Garfield County Health Assessment Study

Garfield County residents met Tuesday, June 17, in the new Rifle campus of the Colorado Mountain College to hear about the risks of living in the gaspatch.

Even though recent headlines stated, “No Health Crisis in GarCo,” researcher Teresa Coons of the Grand Junction-based Saccomanno Research Institute noted there may be certain trends that warrant additional attention.   Other presenters repeatedly pointed to elevated background levels of benzene, a known carcinogen.  Benzene and other volatilized organic compounds (VOCs) escape into the atmosphere at all stages of natural gas development, said Dr. Russ Walker, professor of Environmental Sciences at Mesa State College.

According to the speakers, more data was needed to reach definitive conclusions about the health risks of living in Garfield County.   “Maybe we didn’t collect enough data,” said Jim Rada, Garfield County Environmental Health Specialist.  The researchers suggested more data collection and sample sites, different sampling techniques, and sampling at well pads during all stages of the drilling process.

Members of the audience, which included concerned citizens and energy company representatives, asked Dr. Russ Walker if he would live in a house that had a drilling rig installed nearby.  He responded by saying that it depends, but he’d “seriously consider moving” if the operators did not use “green completion” techniques.

Dr. Teresa Coons, researcher for the Saccomanno Institute, and Mayor Pro-Tem of Grand Junction, recently  explained her findings during an interview with Colorado Public Radio.

The report didn’t cost tax payers anything.  The study was funded by the fees collected from EnCana for their responsibility with the Divide Creek seep.

 

WORC launches biodiesel bus tour

At their semi-annual meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, staff and board members of the Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC) toasted the launching of the Homegrown Prosperity – Renewable Energy Biodiesel Bus Tour.  Seven WCC staff members and two WCC Board members participated in the event.

The 12-week bus tour, which will include seven states in the Rocky Mountain West, aims to foster homegrown prosperity by developing alternatives to fossil fuel-based energy, including biofuels, renewable electricity, energy efficiency, and local foods production and capacity. In addition, the tour hopes to highlight the urgent need to address climate change and our current dependence on fossil fuels.

The Biodiesel Bus will make its first official stop in Colorado on August 1 when it visits the Garfield County Fair.  From there, the bus travels to the Olathe Sweet Corn Festival in Olathe on August 2, the Ridgway Farmers Market on August 3, and several events in Grand Junction on August 7-8.  Stay tuned for more details!

 

New WCC intern

Western Colorado Congress would like to welcome Shannon Robinson as our new intern.  Shannon comes to WCC from Mesa State College where she’s studying Business Administration and Marketing.  She’s been active on campus as Student Body President, WeCAN member, and a participant in several other student organizations.  Shannon brings a wealth of experience and energy to the Grand Junction team.  Shannon will focus on WCC’s civic engagement work, event planning and help to revitalize WCC’s student organization, WeCAN.

In her spare time, Shannon enjoys transforming frogs into Princes. She also enjoys spending time with her three kids.  Help us welcome Shannon to Western Colorado Congress!

 

Drilling good for wildlife?

Please consider writing a letter-to-the-editor in response to the article in the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, “Drilling good for wildlife? Commissioners Meis, Rowland believe drilling helps the herds“.  While the Sentinel published its own, spot-on editorial (Out of the mouths of commissioners) on Meis’ comments, we need to reinforce the fact that reclamation is not happening in the gas patch. 

You can send a letter to the Sentinel at letters@gjds.com. Be sure to include your name, city and phone number, and keep your comments to 350 words.

 

Bull Mountain pipeline gets early ok

On April 30, a US District Judge ruled against a request for a preliminary injunction against the US Forest Service’s and Bureau of Land Management’s approval of construction of the Bull Mountain Pipeline.

The pipeline would connect gasfields in the North Fork Valley (north of Paonia) with a main pipeline in the Interstate 70 corridor. It includes an eight-mile stretch through three separate national forest roadless areas.

Because bulldozers could start rolling within days to clear the pipeline route, WCC and a coalition of conservation groups have filed an appeal to the judge’s decision with the Tenth Circuit Court, again requesting a preliminary injunction.  Without the injunction, the pipeline route could be cleared while WCC and its allies wait for the judge to decide on our lawsuit, doing irreparable harm to the roadless areas.

Earthjustice filed our lawsuit in federal district court on March 5 challenging the Forest Service and BLM on their approval of this 25-mile natural gas pipeline.  The lawsuit argues that the agencies’ approval violates the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule by allowing a de facto road to be built through three national forest roadless areas. It also asserts that the agencies failed to consider the impacts of hundreds of additional gas wells that would be made possible by the new pipeline capacity.

On April 17th our Earthjustice lawyer, Robin Cooley, argued our request for a preliminary injunction before U.S. District Judge Robert Blackburn in Denver.  In denying our request, Blackburn said that in order to win an injunction, we must show that we are likely to win our overall lawsuit.  He concluded that our case was not strong enough to merit the injunction.

Western Slope Environmental Resource Council (a WCC affiliate serving Delta County and western Gunnison County) and High Country Citizens Alliance (based in Crested Butte and covering Gunnison County) are the local citizens’ groups joining with WCC in the lawsuit.

Pitkin County also joined the lawsuit as officials there fear construction of the pipeline could lead to the drilling of gas wells in the western part of the county near Carbondale. No new wells have been drilled in the county over the last few years, but thousands of acres of public land have been leased to gas companies.

 

Buescher, Penry champion waste pit bill

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. 

 

Garfield County on BBC

Check out this recent segment done by the BBC on the health effects of gas drilling in Garfield County, “a bucolic corner of the Rocky Mountains.”

Rick Roles, who has 19 wells on his property all within 300 yds of his house, points to blood tests as evidence that he’s being poisoned.  “I’m positive for benzene, toluene.  These aren’t substances that should be in your body.  These should be in the gasoline in the tank of your car.”

 

Support Safer Gas Drilling!

Rapid and careless oil and gas development in Colorado is hurting wildlife, water quality and the health of people who live in the gas patch.  New draft rules would protect our environment and human health in new ways.  Government officials need to hear that we support the draft rules and want them to be even stronger. 

WCC and two of our member groups have filed for party-status for the Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission’s (COGCC’s) rule-making hearing scheduled from June 23 – 27.  We will be represented by Western Resource Advocates and Earthjustice.  Being a party to the rulemaking gives us the legal right to present testimony and expert witnesses and cross-examine other witnesses. 

However, you — as an individual citizen — can submit your own comments on the draft rules.  Comments must be sent by May 29 to Dave Neslin, Acting Director, COGCC, 1120 Lincoln Street, Suite 801, Denver CO 80203 or to dnr.ogcc@state.co.us

 

 

Oil Shale Comment Period Ends!

Monday, April 21, 2008 was the end of the comment period for the BLM’s Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Oil Shale and Tar Sands.  With the help of citizens, local governments and conservation groups, we generated over 60, 000 comments!  According to the BLM, an oil shale industry in northwest Colorado would drastically change our landscapes.  IF the BLM and private industry got their way, over 300,000 acres of Colorado public lands would be dedicated for oil shale extraction.  If that happens, water would be diverted from agriculture and municipalities, recreation opportunities would be drastically reduced, air quality would drop significantly, and our close-knit communities would become industrialized and urban.

Even though the comment period is over, citizens can still make a difference!  Contact your local and state representatives; tell them you are concerned about the fast pace of oil shale development in your backyard.  Let your elected officials know that a thorough research, development and demonstration process is critical to the responsible development of oil shale!!  Tell your representative to support the continuation of a funding limitation that stops all leasing activities on public lands before technology is proven to be environmentally sound.