standing on top of one of the world's largest natural gas fields, some Pennsylvanians prepare to take on their new governor, the gas indusrty, the famous 'Halliburton Loophole', and Karl Rove in order to stop the drilling. read more »
Obama's Enthusiasm for Gas Drilling Raises Eyebrows
Published date:
11/04/2010 (All day)
Publication:
The New York Times President Obama's newfound interest in expanded natural gas drilling yesterday surprised many on all sides of the drilling debate, from environmentalists to drillers and even the coal industry.
Representatives of drilling groups said they had no idea that Obama would make natural gas his lead olive branch to the newly empowered Capitol Hill Republicans. But they were pleased that he did. read more »
The Next Drilling Disaster?
Published date:
06/03/2010 - 12:00pm
Publication:
The Nation 
A tour of Dimock, Pennsylvania, with Victoria Switzer is a bumpy ride over torn-up roads, around parking lots filled with heavy machinery and storage tanks, and past well pads that not long ago were forests. The winter here was quiet, but with the thawing ground came the return of the rigs, the trucks, the constant noise and lights of a twenty-four-hour-a-day gas drilling operation. "It's a modern-day Deadwood out here," Switzer says, likening the activity to the gold rush. "No rules, no regs, just rigs." read more »
Colo. Lawmaker Withdraws Natural Gas 'Fracking' Amendment to Water Bill
Published date:
05/26/2010 - 12:00pm
Publication:
New York Times / Greenwire Colorado Democrat Diana DeGette withdrew a proposed amendment today from House water legislation that would have expanded regulation of a controversial oil and gas production technique some say has contributed to groundwater pollution.
DeGette's amendment to a water-infrastructure bill (H.R. 5320 (pdf), which the Energy and Commerce Committee went on to pass with only one no-vote, would have required drillers under the Safe Drinking Water Act to disclose the chemicals used during hydraulic fracturing to state regulators or U.S. EPA. read more »
Frack-O-Rama
Published date:
03/27/2010 - 12:15am
Publication:
High Country News - The Goat Blog It's been a hot week in the tug-of-war over how – or whether – the government will regulate hydraulic fracturing (or "fracking"), the drilling method used to extract oil and natural gas, with almost daily headlines coming out of the EPA, Wyoming and Congress.
First, the big news: last Thursday, the EPA finally announced it was launching a nation-wide study of fracking's health and environmental impacts, a move hailed by environmentalists as a necessary first step toward federal oversight. Then, two days ago, reports leaked out that the oil and gas industry had inserted language banning federal regulation of fracking into the climate and energy bill being negotiated by Senators Kerry, Graham and Lieberman. Call it the frack fight two-step: one step toward federal regulation, one step back. read more »
Contamination incidents related to oil and gas development
Published date:
01/01/2010 - 12:00pm
Publication:
EarthWorksAction.org There is no question that oil and gas chemicals and wastes are being released into Colorado air, waters and soil. The media have documented a number of incidents where releases have occurred. As well, the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) keeps track of spills of oil and gas exploration and production was read more »
Health concerns in Colorado's oil and gas fields
Published date:
01/01/2010 - 12:00pm
Publication:
EarthWorksAction.org There are an increasing number of oil- and gas-field residents who believe that the industry is causing or exacerbating their health problems. Some of their stories are captured in the excerpts from new articles below. Links to other stories can be found in the "For More Information" section at the bottom of this page.
Colorado Oil and Gas Health and Toxics: In the News read more »
Hydraulic Fracturing of Oil and Gas Wells
Published date:
01/01/2010 - 12:00pm
Publication:
EarthWorksAction.org - Threats to water quality
- Inadequate regulation of hydraulic fracturing (including the Halliburton loophole)
- Hydraulic fracturing 101
- More facts, news, other information
Hydraulic fracturing is a common technique used to stimulate the production of oil and natural gas. Typically, fluids are injected underground at high pressures, the formations fracture, and the oil or gas flows more freely out of the formation. Some of the injected fluids remain trapped underground. A number of these fluids, such as diesel fuel, qualify as hazardous materials and carcinogens, and are toxic enough to contaminate groundwater resources. Read more details in OGAP's basic primer on hydraulic fracturing.
State regulators dismiss frack-fluid ID-tagging proposal
Published date:
12/09/2009 - 12:59pm
Publication:
The Colorado Independent 
Environmental activists are calling on Colorado officials to require oil and gas companies to chemically tag the fluids used in hydraulic fracturing, an increasingly controversial natural gas drilling process. Many suspect that “fracking” may be contaminating ground water, and chemical tags would make it possible for regulators to identify the source of any contamination.
The idea is a hot topic among those favoring increased federal oversight of the process, but industry officials won’t even discuss the idea, and state regulators say it’s barely on their radar screens. read more »