Garfield County should pursue health impact studies as designed

All this time I thought the gas companies were drilling for natural gas. Recently I met a guy – I’ll call him “Bob”. He drives truck in the gas fields. What does he haul? Crude oil — to a refinery in Denver and pipeline injection points in Rangely and southeastern Utah. And, according to Bob, LOTS of crude oil. They’re pulling out so much crude oil, he claims the truckers could haul 24/7. “People don’t realize just how much crude oil they’re getting out of these wells,” he said.

Call me clueless. I didn’t know crude oil was a by-product of natural gas drilling. Makes sense when you think H2S is a by-product, too. I just never thought about it. Then there was that crude oil dumping (or spill?) near Webster Hill. OBTW, I didn’t notice anything in the Post Independent about the incident. Weird.

I was talking about it to a woman whose husband works in the gas fields. I’ll call her “Jane”. “I feel kind of silly,” I said. “You know, I have not been able to figure out why, when the price of natural gas keeps falling and the demand for natural gas keeps declining, why do they keep drilling? I had no clue the gas companies were getting so much crude oil out of the wells around here.”

“They aren’t taking crude oil out of these wells,” Jane insisted.

So I told her about Bob the crude oil trucker.

She scoffed. “That’s not true. I think he was pulling your leg.”

I don’t think so. But I will admit to some confusion. The thing is, I don’t know Jane well enough to know whether she’s clueless like me and just doesn’t know about the crude oil, or whether she was covering up.

In his recent article, 2012 Natural Gas Price Forecast: Why to Avoid the “Widow Maker”, Jack Barnes (Global Macro Trends Specialist!) explains that the Texas Eagle Ford shale wells “are being drilled for their crude oil-like liquids rather than their gas, at close to $100 a barrel for crude versus about $2.65 for natural gas.”

Okay, so that’s Texas, but it is shale formation. Huh. Maybe the same thing is going on in the Piceance Basin. Maybe Bob wasn’t pulling my leg after all.

Then I got to wondering, what if Jane was covering up?

Are they also covering up the crude oil spill?

Why would the gas companies want to keep it a secret that they’re really drilling for gas just to get at the crude oil?

Are the rules different for gas wells vs oil wells?

Are the gas companies paying taxes on that crude oil?

In 2010, I designed and received support from the Garfield Board of County Commissioners to continue studying groundwater in the gas patch south of Silt.

Phase III of the Mamm Creek study was the first in the nation to utilize monitoring wells drilled specifically to provide piezometric and water quality data in the gas patch. (Thanks to the public-minded generosity of the Protzes and Pepi Langegger, who allowed the wells to be placed on their properties).

A report was to be presented at the June 2011 Energy Advisory Board meeting, which I scheduled because the consultant and I had reviewed two rounds of data and I felt the public was entitled to learn the results.

The data showed that hydrocarbons were present in all six monitoring wells that we drilled. Not only was there thermogenic methane, but compounds known as homologs of methane also appeared, suggesting one of the following:

• The drinking water aquifer (the Wasatch Formation) contained native hydrocarbons.

• The Wasatch received hydrocarbons that naturally migrated from commercial gas targets below, such as the Williams Fork Formation.

• Gas wells induced migration of hydrocarbons up into the drinking water aquifer.

Analysis of the piezometric data from the monitoring wells would help answer the question as to which of these processes was responsible for the presence of hydrocarbons in the monitoring wells and possibly some of the drinking water wells found to contain methane in Phase II of the study.

The consultants asked me for another month to review data and develop their conclusions. That would have concluded the study by July, or August.

Now it appears the BOCC may have extended the study, but it is not clear why or even that they have. Meanwhile, the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission did its own study showing that gas wells have leaked into the aquifer. See East Mamm Creek Project Drilling and Cementing Study of June 20, 2011.

Garfield County residents deserve to know what happened with the approximately $300,000 that was spent on Phase III, and why the report is being delayed.

Judy Jordan

GARFIELD COUNTY – Authorities are asking the public for help in finding any information about someone who illegally dumped 1,000 gallons of crude oil near Highway 6 on the Western Slope.

The Colorado State Patrol says someone dumped the oil sometime between the evening of Jan. 11 and the morning of Jan 12 near Webster Hill on Highway 6. Troopers say along with the cost to taxpayers for the cleanup, the oil could also pose an environmental risk.

Anyone with information about this crime is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 970-945-0101 or 720-913-STOP (7867). Information can also be submitted online at  Garfield County Crime Stoppers.  They are offering up to $1,000 for any information that will lead to the arrest and/or indictment of the suspect or suspects involved in this crime.

Webster Hill is located between West Rifle and Rulison. View map

Coalition organizing Glenwood, Four Mile to oppose gas drilling
Thompson Divide Coalition draws a receptive crowd

Or could it just be Heather McGregor’s cluelessness seeping into the story? Maybe she ought to bone up on GarCo gas drilling in The Paper’s archives to cover the six years she was away from journalism. Or she could save herself some time and drive through western Garfield County – at night. But I’ll give her credit for her willingness to learn now that the industry has its sites on Thompson Divide, which is more like her back yard, than say, Silt.

To some, Silt is just a speed trap with potholes. When it comes to gas drilling, I know it has been easier for the folks up valley to look the other way. Sometimes it’s easier for me to look the other way, and I live here. Eventually you can’t look away anymore, because it’s everywhere you look. If I had a dollar for every time someone said, “If you don’t like gas drilling why don’t you move?” – well – I would have moved. Anyway those people, I get.

