Saturday, November 24, 2012

WAKE THE #FRACK UP BOULDER COLORADO! YOU'RE ABOUT TO BE FRACKED BY ENCANA!


Wake up Boulder!  There are no local force fields or bubbles that can protect you any longer from the oil and gas industry. You must wake the #frack up, get informed, and take action to protect Boulder Colorado from the  unregulated toxic oil and gas industry. 

My great grandparents, who homesteaded in Boulder, would crawl out of the local Boulder Cemetery and kick your ass for not protecting Boulder's natural environment and culture. 

The city council and county commissioners were elected to protect you and the environment from adverse impacts. They are not! They are waning on the side of Governor Hickenlooper's threat of a lawsuit and his #fracking agenda. If the elected officials of Boulder County cannot protect you, you must take action into your own hands and force them to use 'your' tax dollars to protect your ways of life to include; clean air, clean water and land.  

Take Boulder back from corrupt politicians. Dismantle corrupt systems, and bring back the rights of communities and that of the natural world. It's up to YOU!  RESIST - DO NOT COMPLY!

Below are current statistics to inform you on oil and gas activities in Boulder County.
...............................................................................


784 WELLS OF ALL STATUSES (11/24/2012)


169 – (AL) ABANDONED OIL AND GAS LOCATIONS  (WELLS ARE STILL THERE BTW AWAITING RE-ENTRY AND RE- DRILLING)

108 – (DA) DEAD AND ABANDONED OIL AND GAS WELLS (POSE SIGNIFICANT THREAT FROM SEEPING AND WELL-BORE FAILURE RATES)

14 – (DG) CURRENTLY BEING DRILLED 

141 – (PA) PLUGGED AND ABANDONED OIL AND GAS WELLS (POSE SIGNIFICANT THREAT FROM SEEPING AND WELL-BORE FAILURE RATES) MANY ARE IN RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES AND HOMES MAY HAVE BEEN BUILT ON TOP OF THE OIL AND GAS WELL. SOME HOMES HAVE EXPLODED AND PEOPLE HAVE BEEN HARMED

306 – (PR) PRODUCING/ACTIVE OIL AND GAS WELLS (EACH CONDENSATE TANK RELEASES 2 TONS OF TOXIC HYDROCARBON VAPORS PER YEAR)

2 - (SI) SHUT IN – LIKE A ‘PAUSE BUTTON’ ON PRODUCTION -NORMALLY WAITING FOR PRICES TO INCREASE BEFORE TURNING THE SWITCH BACK ON

1 - (TA) TEMPORARILY ABANDONED

4 – (UN) UNKNOWN STATUS – I’M ALWAYS AMUSED THAT THE STATE DOES NOT KNOW THE STATUS OF A WELL

38 –(XX) WELL LOCATION 

99 - HISTORIC TOXIC WASTE EVAPORATION PITS (ALL ABANDONED AT THIS TIME. SOME NEAR OR UNDER RESIDENTIAL HOMES)
..........................................


WHAT'S TO COME?

**56 NEW APPROVED PERMITS ALL FROM ENCANA! ** 2 ARE HORIZONTAL

24 NEWLY APPROVED LOCATION PERMITS - 5 ARE NEW DRILLING LOCATIONS BUT 19 ARE RE-ENTRIES/RE-DRILLING OF HISTORIC WELLS. 

Remember I listed Boulder County has 109 historic wells? All 109 historic wells have the potential of being re-entered and re-drilled with new toxic technologies. Old well-bores pose a significantly high risk of failure. 

Aggregation of well bores create enormous fugitive emission venting that is currently allowed under the Clean Air Act. Toxic chemicals will be released surrounding Boulder County in a brown cloud as seen daily in Weld County. Weld County is home to 19,000 active oil and gas wells and carries a failed history to prevent adverse impacts.

Weld County currently has:


- 646 public complaints on file at COGCC


- 3,974 Alleged oil and gas operator violations

- 1,772 toxic fluid spills/releases 43% have contaminated groundwater with chemicals such  as benzene, toluene, xylene, ethylbenzene and many more hazardous chemicals.

- Up to 824,600 gallons of oil (carcinogenic hydrocarbons)  have been spilled and “unrecovered” in Weld County.

- Up to 383,600 gallons of produced water (toxic industrial waste)  has been spilled and “unrecovered” in Weld County.

- Up to 547,400 gallons of “Other” fluid has been spilled and “unrecovered in Weld County.  (“Other” may include toxic fracking fluids.)

