ShareThis
As you know it all flows to the Sea
Oil spills in flood-hit Colorado raise concerns over industry regulation
Residents of a town in hard-hit Weld County, with 20,000 active wells, say industry is booming out of control
At least two large oil spills have been confirmed in the wake of
Colorado's historic floods -- with almost 20,000 gallons of oil being
spilled into Colorado rivers -- raising fears of contamination and questions about the regulation of the state's growing oil and gas industry.
On Wednesday, Anadarko Petroleum Corp. said that a 5,000 gallon tank had spilled oil into the South Platte River near the town of Millikin in flood-ravaged Weld County -- the most heavily drilled county in the state, with around 20,000 active oil and gas wells. Thursday, the company announced a second, larger leak of over 13,000 gallons of oil on the nearby St. Vrain River.
Videos and photos uploaded to social media sites showed toppled tanks, flooded wells and ruptured pipelines. One video allegedly showed a destroyed storage tank in Weld County with green fluid leaking out.
Just over 10 miles from the spill site at Millikin is the town of Greeley, the countyseat and Weld's biggest city.
Weld County, Colorado, has over 20,000 active oil and gas industry wells -- many of which are located in areas affected by the flood, raising questions about the state's regulations.
Greeley has been on the front lines of the battle over regulation of the oil and gas industry. Though the city council said they have stayed within the state's regulations, many residents say an industry they once tolerated has gotten out of control.
In the mid-1980s, the city of Greeley banned the oil and gas industry drilling within its limits. But that decision was overturned in 1992 by Colorado's Supreme Court after a long, costly battle with energy companies.
Now the economy of the town is dependent on the industry. Greeley achieved boomtown-status during Colorado's recent oil and gas industry explosion and has more than 400 wells within city limits. That number is expected to grow 1,600 in coming years thanks largely to the industry's powerful influence in city government, residents say.
"They've drilled up the entire (Weld) county, so there's no more places left to drill and all of a sudden they're doing it within Greeley city limits," Dr. Mark Schreibman, founder of Greeley Communities United, told Al Jazeera.
Greeley Mayor Tom Norton says the city council doesn't have the authority to decide when and where drilling occurs -- that is an individual property right. The council's job is simply to determine whether or not drilling activity is within state regulations. And if it is, there's nothing the council can do to stop it.
"They think we have the authority. We don't. We have the authority to regulate how it's done."
But the state regulations allowed drilling and storage in flood plains, and Carl Ericson of Weld Air and Water, said it's the speed at which the regulations were developed in Weld County that's the biggest obstacle to responsible regulation.
"When a disaster like the flood happens, they're stretched beyond comprehension," Ericson said. "It points to the inadequacy of our regulation system."
In Colorado, regulators rely on reports from the industry itself as to what it's doing wrong. "You've got the fox guarding the hen house," Ericson said.
Despite the risks, some residents enjoy the royalty checks they get from leasing their land to drilling companies and the extra money coming into a town that had a 10 percent unemployment rate before the boom.
"It's a good thing for everybody. … The industry is providing millions and millions of dollars and producing labor opportunities,” City Councilman Charles Archibeque told Al Jazeera.
"You can't deprive people the right to minerals on their property. … I leased out some of my land."
On Wednesday, Anadarko Petroleum Corp. said that a 5,000 gallon tank had spilled oil into the South Platte River near the town of Millikin in flood-ravaged Weld County -- the most heavily drilled county in the state, with around 20,000 active oil and gas wells. Thursday, the company announced a second, larger leak of over 13,000 gallons of oil on the nearby St. Vrain River.
Videos and photos uploaded to social media sites showed toppled tanks, flooded wells and ruptured pipelines. One video allegedly showed a destroyed storage tank in Weld County with green fluid leaking out.
Just over 10 miles from the spill site at Millikin is the town of Greeley, the countyseat and Weld's biggest city.
Weld County, Colorado, has over 20,000 active oil and gas industry wells -- many of which are located in areas affected by the flood, raising questions about the state's regulations.