The ones who get to me are those who say, “How could you let this happen?” Time to whip off those rose-colored glasses, people. Gas companies have a way of sneaking in the back door when no one is paying attention. And there are plenty of people in strategic government and political positions who are willing to look the other way.

To be fair we have been living with the impacts of gas drilling in Silt since 2003, so I am a bit of a gaslander snob. Reading the article I got this vision of doe-eyed newbies. I can’t even remember what their kind of wide-eyed innocence feels like. All I have left after nearly a decade of the industry’s PSYOPs are my own jaded observations.

First of all, McGregor seemed impressed with the number of people who showed up. Thirty people? The RSPN can draw more than thirty people to a business meeting – which is not to imply RSPN business meetings are boring – just sayin … they will need to bump up those numbers.

“When you talk about truck traffic, boy, Glenwood will be at the hub. All of these trucks will originate from I-70 and come across the bridge into Glenwood Springs,” said Judy Fox-Perry, secretary of the Carbondale-based Thompson Divide Coalition.

I’ll see her “boy” and raise it to “boy howdy”. Visualize a constant stream of hundreds of pickups, plus dozens of water trucks, repair trucks, tractor trailers hauling heavy equipment and hazardous materials. They will work around existing traffic patterns to avoid heavy traffic times, which seems like a good idea. Except the result will be non-stop “truck traffic” during the day, all day with no let up. Ever. Not even weekends. And it’s not just the traffic, there will be diesel smog, too.

“Are our waters going to get polluted?” asked John Traul, a Four Mile resident.

Yes. See the map. How many creeks are in the drilling area? Count them. There are five.

Common sense says even if they built a Target store up there some pollution would occur. Natural gas drilling happens underground, where the water is. Perhaps Mr. Traul has never heard of the West Divide Creek seep. I recommend Journey of the Forsaken by Lisa Bracken. Reading her blog would also be a good way to get to know Encana, who might be moving into their neighborhood someday.

A better question would be: What should we do when our water gets polluted? Oh, he did ask that.

What would be the recourse, he asked, if Four Mile Creek or the water table underlying Four Mile neighborhoods were to become polluted?

That’s when things can get real dicey. The gas company will tell people that their water was polluted to begin with. They won’t be able to prove otherwise because water quality testing – and air quality monitoring – should begin before drilling commences. But that never happens because it’s expensive, so it’s next to impossible to convince municipal or county governments to pay for it. Government officials tend to see water quality testing and air quality monitoring as unfriendly to business. To hell with public health and the environment.

One thing is certain. The industry loathes negative publicity. People getting together, comparing notes, talking about the cumulative impacts of gas drilling, and then it’s a front page story in the paper. The industry hates that. The coalition should make friends with Heather McGregor. The Paper can give their cause the exposure it deserves. Provided of course the industry doesn’t get to McGregor and change her mind. The industry is good at changing people’s minds, especially in the media.

I am certainly no expert. I wouldn’t ask me for advice. I do know that public pressure won’t stop gas drilling. The people can delay or postpone it, but to my knowledge they have never succeeded in stopping it.

The issues involving natural gas drilling – leases, unitization, well-spacing, transportation, pipelines, etc. – are intentionally complicated to keep the public dazed and confused. It isn’t necessary to become an expert on all the issues, though now might be a good time to look into how we let this happen out here in western Garfield County.

Gas pipeline would bore beneath Colorado River

The BLM will accept public comments until January 20, 2012

BLM seeks public comment on natural gas pipeline proposal south of Rifle

It’s always hard to know what to say in public comments other than: “Are you effing kidding me? What a dangerous and stupid idea!” They probably don’t want to hear stuff like that. But I’m not all that certain they pay any attention whatsoever to public comments. They are just required to allow them.

So why is this pipeline such a bad idea? Because pipelines explode.

Acres of devastation from Williams gas pipeline explosion in Alabama

Another pipeline explosion in Ohio

Here’s one in Texas

Gas pipelines also ruin property values

Down the Pipe
When the drilling rigs are long gone, the dangers of gas pipelines will be just beginning.

It has been a strange year for us in Gasland. We have hydrogen sulfide in our air and benzene our water, but both of those are “naturally occurring” and not in large enough quantities to be harmful and there is no such thing as “cumulative effects”. So even though the water makes us sick and the air makes us wheeze it’s better than living in say – downtown LA.

But something did change in 2011. Not only in the US but around the world, public awareness of the evils of fracking has grown. And the propaganda – I prefer to call it psyops – has been coming fast and furious. These guys think we’re really stupid  My hope for 2012 is that they just keep this coming because it’s highly entertaining and great blog fodder.

Along the way, some artists and comedians have also had a little fun at the industry’s expense. No doubt I haven’t seen it all but here are some of my favorites.

In this first video, comedian Juliana Furlano from The Ironic News Report calls bullshit on gas industry propaganda.

Natural Gas Company Propaganda is BULL S*!T! The Ironic News Report Calls Them Out!

Don’t miss this hilarious send up of Terry the Frackosaurus from Stephen Colbert. I can’t post the video so just follow the link.

Anti-frack attack starring Terry the Frackosaurus
To promote fracking, Talisman Energy releases Talisman Terry the Frackosaurus, the funnest energy extraction-based character since Mountaintop Mining Manny.

