9 January 2012

There has been lots of media attention over the past few years on natural gas production and specifically, the process of high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing or "fracking." So what's all the buzz about? Fracking is a process in which millions of gallons of water, sand and chemicals are injected into gas wells at high pressures to force open fissures in underground shale layers to release trapped gas for extraction. There are growing concerns about the potential impacts on air and water quality of this process and with more than 7,800 active gas wells in neighboring Garfield County; it's an important issue that's close to home. Visit http://www.earthworksaction.org/issues/detail/hydraulic_fracturing_101 to check out an overview of the process.

The fracking process uses as many as 750 chemicals, some of which are known carcinogens and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), such as xylene, and benzene. Environmental groups and scientists are concerned about the potential health and environmental impacts of fracking chemicals. There are concerns that fracking chemicals can cause cancer, neurological disorders, endocrine disruption and other health problems in humans.

Visit http://www.ewg.org/gas-drilling-and-fracking?gclid=CPr89qjBoq0CFQQCQAod2AJynw to view The Environmental Working Group's published information on some of the potential risks of fracking or http://www.endocrinedisruption.com/home.php to view information from as the Endocrine Disruption Exchange. Proponents of the industry argue that fracking is safe; however this report was released by EPA officials this year connecting water contamination in Pavillion, Wyoming to fracking in nearby natural gas wells. To learn more, visit http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=fracking-linked-water-contamination-federal-agency.

Health and environmental concerns have been exacerbated by the fact that the exact chemical cocktails used in fracking have been kept secret until recently. Oil and gas companies claim that exact mixtures are trade secrets and that disclosing them could threaten their business. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 supported this claim by making the industry exempt from the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act. This provision, known as the "Halliburton Loophole," meant that fracking would not be regulated by the U.S. EPA and the oil and gas industry would not be required to disclose chemicals injected into the ground during the fracking process.

Work is being done to increase industry transparency and protect water and air quality. Fracfocus.org, a collaborative project of the Ground Water Protection Council and the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, enables members of the oil and gas industry to voluntarily post records of chemicals used and provides users with general information on fracking and well locations. More importantly, in a groundbreaking decision in December, the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission now requires drillers to disclose all chemicals used in fracking, along with their concentrations and mixtures.

If you'd like to learn more about local oil and gas production, visit http://www.garfield-county.com/oil-gas/index.aspx. There are watchdog groups, including the Thompson Divide Coalition and the Grand Valley Citizens Alliance, that are working to help protect the region from the negative impacts of oil and gas production. 

For the full newsletter, please visit http://aspenpitkin.com/Living-in-the-Valley/Green-Initiatives/Aspen-ZGreen/

For more information, contact the City of Aspen at (970) 920-5000 or Pitkin County at (970) 920-5200.