To quote the Mayor of Loveland during a 'tour de frac' in Weld County: "We don't have to allow that to happen," he said. "We will not allow that to happen."

Please review Dr. Colborn's groundbreaking AIR MANUSCRIPT where she captured the toxic chemicals that are released from the oil and gas industry. Shocking! Alarming! INHUMANE! are a few words that come to mind.



WAKE THE #FRACK UP BOULDER COLORADO!

You are not impervious, you are not immune, you are about to be a victim of a 'System of Oppression', the Corporate State of Colorado, all happily approved by your local elected officials unless YOU do something.

What can you do? Stay informed as to what the local Boulder fractivist groups are doing. Join the local groups. Attend all city council and county commissioner meetings and speak out against fracking in Boulder. Attend a rally. Get a twitter account and know real-time what is happening. Whatever your capacity and talents are, they are very much needed.

Contact me: @fractivist (on twitter) or fractivist@gmail.com or @COFrackAttack to get involved immediately and to stay up to date on local events.

The first image below is a historic 'toxic produced water pit' in Boulder County. It appears to be under a residential home - link to official COGCC docx

click images to enlarge
































P.S. ENCANA IS COMING -  HERE ARE THEIR CO STATS VIA THE COGCC DATABASE
ENCANA  * 46 reported Spills
44.0% GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION
4.0% SURFACE WATER CONTAMINATION
61.0% BERMS
FAILED







ALL DATA SOURCED BY THE COGCC

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

KERR-MCGEE OIL & GAS BENZENE SPILL CONTAMINATES GROUNDWATER 17 UG/L

THE BATTERY WAS SHUT IN. THE PETROLEUM HYDROCARBON IMPACTED SOIL IS BEING EXCAVATED. GROUNDWATER WAS ENCOUNTERED IN THE EXCAVATION AT ~4` BGS. LAB ANALYTICAL RESULTS CONFIRMED BENZENE IMPACTS TO GROUNDWATER ABOVE THE CGWQS AT A CONCENTRATION OF 17 UG/L.

OFFICIAL COGCC DOCX LINK


........................................................................................................

Date Rec'd:11/20/2012Report taken by:  BOB CHESSON
DocNum:2231131API number:  05-123 -18271Facility ID:  250468


Operator Information
Operator:KERR-MCGEE OIL & GAS ONSHORE LPOper. No.47120
Address:P O BOX 173779 ATTN: ASHLEY COCCIOLONE  DENVER , CO 80217-3779
Phone:(720 )929-6000Fax:(720 )929-7461
Operator Contact:PAUL  SCHNEIDER


Description of Spill:
Date of Incident:11/13/2012
Type of Facility:WELL


Well Name/No.
HSR-BARCLAY  2-28Fac. Name/No. 
County Name:WELD
qtrqtr: NWNEsection: 28township: 3Nrange: 66Wmeridian: 6



Volumes spilled and recovered (bbls)
Oil spilled:   Recvrd:   
Water spilled:   Recvrd:   
Other spilled:   0Recved:  0 

GW Impact?
 Y

Surface water impact?
 N

Contained within berm?
 N

Area and vertical extent of spill:
  - X   -

Current land use:
  AGRICULTURE

Weather conditions:
  60 DEG F, CLEAR
Soil/Geology description  UNKNOWN
Distance in feet to nearest surface water:  535
Depth to shallowest GW:  4
Wetlands:  2700Buildings:  1900
Livestock:  Water Wells:  320
Cause of spill:

HISTORICAL IMPACTS

Immediate Response:
THE BATTERY WAS SHUT IN. THE PETROLEUM HYDROCARBON IMPACTED SOIL IS BEING EXCAVATED. GROUNDWATER WAS ENCOUNTERED IN THE EXCAVATION AT ~4` BGS. LAB ANALYTICAL RESULTS CONFIRMED BENZENE IMPACTS TO GROUNDWATER ABOVE THE CGWQS AT A CONCENTRATION OF 17 UG/L.

Emergency Pits:
NA

How extent determined:
SOIL AND GROUNDWATER SAMPLES WILL BE COLLECTED FROM THE EXCAVATION. THE ANALYTICAL RESULTS AND EXCAVATION DETAILS WILL BE PROVIDED ON A FORM 27.

Further Remediation
WILL BE PROVIDED ON A FORM 27.

Prevent Problem:
A NEW TANK BATTERY WILL BE CONSTRUCTED.