In Australia it’s called “coal seam fracking” and these two comedians poke fun at the political hypocrisy behind it all.

The Hamster Wheel: Fracking with Alan Jones

This one isn’t satire. It’s a cool song by Ben-Ulric from South Africa. I was struck by how much the landscape in the video looks like western Garfield County — before fracking that is.

Fracking Blues

 Thank you for reading From the Styx

Anybody want to buy a house?

I know. This is so not funny.

I call it the canary house. There it stands on a tiny butte overlooking Silt, as a reminder. This is where we’re headed.

My heart goes out to Beth and Bill Strudley and their two sons. I am only an acquaintance of theirs throughout their ordeal and the Antero meetings we attended last winter. So I can say with all kinds of objectivity, they have endured unimaginable anguish with remarkable grit and courage. I admire their strength and perseverance.

Now, what was once their home, the canary house remains as a symbol. Whenever I drive by I think of the Strudleys and wish them well. I remember it is more important than ever to keep the faith and beat the drum for public health and the environment.

We occupy Silt.

Merry Christmas.

Just look at these headlines:

Colorado approves disclosure of fracking fluids

Colorado oil and gas regulators impose new hydraulic fracturing chemical disclosure rule

State now requires disclosure of fracking

Sounds pretty tough. Environmentalists read those and think, boy we got ‘em by the balls now.

Of course that’s the whole idea. To make the public think they got a terrific deal. They called it “groundbreaking”. I’m pretty sure it’s working.

To make it look good the COGCC and COGA did have to write up some actual regulations requiring the operators to report chemicals and concentrations and post them at the chemical registry website FracFocus.org. But the new rules don’t go into effect until April 2012. And the folks at FracFocus don’t have to make the database searchable until January 1, 2013. According to my calculations, that gives industry lawyers a little over a year to figure out how to circumvent those new rules. By then the public will have forgotten all about fracking disclosure rules – well, except for a few diehards and zealots, but no one listens to them anyway.

In another stealth move, Operators aren’t required to file their reports until 60 days after conclusion of a frack job, which means they can get the job done first without pesky inquiries from the public. In that way they are relieved of any responsibility for public health or environmental concerns during the fracking process. Way to cover their own asses.

If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought these rules were drawn up by the legal firm Loopholes R Us. But I do know better. Clearly these rules were hammered out by the COGCC and COGA during late night sessions in back rooms. The result is a work of art – in the contractual sense. In my own read through, I found the Final Modified Staff Proposal breathtaking.

The much maligned “trade secret loophole” is a little complicated to fully explain here, which is precisely the beauty of it. So many subsections, so many different ways to legally interpret. To sum it up, they conjured up a magical Form 41 for the industry, which means they can claim trade secret on a chemical or concentration and they don’t have to file a disclosure report. And the COGCC won’t take any action to verify the claim. The trade secret protection can be challenged. But only through proper legal channels. And the claimant has to prove harm from the unknown chemical or concentration. But how can you prove harm from an unknown chemical?

You can’t. Anyone can appreciate the perfection in that.

As a special added bonus, the COGCC will act as a legal buffer between the claimant and the industry. Vendors and Operators won’t have to lift a finger. Now that’s government and industry walking hand in hand, then pausing to stick their tongues down each others’ throats.

I call this next one the “ultimate absolution loophole”. It’s a favorite.

(4) Inaccuracies in information. A Vendor is not responsible for any inaccuracy in information that is provided to the Vendor by a third party manufacturer of the hydraulic fracturing additives. A Service Provider is not responsible for any inaccuracy in information that is provided to the Service Provider by the Vendor. An Operator is not responsible for any inaccuracy in information provided to the Operator by the Vendor or Service Provider.

What it all boils down to is, if there’s a problem no one is responsible. You’d have to agree, that’s pretty darn good.

There are loads more loopholes in the language. For the most part, it’s all about “shall” and “may”. Chemicals “shall” remain confidential. Vendors “may” disclose chemicals to the public. In legal terms, “shall” means “must” and “may” means “not if you don’t want to”. Brilliant.

After the whole kerfuffle over hydrogen sulfide emissions last summer, I wondered if the fracking disclosure rules would address it in any way. I assumed they wouldn’t mention it specifically because, as everyone knows by now, H2S exists only in the public’s mind and then it dissipates harmlessly into the atmosphere. But I did find a cloaked reference to it in Subpart c: Disclosures Not Required. I refer to this as the “H2S absolution loophole”.

Rule 205A will not require suppliers, service companies or operators to disclose chemicals which are not disclosed to them, were not intentionally added to the hydraulic fracturing fluid, or occur incidentally or are otherwise unintentionally present. This part of Rule 205A is similar to the proposed Texas disclosure rule and is intended to ensure that requiring disclosure of all chemicals will not impose unfair or unreasonable burdens on companies.

Man, they thought of everything.

But the greatest show of true genius is actually invisible. And no one in the media figured it out. There’s no enforcement. Isn’t that incredible? They made up all these rules and they didn’t outline any enforcement provisions. While the rules require that records must be kept, the only hint of enforcement is that the COGCC can request the records and the Vendors or record keepers have three business days to comply. All of which means, if they are so inclined, the Vendors can just dummy up reports for each frack job and no one will be the wiser.