Greeley has been on the front lines of the battle over regulation of the oil and gas industry. Though the city council said they have stayed within the state's regulations, many residents say an industry they once tolerated has gotten out of control.
In the mid-1980s, the city of Greeley banned the oil and gas industry drilling within its limits. But that decision was overturned in 1992 by Colorado's Supreme Court after a long, costly battle with energy companies.
Now the economy of the town is dependent on the industry. Greeley achieved boomtown-status during Colorado's recent oil and gas industry explosion and has more than 400 wells within city limits. That number is expected to grow 1,600 in coming years thanks largely to the industry's powerful influence in city government, residents say.
"They've drilled up the entire (Weld) county, so there's no more places left to drill and all of a sudden they're doing it within Greeley city limits," Dr. Mark Schreibman, founder of Greeley Communities United, told Al Jazeera.
Greeley Mayor Tom Norton says the city council doesn't have the authority to decide when and where drilling occurs -- that is an individual property right. The council's job is simply to determine whether or not drilling activity is within state regulations. And if it is, there's nothing the council can do to stop it.
"They think we have the authority. We don't. We have the authority to regulate how it's done."
But the state regulations allowed drilling and storage in flood plains, and Carl Ericson of Weld Air and Water, said it's the speed at which the regulations were developed in Weld County that's the biggest obstacle to responsible regulation.
"When a disaster like the flood happens, they're stretched beyond comprehension," Ericson said. "It points to the inadequacy of our regulation system."
In Colorado, regulators rely on reports from the industry itself as to what it's doing wrong. "You've got the fox guarding the hen house," Ericson said.
Despite the risks, some residents enjoy the royalty checks they get from leasing their land to drilling companies and the extra money coming into a town that had a 10 percent unemployment rate before the boom.
"It's a good thing for everybody. … The industry is providing millions and millions of dollars and producing labor opportunities,” City Councilman Charles Archibeque told Al Jazeera.
"You can't deprive people the right to minerals on their property. … I leased out some of my land."
Oil rush
Regardless of whether they feel the economic benefits are worth the
risk, many residents say they feel the industry’s encroachment on their
town is unstoppable.
“We’ve gotten letters asking about leasing out our land for drilling,” Fred Cleader, co-founder of Weld Air and Water told Al Jazeera. “We haven’t leased it out, but we expect to be forced – it’s some kind of ‘oil company socialism.’”
Synergy and Mineral Resources, two industry companies working in Greeley, have been called "very aggressive" by residents, citing the plans to quadruple the number of active wells in the city.
Mineral Resources did not respond to a request for a statement at the time this article was published.
Synergy spokesman Craig Raspesin told Al Jazeera “we’ve met all the state requirements … and we’ve worked diligently with air and water groups that have brought forth concerns.”
“Everyone has a different level of tolerance … but we feel like we can coexist with municipal operations and we’re working hard to show that. We’ve got hundreds of wells within municipalities and we don’t have any issues.”
Residents, however, tell a different story.
“The City Council is what is really allowing drilling in people’s backyards, and near schools, there’s this rush to get oil and gas wells in every little piece of land that’s open,” Ericson said.
Residents complain that their city council is not representative of their concerns, adding that Mineral Resources is hosting a “real shindig” of a party for the current mayor’s reelection campaign.
“We have a very old guard in our city council and right now 25 percent of the council’s budget comes from oil and gas revenues,” Schreibman said. “The more you pick the pockets of the oil and gas folks, the greater their influence becomes.”
To see that the residents don’t agree with the pace of industry expansion in their town, Schreibman suggested attending one of the city council meetings when projects are open for discussion.
“Over 200 people show up against, maybe four or five for.”
Greeley’s mayor, Tom Norton, tells a different story: “We’ve had hearings where we spend many hours listening to them.”