Detailed Description:
FIELD CREWS DISCOVERED HISTORICAL PETROLEUM HYDROCARBON IMPACTED SOIL WHILE REMOVING THE OLD TANK BATTERY. THERE WAS NO INDICATION OF LEAKING DUMPLINES, TANKS OR FITTINGS. THE VOLUME OF THE RELEASE IS UNKNOWN.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

WITHDRAW BLM OIL/GAS LEASES FROM COLORADO's PREMIER ORGANIC FARMING REGION AND UPDATE BLM's 25-YEAR-OLD LAND USE PLAN









Tell BLM: Don't Open Colorado's Organic Farms to Oil and Gas Drilling/Fracking
Western Colorado's North Fork Valley is Colorado's only rural winery region and has the state’s highest concentration of organic farms and ranches. It is an intimate mixture of private, small family farms--many certified by the USDA as organic--and public lands, including many managed by the BLM.
The BLM is an agency within the U.S. Dept. of Interior that manages most of the public's minerals. BLM once wrote a land use plan for the area, twenty-five years ago. Now it seeks to use that plan--even though it never even considered oil and gas development in the North Fork to be much of a possibility--to open the area for drilling and fracking.


FORWARD to all social outlets please

fractivist...

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

GROUNDBREAKING - Air Pollution and Natural Gas Operations Air Study Report



An Exploratory Study of Air Quality near Natural Gas Operations

This paper was peer-reviewed and accepted for publication byHuman and Ecological Risk Assessment: An International Journal (November 9, 2012).


Download the article (PDF)
Findings and Implications (PDF)
Health Effects References (PDF)


Abstract 

 This exploratory study was designed to assess air quality in a rural western Colorado area where residences and gas wells co-exist. Sampling was conducted before, during, and after drilling and hydraulic fracturing of a new natural gas well pad. Weekly air sampling for 1 year revealed that the number of non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) and their concentrations were highest during the initial drilling phase and did not increase during hydraulic fracturing in this closed-loop system. Methylene chloride, a toxic solvent not reported in products used in drilling or hydraulic fracturing, was detected 73% of the time; several times in high concentrations. A literature search of the health effects of the NMHCs revealed that many had multiple health effects, including 30 that affect the endocrine system, which is susceptible to chemical impacts at very low concentrations, far less than government safety standards. Selected polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were at concentrations greater than those at which prenatally exposed children in urban studies had lower developmental and IQ scores. The human and environmental health impacts of the NMHCs, which are ozone precursors, should be examined further given that the natural gas industry is now operating in close proximity to human residences and public lands.


Citation
Colborn T, Schultz K, Herrick L, and Kwiatkowski C. 2012 (in press). An exploratory study of air quality near natural gas operations. Hum Ecol Risk Assess.

Natural Gas: The Rest of the Story
In March, 2012, Theo Colborn spoke to an audience in western Colorado on the hazards posed to human and environmental health by air pollution from natural gas operations.
Click here to view this 24 minute video

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Ban Fracking Rally - Nov 13th Boulder County Courthouse




“Ban Fracking" Rally

WHEN: Tuesday, November 13th
TIME: 3:00 – 4:00 pm
WHERE: In front of the Boulder County Courthouse
(14th and Pearl) - 1325 Pearl Street
Bring your own signs or join us for a sign-making party on Nov. 12th at 7:00 pm at Unity Church in Boulder. (Note: signs are not allowed in the hearing room. )
FRACTIVIST WILL HAVE FREE STICKERS AND POSSIBLY A FEW EXTRA FRACTIVIST T-SHIRTS TO WEAR.
They can make you put down your signs, but they cannot make you take off your t-shirt.  WEAR YOUR VOICE!
Shane





click images to enlarge

















mini fractivistas and Daryl Hannah

23rd Annual Bioneers Emergence - Nov 9-11th Boulder CO


November 9-11, 2012

University of Colorado at Boulder



"Bioneers is inspiring a shift to live on Earth in ways that honor the web of life, each other and future genera tions."

The CU Environmental CenterTransition ColoradoNaropa UniversityCenter for Resource Conservation,  Restorative Leadership Institute,Boulder's Best Organics and Woodbine Ecology Center with the support of sponsors and partner groups are proud to bring Bioneers to Boulder for the tenth year.
The Colorado Bioneers companion event creates community opportunities for sharing, learning and action, and brings together the region's progressive ideas, people and organizations. The event features a broadcast of the national Bioneers plenaries and is locally enriched with:  music and arts; networking, children's eco-activities; field trips, and sessions, workshops and keynotes addressing topics of regional importance and community solutions.





 

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