Finally – and perhaps they meant this as a joke and forgot to take it out of the final draft – the base fine is $1000. Yup. You read that right. One thousand dollars. Which is less than the cost of hiring an employee to file the reports in the first place.

Guess the joke’s on us.

Amazing psyops. Someone was paying attention at that conference back in November. My only concern is that this PR campaign arrived so close on the heels of the psyops planning meeting. The public might get suspicious.

Nah. That won’t happen. People are stupid.

Read the Final Modified Staff Proposal (To access the PDF, click on “Hydraulic Fracturing Disclosure Rulemaking”, then click on “Final Modified Staff Proposal”)

Like a lot of other people, we’re still grappling with the news. Even though the process has been slowed down, that provides little emotional relief. News of the application was like a kick in the gut. As it sinks in, so do the realizations. We can ask for money to dig new wells. We can ask for air quality monitoring. We can ask for closed drilling systems. We can ask for chemical markers. We might even be granted one of those requests. But we can’t stop the drilling.

This article tells it all, there’s too much money at stake:  Oil and gas industry has Garfield County flush with cash
Fund reserves total about $120M

So it’s all good for GarCo. But I think it’s weird how at the same time the school district had to go begging for money from the taxpayers, which was voted down. Seems like the average citizen should see more tangible benefits from all this environmental destruction than a scrapped health assessment study and yet another county agency whose members will act like the money belongs to them.

With the increased drilling activity – up to 850 new wells – Silt will change a lot over the next six years. Some people will look on this change entirely from an economic standpoint. Gas development will be good for the Silt economy. The town will probably get a grocery store. Alpine Bank might even lower their standards and open up a branch here. Maybe that’s all Silt ever had going for it. A lot of gas …

For me and my famly, like many other locals I’m sure, this is the time to weigh our options. As it is now we don’t drink Silt water and don’t consider it safe to drink, even with a water treatment system in our home, including a reverse osmosis tap, plus a PUR filter on our refrigerator dispenser. Last summer we recognized some of our own health issues listed among the “common symptoms of exposure to long-term, low levels of hydrogen sulfide” emissions. At least now we know what’s poisoning us. Air and water quality will only worsen with increased drilling activity.

As evidenced by their behavior in the initial application process, Antero would prefer the public not have the right to defend public health, the environment, and our property values. While we still have the right to do so, that is exactly what we’ll do. We’ll go out fighting.

In other news –

State unveils fracking chemical disclosure rules
Comments sought through Nov. 23, formal hearing set for Dec. 5

A bad case of too little too late. The trade secrets exemption makes these rules useless. Also where is the verification? The operators will be required to file chemicals disclosure reports. So what? No one will ever verify whether the reports are accurate. And what will come of that? Will they be required to marker the chemicals so they can be traced to our water supplies? Fat chance. Government continues to allow the operators to monitor and regulate themselves with little or no oversight or penalties. These disclosure rules patronize the public with a wink and nod to the industry.

BLM experiments with camouflage to hide renewable power structures

This article is hilarious. Since when is a natural gas compressor station part of renewable energy?

Scenic impacts often heighten conflicts over development on public land, and the BLM hopes to reduce them. “We don’t want to have a scarred landscape out there,” says Hyperstealth Biotechnology Corp. President Guy Cramer, who created the current design.

Is this what they mean by “scarred landscape”?

Hydrogen Sulfide: Lifting of Administrative Stay

EPA: Industry must disclose hydrogen sulfide emissions

Now the oil & gas industry will be required to report how industries are poisoning us.

It’s difficult to look upon a decision that was 17 years in the making and call it progress. But there it is. As we beg and plead for air quality monitoring, and as we crawl toward that goal inch by frustrating inch it’s all we have.

We already know H2S is in the air. We need air quality monitoring to prove it. Then what will we have achieved? The light at the end of this tunnel really is an oncoming train.

The question is: What is the EPA going to do about H2S emissions?

Antero temporarily pulls South Gravel Trend drilling plan
Company will read through agency comments, resubmit plan at later date

Oh blah, blah, blah. Like I said in my previous post, Antero pulled the app because of the publicity. They want us chickens to settle down and go on about our business and forget about all this so they can move forward with their “secret drilling activity” – oops – I mean “increased drilling activity”.

Besides, their little stunt where they tried to circumvent proper procedure with the town of Silt was also exposed. They need time for that to get swept under the rug, too. One thing I’ve learned about the gas industry. They’re in no hurry. They have the whole future in their hands.

Now let us revisit the evidently cozy relationship between Antero and Mayor Dave as described in the 10/28 article:  Antero plans increased drilling activity south of Silt

I can see how people might read the part about how Mayor Dave can’t remember anything about the letter from Antero and think “what an incompetent boob that mayor is” and let it go at that.

But it’s not that simple. First of all Antero.

“She [Community Development Director Janet Aluise] wrote that [Lars] Inman also informed her that Mayor Dave Moore was listed as Antero’s contact in Silt, and that Inman reported Moore had submitted comments regarding the drilling plan on behalf of the town.”

Oh bullshit, Lars Inman.

He knows very well Mayor Dave is not the proper contact person for the town of Silt. Antero didn’t just crawl out from underneath a rock. They’ve been doing business in Silt since 2003. I’m pretty sure they get how the whole chain of command thing works in municipal government. The Mayor is a figurehead. The town administrator and the community development director (or planner), handle the business of the town.

