As the last day of the Colorado legislature came to an end yesterday, Representative Bernie Buescher and Senator Josh Penry helped push through important legislation for Mesa County citizens. House Bill 1414, increases protection for communities that are effected by evaporative waste pits. Waste pits are created by the oil and gas industry when they need to dispose of toxic waste generated by the production of natural gas.
The increase in oil and gas production has effected towns like DeBeque – a small, economically depressed town on the edge of Mesa County. DeBeque residents have lived with a large waste pit (Black Mountain) in their community for years. When two proposals for additional waste facilities hit the drawing board in the last year, residents fought back and avoided having their close knit community become an industrial wasteland.
DeBeque has been targeted by the industry as a waste dump because of the easy interstate access the town provides. DeBeque also sits in the middle of two Colorado Counties that are seeing increased production: Garfield County is the epicenter of western Colorado oil and gas activity. With BLM lands being leased all over the County, including inside the town of Palisade and Grand Junction watersheds, Mesa County is sure to see more activity in the coming years.
Thanks to Representative Buescher and Senator Penry for their leadership on this important human health and environmental issue.
