Despite new regulatory rules, Democratic leaders at the statehouse hope to introduce bills of their own dealing with the impacts of hydraulic fracturing.
This comes as Governor John Hickenlooper is touting Colorado鈥檚 current regulations on fracking as a national model.
The state鈥檚 oil and gas commission recently adopted new rules for fracking, including increasing the setback distance from oil and gas wells to buildings and homes. Many Democratic lawmakers, including senate majority leader Morgan Carroll of Aurora, think a 500 foot setback distance is still too close and the rules too lenient.
鈥淲hile it鈥檚 a move in the right direction, the proximity to high-density urban areas is still going to be problematic,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here are a lot of residents and homeowners out there that don鈥檛 feel like they鈥檙e getting the safety protections they鈥檇 like to see yet.鈥�
Carroll says several lawmakers in both chambers are planning to introduce a variety of bills related to fracking.
鈥淲e鈥檙e still woefully understaffed, we haven鈥檛 looked at public health in any way, the concept of fugitive emissions for air quality still needs to be looked at and a host of environmental best practices.鈥�
Right now lawmakers are keeping the details close to the vest, and stricter laws could meet resistance from Governor John Hickenlooper. He says the state already has stringent rules in place. He even testified before the U.S. senate committee on energy and natural resources saying Colorado has struck the right balance.
鈥淲e do have the most rigorous set of regulations around oil and gas in the United States. Everyone else who was there is looking at us and saying huh, you鈥檙e really going to require water testing before and after drilling wells? You鈥檙e going to increase a setback do you realize that鈥檚 a taking? Everywhere we went people said how are you negotiating this?鈥� said Hickenlooper.
When asked about possible groundwater contamination from fracking, Hickenlooper told the senate committee that he once . He said it wasn鈥檛 tasty, but he鈥檚 still alive. The comments angered the environmental community.
鈥淚t leaves the impression that this fracking fluid and oil and gas development is safe in Colorado,鈥� said Chris Arend with Conservation Colorado. The group wants the Governor to take a stronger stance on protecting public health from the impacts of energy development. Specifically they're hoping for tougher air quality standards.
鈥淭here are known impacts to our air from oil and gas, particularly health impacts. We feel like there are many things the state could be doing to be on the forefront of things to protect our air. We don鈥檛 think we鈥檙e there yet.鈥�
For his part Hickenlooper says his comments on drinking frack fluid were taken out of context.
鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 intended as a political statement it was intended as a description of the honest effort of companies to have an industrial fluid that鈥檚 totally harmless to the environment,鈥� he said.
Hickenlooper admits the fluid he drank is only a prototype and is too expensive right now for commercial use. He clarified his statement and says there is no frack fluid being used today that anyone would want to drink.