Antero pulled a fast one. They know they didn’t follow proper procedure. It doesn’t matter if Mayor Dave called up Lars Inman and said, “Send the application papers to me.” They can send him anything they want, but anything they send him should also be sent to the town staff. Talk about bad faith business dealings. I mean, why should the public or anyone on the town staff trust Antero after they pulled this stunt and then lied about it?

Antero wasn’t always like this. For instance, back in 2005, they participated in a CDP with local communities. The EAB was even talking about forming a land purchase company to buy out landowners’ properties affected by gas drilling. Antero’s then-VP Terry Dobkins was not opposed to the idea saying it had worked in Texas, it was up for negotiation, and “everything should be on the table.”

Wow.

So what’s going on right here, right now?

In the recent article, Mayor Dave said he’s “pro-gas”. He didn’t always feel that way. Remember toll booths? In 2007, an angry Mayor Dave wrote a letter to editor complaining about the gas companies tearing up the roads in Silt and proposed the hare-brained – and I might add illegal – scheme of putting up toll booths to make them pay for damages, and of course every other non-gas affiliated trucking company, too.

So what changed his mind?

Two words – Autumn Ridge. Mayor Dave’s phantom new development, which wasn’t hatched until 2008. Remember Nightmare on Main Street? It’s not back. Autumn Ridge never went away. The economy tanked. Mayor Dave is first a developer and second the mayor of Silt. He’s in it for what’s in it for him. And what’s in it for him is to make Autumn Ridge happen – or die trying.

If you haven’t connected the dots yet let me connect them for you. For Mayor Dave those 850 gas wells over the next six years mean jobs and workers in Silt. To him that translates into Autumn Ridge will finally have a snowball’s chance in actual hell of breaking ground. Never mind that gas workers are transient renters and rarely buy homes, especially in this crappy economy. His plans are to build townhomes – transient housing. He’ll just lease them all and make more money over the long term. It’s a win-win for Mayor Dave and Antero, too.

Gale Carmoney had been Antero’s previous contact person. He was terminated as Community Development Director in April 2010. Sometime after that Mayor Dave must have contacted Antero and made himself the contact person. There was obviously a huge staff upheaval at that time and none of the new staff was made aware of the change. In other words, Mayor Dave didn’t tell anyone on staff that he was the new Antero contact person. Because they would not have allowed it. I repeat: In Silt, the mayor is just a figurehead. He has no power (HRC Section 2-4).  Antero knows that.

A year ago Mayor Dave read a letter in support of Antero at a special meeting of the BOCC in Rifle. He claimed the letter was approved by the SiltBOTs. It was not. He took a lot of heat from citizens at the meeting and afterward. A reliable source told me that after the whole kerfuffle, Mayor Dave sent out an email to trustees and staff and decreed there would be no more discussion about gas drilling at the board level or public meetings. Antero must have been thrilled to have Silt’s mayor in their pocket with such minimal effort.

In light of all that, now Mayor Dave wants you to believe he doesn’t remember nuttin bout no letters, or nuttin no-how. It would be funny if it wasn’t so unethical.

Mayor Dave doesn’t want any public discussion about gas well drilling in Silt. Neither does Antero. That’s why Antero and Mayor Dave tried to circumvent proper procedure with the application. Luckily they got caught — this time. Let’s make sure they don’t get their way next time.

At the Silt P&Z meeting on November 1, Town Administrator Pamela Woods said that Antero pulled their application from the COGCC website. Woods and Community Development Director Janet Aluise explained that Antero said the application will be reviewed and re-submitted at a later date. Woods left it up to the P&Z commissioners whether they wanted to take it off the agenda. Fiona Lloyd, Sandy Pickard, Tod Tibbetts and I let them know we were there to comment about the Antero application. Aluise suggested if the commissioners wanted to discuss it they move it to the beginning of the meeting.

Chairman Mark Rinehart opened up the discussion by allowing me to speak. I said I thought it was appropriate at this time, even though the application had been pulled to urge the P&Z, as well as the town board and the staff to hold a series of public meetings to ensure everyone is involved in the process as the town addresses increased gas well drilling so close to our community. “The process thus far concerns me. The prospect of increased drilling activity so close to town is disturbing,” I said.

Fiona Lloyd spoke next with a “public rebuke to Mayor Moore” (Moore was present in the audience but did not speak) for his handling of the letter about the application, as described in this recent article in The Paper.

Antero plans increased drilling activity south of Silt
Company seeks approval for up to 850 new wells

Director Aluise posted on the overhead projector and read from the letter she sent to Antero on behalf of the town on October 24. In the letter, along with the town’s concerns about air and water quality, and truck traffic, etc., she stated that the town is applying for a DoLA grant to drill two new water wells north of the Colorado River. The town is asking Antero for matching funds.

From then on the commissioners commented with their concerns about air quality, water quality, and quality of life in general. Commissioner Shivley expressed concerns about Silt’s watershed – the Colorado River – and the close proximity of increased drilling to that. “It’s good that the town is moving forward with new water wells, but what if those become contaminated from this new drilling?” he asked. Shivley added that if the gas companies were required to use chemical markers we would be able to trace contamination, should it occur.

Commissioner Bobby Hays mentioned there have been gas wells on Stillwater land with no problems or complaints.

Tod Tibbetts asked to speak. He reminded the commissioners that Silt has a set of ordinances related to oil and gas development (Silt Municipal Code: Chapter 17.75). At the time the gas wells were drilled at Stillwater it was still annexed into the town (Stillwater was de-annexed in 2008), therefore Antero was required to put in a closed system to mitigate impacts.