Norton referenced the Colorado Supreme Court decision that reversed Greeley’s decision to ban drilling within city limits. The court decision cites oil and gas resources as a property right that cannot be denied as long as the drilling is carried out within the state’s regulatory process.
“What they’re saying is they don’t like the fact that we don’t have the constitutional authority to change access to minerals,” Norton told Al Jazeera.
“The only authority we have is to regulate how it’s done in a way that doesn’t limit it.”
A project approved by city planners in Greeley’s Fox Run neighborhood would allow 16 wells to be placed under the area, with wellheads and tanks 350 feet from porches.
“I know a family from Fox Run who sold their house and left town because of this,” Schreibman said. “People are starting to move away, property values are going down.”
Mayor Norton said that residents had appealed the city’s decision to allow drilling in the Fox Run neighborhood, but in the end “it was determined that the original decision to allow it was made in accordance with our ordinances and because of that we approved it.”
Colorado’s multi-billion dollar oil and gas industry has mushroomed over the past decade. In June, oil production increased nearly 30 percent above the same period last year – to 161,000 barrels per day.
“We’ve gotten letters asking about leasing out our land for drilling,” Fred Cleader, co-founder of Weld Air and Water told Al Jazeera. “We haven’t leased it out, but we expect to be forced – it’s some kind of ‘oil company socialism.’”
Synergy and Mineral Resources, two industry companies working in Greeley, have been called "very aggressive" by residents, citing the plans to quadruple the number of active wells in the city.
Mineral Resources did not respond to a request for a statement at the time this article was published.
Synergy spokesman Craig Raspesin told Al Jazeera “we’ve met all the state requirements … and we’ve worked diligently with air and water groups that have brought forth concerns.”
“Everyone has a different level of tolerance … but we feel like we can coexist with municipal operations and we’re working hard to show that. We’ve got hundreds of wells within municipalities and we don’t have any issues.”
Residents, however, tell a different story.
“The City Council is what is really allowing drilling in people’s backyards, and near schools, there’s this rush to get oil and gas wells in every little piece of land that’s open,” Ericson said.
Residents complain that their city council is not representative of their concerns, adding that Mineral Resources is hosting a “real shindig” of a party for the current mayor’s reelection campaign.
“We have a very old guard in our city council and right now 25 percent of the council’s budget comes from oil and gas revenues,” Schreibman said. “The more you pick the pockets of the oil and gas folks, the greater their influence becomes.”
To see that the residents don’t agree with the pace of industry expansion in their town, Schreibman suggested attending one of the city council meetings when projects are open for discussion.
“Over 200 people show up against, maybe four or five for.”
Greeley’s mayor, Tom Norton, tells a different story: “We’ve had hearings where we spend many hours listening to them.”
Norton referenced the Colorado Supreme Court decision that reversed Greeley’s decision to ban drilling within city limits. The court decision cites oil and gas resources as a property right that cannot be denied as long as the drilling is carried out within the state’s regulatory process.
“What they’re saying is they don’t like the fact that we don’t have the constitutional authority to change access to minerals,” Norton told Al Jazeera.
“The only authority we have is to regulate how it’s done in a way that doesn’t limit it.”
A project approved by city planners in Greeley’s Fox Run neighborhood would allow 16 wells to be placed under the area, with wellheads and tanks 350 feet from porches.
“I know a family from Fox Run who sold their house and left town because of this,” Schreibman said. “People are starting to move away, property values are going down.”
Mayor Norton said that residents had appealed the city’s decision to allow drilling in the Fox Run neighborhood, but in the end “it was determined that the original decision to allow it was made in accordance with our ordinances and because of that we approved it.”
Colorado’s multi-billion dollar oil and gas industry has mushroomed over the past decade. In June, oil production increased nearly 30 percent above the same period last year – to 161,000 barrels per day.
Post to be found at:
http://world.einnews.com/article/168462745/lGkXAdNKMpXt9mxG?afid=777&utm_source=MailingList&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Breaking+News%3A+world479-Friday
No comments:
Post a Comment