Colorado anti-fracking advocates square off against oil and gas industry interests with Proposition 112, in a reprise of a similar bid to limit oil and gas development near occupied buildings and areas including public parks and irrigation canals.
If approved, Prop 112 would require that those areas be kept a minimum of 2,500 feet away from oil and gas development, including drilling and pipelines.
Colorado Rising, the group behind the measure, says development closer than 2,500 feet poses a number of health and safety risks to Colorado residents.
“The setback is based upon the best available science and the evacuation radius used by first responders,” said Colorado Rising spokesperson Russell Mendell. “We know from numerous health studies that living within 2,500 feet of a well increases the risk of cancer, lung disease, asthma, birth defects, and low birth weight. Firefighters regularly call for half-mile evacuations whenever there is a risk of an explosion.”
Opponents including the Colorado Oil and Gas Association say the measure would severely limit drilling and jobs in the state.
“Notably, out of the 147,800 jobs that could be lost from this type of measure, 77 percent of those job losses would occur outside of our industry,” said Scott Prestidge, a spokesman for the Colorado Oil and Gas Association. “Every direct job within the oil and natural gas sector leads to 4 or 5 additional Colorado jobs. If you suddenly remove that positive industry impact from our economy, the reverse also becomes true, and that would translate to significantly harming Coloradans from all walks of life.”
An analysis by the independent Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission found development would be barred on about 85 percent of state land. The restrictions would not apply to federal land, about one-third of Colorado.
Pro-industry groups have spent millions on advertising campaigns against Prop 112. Protect Colorado, a group funded by the groups like the Colorado Petroleum Council oil and gas operators including Noble Energy and Anadarko Petroleum, has spent about $5 million as of September 12, according to Secretary of State data.
Colorado Rising, the group behind Prop 112, spent about $634,000 through September 12.
The debate on Prop 112 has also bled into other elections including the Gubernatorial race. Both GOP candidate Walker Stapleton and Democratic candidate Jared Polis oppose the measure.
The current Governor John Hickenlooper and the Colorado Republican Party oppose the measure. The Colorado Democratic Party Central Committee supports the measure along with the City of Boulder, the Boulder County Commissioners and many environmental and conservation groups.
Prop 112 is the latest in a long battle between a oil and gas interests and some Colorado residents and environmentalists. The Front Range in particular has become a flashpoint as suburban development has collided with oil and gas development of the Wattenberg shale formation.
In Weld County, the largest oil and gas producing county in Colorado, oil production increased from about 6.5 million barrels in 1999 to almost 20 million in 2017, the last total year of data provided by the COGCC. Gas production also tripled in that time.
Some drilling does take place on Aurora’s eastern and northern flanks. Oil production in Adams County doubled between 1999 and 2017, while gas production dropped significantly. In Arapahoe County, both oil and gas production skyrocketed in that time period.
In 2016 anti-frackers attempted to get a similar 2,500-foot setback on the ballot, but failed to gather enough signatures. Last year, a home in suburban Firestone exploded after a small gas pipeline leaked into the basement, killing two people.