Even though the 8,500 acres to be developed are not in the town of Silt, and therefore not subject to the ordinances, Tibbetts recommended that the commissioners review the oil & gas ordinances and use them as guidelines as they move forward in the application process. He said the town can start taking actions now beginning with public hearings. In addition, he said the town should move forward with annexation of the Silt Nature Preserve as quickly as possible. Antero owns the mineral rights and if they decide to drill on the land the town will have more leverage. Director Aluise said the annexation is in the works. She reported back on Wednesday (11/2) that she is waiting for the annexation map and hopes to begin the process in a few more weeks.

Tibbetts urged the town to establish baseline air quality monitoring as soon as possible. A discussion followed where Commissioners Hays and Meredith Robinson said they thought the county was monitoring air quality in Silt. Tibbetts, Lloyd, Pickard, and I assured them Garfield County does not monitor air quality in Silt. Director Aluise said she will talk to Jim Rada (GarCo’s environmental health director) about air quality monitoring in Silt.

Fiona Lloyd provided additional comments in the way of warning the commissioners that the Silt Mesa residents’ experiences with Antero have shown that they prefer to control the message during the public hearing process and they can shut it down very quickly as they did in March this year. She recommended they consider getting the COGCC involved in public hearings. “However,” she said. “You should know that the COGCC does not take into consideration cumulative impacts of gas drilling. They look at the impacts of one well at a time.” She added that with over 700 new wells proposed over the next few years the town must consider the cumulative impacts.

The majority of commissioners and the town staff were receptive to our concerns and suggestions. I’m convinced they understand the importance of public hearings.

I am pleased with the progress the four of us made on Tuesday night. With our presence at the P&Z meeting we started the conversation. I believe part of the reason Antero pulled their application this week was because of the publicity. They prefer to keep the application process under the radar, with as little public comment as possible. We know this about them. That’s why we showed up at the meeting – to start the discussion, with or without them. In this case, without them. Antero did not send a rep to the meeting, evidently because they had pulled the application.

Let the public comments begin. Feel free to contact the town of Silt, send a letter to the editor. Make your feelings known about the proposed increased drilling activity so close to Silt and the Colorado River (see the map in the pdf link).

Antero plans increased drilling activity south of Silt
Company seeks approval for up to 850 new wells

When I first read the headline I thought it said “Antero plans secret drilling activity …” My conjunctivitis-clogged eyes were playing tricks on me. Then I read the article. Perhaps my eyes did not deceive me after all.

There will be a Silt Planning & Zoning meeting at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, November 1, at the Silt Town Hall. Antero’s comprehensive drilling plan for 850 new wells along the southern boundary of Silt will be discussed and public comments will be taken. I was told a rep from Antero will be there.

I will post more on this issue during the coming days and weeks.

State, Noble confirm 46 hydrogen sulfide incidents

“Our well pads are a closed system. There is no release to the atmosphere,” he [Flaherty] said, of potentially toxic emissions during drilling, hydraulic fracturing or completion procedures. That means the gas stays in the well, pipes and storage vessels “all the way to the point of sale. There is no emission or escape route.”

Noble has strict H2S safety procedures
Down-hole treatment with ‘biocides’ done to neutralize toxic gas

Flaherty said there may be times when small amounts of H2S can escape to the outside atmosphere, such as when tanks are opened for testing of the contents, or during well servicing activities later in the life of a well.

Wait a minute. Didn’t Flaherty say “no release to the atmosphere”? No escape route?

According to Flaherty, when high levels of H2S are detected the well pad is evacuated, and specialists wear protective gear and self-contained breathing apparatuses. Do they evacuate nearby residences? Do they monitor the air quality around the nearby residences?

Is there hydrogen sulfide in the air we breathe – or not? The COGCC and Noble Energy say not. I say prove it. Where is the scientific evidence? We have absolutely no reason to believe what they tell us. They have not conducted any air quality monitoring. I don’t believe them. Anyone who has smelled the air in Parachute doesn’t believe them either.

An Encyclopedia Britannica article about acid rain says this about hydrogen sulfide:

Hydrogen sulfide rapidly oxidizes to gases that dissolve in water to form sulfurous and sulfuric acids. These compounds contribute in large part to the “acid rain” that can kill sensitive aquatic organisms and damage marble monuments and stone buildings.

46 hydrogen sulfide incidents – and those are just the ones we found out about. If that’s not enough evidence of a serious problem, I don’t know what is. It’s time for Dave Neslin and the COGCC to stop playing games with hydrogen sulfide emissions. They need to get serious about public health and the environment. Get the EPA involved. Collect rainwater samples. Start air quality monitoring today.

In other news –

EPA to regulate water impacts from gas-drilling  — in 2014 — if there still is an EPA …

State says H2S is not a public health risk in Garfield County
Tests uncover only low levels of deadly hydrogen sulfide gas at area wells

The COGCC allowed well operators to test a “selective sample” of wells for the presence of hydrogen sulfide. No mention of whether Noble Energy participated in their informal little study. Not that it matters. I have no doubt the well operators – Antero, EnCana, Williams, Laramie Energy – selected their test wells carefully.

