councilor.org
| Source | Dave Anderson |
| Date | 14/06/11/19:01 |
| www.nytimes.com
Battle Over Fracking Poses Threat to Colorado Democrats By JACK HEALY DENVER — An impassioned national debate over the oil-production technique known as fracking is edging toward the ballot box in Colorado, opening an election-year rift between moderate, energy-friendly Democrats and environmentalists who want to rein in drilling or give local communities the power to outlaw it altogether. If they make the ballot in November, an array of proposals will be among the first in the nation to ask a state’s voters to sharply limit energy development. Some measures would keep drilling as far as a half-mile from Colorado homes. Others would give individual communities the right to ban fracking. The ballot measures reflect the anxieties that have accompanied a drilling boom across the West. As drilling sites are built closer to playgrounds and suburban homes in communities along Colorado’s northern plains, residents and environmental groups have called for more regulation and have pushed for moratoriums on drilling. But in a bellwether state like Colorado, where views on drilling vary as much as the geography, the measures could ignite an all-out battle involving oil companies, business groups and conservationists that pulls in millions in outside money, sets off a rush of campaign ads and spawns lawsuits for years to come. That is why Gov. John W. Hickenlooper and other Democratic leaders are working feverishly on a compromise that would give communities more control of energy development in their backyards while keeping the fracking issue off the ballot. Political strategists say that an election-year fracking fight has the potential to hurt vulnerable Democrats, forcing them to take a stance that could either anger environmental voters or draw fire from the oil and gas industry. “This is a fight within the Democratic Party,” said Floyd Ciruli, an independent political analyst in Denver. For prominent Democrats, he said, “this is dangerous. It might turn off environmental forces. It will create a tremendous amount of noise between the Democratic establishment and its rank and file.” Late last week, Mr. Hickenlooper’s office announced it had reached a compromise with two major oil-and-gas companies and Representative Jared Polis, a millionaire Democrat who has been a strong supporter of the ballot measures. Mr. Polis became a self-proclaimed poster boy against fracking last year when a red-and-white drilling rig sprouted near his weekend home in Weld County, and he has argued that communities should have a vote on whether they want to become part of the oil boom. But he said he would withdraw his support for the fracking ballot measures if the state legislature can pass the compromise bill as it stands in a special session. For now, it is uncertain whether Mr. Hickenlooper’s deal will become a reality. The Colorado Petroleum Association said it opposed the compromise, and groups representing ranchers, farmers and home builders have raised concerns about the bill. Some who oppose fracking said they would still push ahead with a measure to put local control on the ballot, no matter what happens in the legislature. The issue is already shadowing a tight race for Senate that Colorado Democrats had once hoped would be a comfortable victory. For weeks, Representative Cory Gardner, a Republican, has criticized the Democratic incumbent, Mark Udall, for not disavowing the proposed ballot measures, saying they would kill jobs and cripple an energy boom that has financed schools and aided local economies. Despite his support for renewable energy, Mr. Udall has said he believes that fracking — the underground injection of millions of gallons of water and sand to release oil and gas in the earth — can be done safely. But he has avoided taking a position on the proposed ballot measures. A spokesman said that Mr. Udall hoped the two sides could reach some legislative deal that would avoid a ballot fight. The politics of fracking have yet to be tested across a state that cherishes its mountain streams and aspen forests, but where the oil and gas industry claims to support more than 50,000 jobs and $29.6 billion in economic activity. Five communities along the Front Range have voted to ban the practice, which prompted lawsuits by the oil and gas industry and the state. In aQuinnipiac University poll of Colorado voters last November, a slim majority — 51 percent — said they supported fracking. Only 34 percent of those surveyed said it was unsafe or not very safe, while 56 percent said it was very or somewhat safe. Putting fracking to a vote, Mr. Hickenlooper said, would unleash an “armed conflict” on the airwaves and could result in “economic chaos” for the energy industry and even the state as a whole. “It’s like going to a surgery, and all you’ve got is a pair of scissors and a hacksaw,” Mr. Hickenlooper said. “It’s a blunt response to what’s a complex issue.” As a former oil geologist who supports energy development in Colorado — he once drank fracking fluid — Mr. Hickenlooper has long had a touchy relationship with some environmental advocates. He passed strict rules on gas leaks from well sites and storage tanks, but he has also been publicly heckled by those who oppose fracking. He said he was trying to find some thin strip of common ground between environmentalists and homeowners in Colorado’s energy belt, and the companies that own the rights to stores of minerals buried thousands of feet underground. “If we’re going to respect private property we’re going to have to respect the rights of mineral leaseholders,” he said. “They have rights, too, and how do we balance their rights against the rights of people living in their homes?” A draft of the proposed compromise would give local governments the power to regulate noise from oil and gas development and impose bigger setbacks from homes than the 500-foot buffers currently required. It would also let communities write their own, stricter health, safety and environmental standards. The local rules could not prevent energy companies from reaching the minerals underground. Across Colorado, leading Democrats hope to avoid finding out how the public’s views translate at the ballot box. Senator Michael Bennet has been urging a compromise, and a litany of officials including former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, a former Denver mayor and a former Democratic governor have spoken out against a statewide fracking vote. “I’m concerned about putting something like this in the Constitution,” a former Democratic governor, Bill Ritter, said. “It’s very hard to ever change. If it’s a ban or a moratorium, you wind up doing great harm to your local economy. It’s a lose-lose situation if it goes to the ballot.” |
Copyright (c) 1998, Joongpil Cho