So the “tests” show that the well operators have a pretty good handle on which wells are not spewing high levels of hydrogen sulfide. The “tests” also prove that some  wells do emit low levels of hydrogen sulfide on a regular basis. Without air quality testing we have no way of knowing if those levels vary, or what levels of hydrogen sulfide the public is exposed to on a daily basis.

As I mentioned in a previous post, this 2006 study shows negative health impacts from constant exposure to low levels of hydrogen sulfide:  Hydrogen Sulfide, Oil and Gas, and People’s Health

Evidently if you live in western Garfield County and you don’t want to be exposed to a constant barrage – at any level – of hydrogen sulfide emissions, then just don’t breathe.

Noble: Rulison spill did not contaminate surface water

Noble Energy is at it again. The same folks who emit dangerous levels of hydrogen sulfide are now responsible for dumping thousands of gallons of frack water. But not to worry, Noble’s public relations guy said no ground water was harmed in the incident. Whatever you do, don’t tell the EPA.

At Denver EPA hearing, oil and gas industry seeks delay in new pollution controls

According to this article the oil & gas industry doesn’t like the kind of regulations that cost money.  Yet the industry keeps insisting they can regulate themselves. They tell us they don’t need no stinking regulations. But when faced with the possibility of a few minor regulations from the EPA they throw a fit.

So now we know two things. The gas industry won’t clean up their toxic messes unless they get caught. And they don’t abide by regulations that cost money.

Garfield County’s new oil and gas liaison started work Monday
Man’s resume includes 23 years with the USGS working in water studies

Another gas liaison hand-picked by the industry? Let’s see. Wynn worked for the USGS, which is heavily subsidized by grants from oil & gas because they map all the oil and gas deposits in the U.S. And Wynn’s wife, Bess Wynn works as an operations assistant for Chevron. The word “cozy” comes to mind.

Hot topic of hydrogen sulfide emissions creates cloud of controversy in gas patch

In the last paragraph COGCC Executive Director Dave Neslin magically predicts the outcome of their “investigation” in advance:

“We are continuing to investigate this matter,” Neslin said. “Our initial priority obviously is to look at current circumstances and to ensure that there were not significant risks to public health, safety and welfare, and I think we satisfied ourselves that there are not.”

Science Lags as Health Problems Emerge Near Gas Fields

Much of this in-depth article focuses on documented cases of serious health problems in Garfield County. This is not a pretty story. When juxtaposed with the current hydrogen sulfide issue, and the position of the COGCC, a long-standing policy of obfuscation and cover-up emerges.

Locally the biggest argument for natural gas drilling is the economic benefit. However this region enjoyed a healthy economy prior to the boom in gas drilling. Tourism, recreational sports, and big game hunting were thriving – not declining – industries here. In a recent letter to the editor, Fiona Lloyd (RSPN organizer) points outs he economic impacts of gas drilling on the big game hunting industry.

Oil and gas industry to blame for herd declines

And I keep asking, if gas drilling is so beneficial to our local economy why is this region in such a deep recession?

Read Fiona Lloyd’s guest post: Why the BLM draft plan matters to Silt Mesa

Summary of Hydrogen Sulfide South of Parachute, Colorado

H2S FAQs

Really? They could only come up with 9 questions?

Well I have some.

What are the effects on public health from long-term exposure to low levels of H2S?

Not so good according to this 2006 study:

Hydrogen Sulfide, Oil and Gas, and People’s Health

Does Colorado have an ambient hydrogen sulfide standard?

According the study, it does not.

Seems like now more than ever we need air quality studies. Oh, that’s right. The BOCC and the state scrapped the air quality studies because of the gas drillers “uncomfortability” with the “public health implications”. Apparently the gas industry is interested in just the faqs.

COGCC commissioner voices ‘concerns’ about H2S
Alward wonders, ‘Did something slip past us?’

Do these guys really think they can get away with claiming ignorance?

State: Hydrogen sulfide gas found at near-fatal levels south of Parachute
No danger to public, COGCC report claims

Ok, this almost seems like an Onion headline. Except it’s not. How can near-fatal levels of H2S not be a danger to the public? If it didn’t go into the atmosphere, where did it go? How was it detected?

Do these workers look like they're wearing protective gear?

Udall looking into hydrogen sulfide poisoning report
Gas worker’s widow wants investigation

The 2009 incident involving Carl McWilliams and Troy Orth when they worked for Lightning Wireline appears to be the only link to proving a public health risk from hydrogen sulfide.

Even though the COGCC is conducting “an investigation”, if past history is any indication, the so-called investigation will drag on until no one is paying attention anymore. Then at some point in the not-too-distant future a final report will be quietly released reiterating the claim they already put out into the media: “No danger to the public”. It will look as though the oil & gas industry, the COGCC, and other governmental entities spent more time and money figuring out how to spin this than actually investigating.

The oil & gas industry and the COGCC have a convenient way of investigating, or studying, issues like water quality and air quality. They are happy to address those issues as long as they don’t involve public health implications. They never look at the long-term impacts of any aspect of gas well drilling, especially public health.

As to the long-term effects of even low levels of hydrogen sulfide, this is from Earthworks [emphasis added]:

Health Effects from H2S Exposure
Common symptoms of exposure to long-term, low levels of hydrogen sulfide include headache, skin complications, respiratory and mucous membrane irritation, respiratory soft tissue damage and degeneration, confusion, impairment of verbal recall, memory loss, and prolonged reaction time. Exposure to high concentrations can cause unconsciousness, known as “knockdown,” and can be lethal.

Meanwhile the state has pulled their Battlement Mesa air quality grant application.

State kills Battlement Mesa air quality grant application
Official: Participants disagree about study ‘parameters’

First the BOCC scrapped the HIA, now this. It’s funny how they blame it on politics. The politicians seem to be on the side of oil & gas. On the other side is public health. What is it they don’t want to know? Battlement Mesa is directly south of Parachute where the dangerous levels of H2S were detected.

Locals wonder why state pulled back from air quality study
Gas industry suggests a data-only air monitoring alternative

There it is. Toward the end of the article, David Ludlam, director of the Western Slope Colorado Oil and Gas Association (COGA), “conceded that among gas drillers in Garfield County, ‘there was an unspoken uncomfortability’ with the School of Public Health approach, which he described as being ‘focused on interpreting data for its public health implications’.”

Puzzling. What other purpose would there be for an air quality study? Maybe it’s just me, but the scuttling of air quality studies in the same area where dangerous levels of H2S were recently detected seems somehow connected.

Click on the home page link above, or click below to access the podcast and listen anytime. This is a fascinating and important series — don’t miss it.

Shifting Gears: Theo Colborn Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

For three days Host William Evans will speak with, Theo Colborn founder of The Endocrine Disruption Exchange (TEDX) . She is credited with identifying damage to human’s  reproductive health caused by small doses of toxic chemicals. Together they will explain why the lack of Public Health Protection of Air and Water is a concern to residents of the Upper Colorado Drainage.

This is from the Split Estate film’s website:

Honored by Time Magazine as a 2007 global Environmental Hero, Dr. Theo Colborn is Professor Emeritus at the University of Florida, Gainesville, and President of The Endocrine Disruption Exchange (TEDX, Inc) in Paonia, Colorado. She is the author of numerous scientific publications about compounds that interfere with hormones and other chemical messengers that control development in wildlife and humans. Her incisive research has demonstrated that endocrine disrupting chemicals alter development of the fetus in the womb by interfering with the natural hormonal signals directing fetal growth. She is co-author of the groundbreaking 1996 book Our Stolen Future with Dianne Dumanoski and J. Peterson Myers. Her work has prompted the enactment of new laws around the world and redirected the research of academicians, governments, and the private sector. Most recently, Dr. Colborn was awarded the Swedish Goteborg Prize for the Environment and Sustainability.

Insiders Sound an Alarm Amid a Natural Gas Rush

In this first one, the NY Times does it again with an exposé on suspicious emails that reveal an Enron-like, Ponzi scheme ongoing in the natural gas industry.

Here’s an excerpt:

A former Enron executive wrote in 2009 while working at an energy company: “I wonder when they will start telling people these wells are just not what they thought they were going to be?” He added that the behavior of shale gas companies reminded him of what he saw when he worked at Enron.

Hydrofracked: One man’s quest for answers about natural gas drilling

This one really got to me. It’s long but well worth reading. It’s the story of an American hero, Louis Meeks, who has spent his life savings trying to find out why his water well went bad in 2004. It is one man’s story and it is everyone’s – who has ever gone nose-to-nose with a gas company – story. The excuses, the platitudes, the legal wrangling – it’s all so familiar. They don’t even bother to change the script. The good news is, he got the EPA’s attention. For what it’s worth …

Click here to add From the Styx to your RSS reader.

I have wanted to write about it here but have thusfar resisted, telling myself I will do so only when I can write without ranting, raving, or crying.  I am still working on this “re-frame.”

If I could make it go away, poof!  like that, I would.  But it’s not going away.  It’s a done deal. All the meetings and citizen action groups and letters to representatives in the world won’t stop it now.  It’s a runaway train.

Now I am going to put on my Pollyanna Hat and describe what I wish would happen or what would have happened.  What I wish is not so much an action as an attitude, a way of working, a way of being.

So here’s my fantasy.  In a bullet list (I know, I know, a bullet-listed fantasy, Kath??  It’s my anal Capricorn side coming out.  Humor me.)

• I wish that the gas companies would have trained LOCAL PEOPLE to do all this drilling.  There are so many people around here who have no jobs, and would have loved to have been trained to drive big rigs around, and do this kind of work and GET PAID GOOD MONEY FOR IT.
• These local people would have been STAKE HOLDERS in this operation.  It would have been their wells that would have been contaminated if things didn’t go right.  It would have been their fishing streams, their hunting grounds disrupted, their families kept up at night by the incessant clanging.
• The locals love this area.  That’s why they’ve stuck it out here so long even when there have been few, and mostly poorly-paid jobs.  These local people might have approached drilling a gas well on a luscious piece of Pennsylvania farm land the way the Amish approach building a barn for a neighbor.
• Fantasy Scenario: Hey guys, today we are going to drill on the Stolzfus land.  They need this income, as we all do, but they also need safe, clean drinking water and that little stream that runs behind the house is where their kids play and fish.  So let’s be careful out here today, ok?  The workers nod, set themselves to work with care and mindfulness.  When night falls, they quit and begin the next day, so the Stolztfus family can sleep.

“You may say I’m a dreamer.  But I’m not the only one…”  is going through my head right now.

But you know, I would, and could, feel so much better about the roar and the clang and the suck of this if I knew that the people doing the work were stakeholders in this land and not just hired guns who can hit and run if a mistake is made.