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GLENWOOD SPRINGS - Five Colorado environmental groups have asked to require oil and gas production companies to publicly identify all chemicals used during natural gas well drilling.
In a letter sent to Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) on June 14, the San Juan Citizens Alliance, Western Colorado Congress, Western Slope Environmental Resource Council, the Grand Valley Citizens Alliance and the Oil and Gas Accountability Project said chemicals known to be toxic to humans are being used by the industry in Colorado.
Of particular interest to the groups is the process of hydraulic fracturing which injects fluids into wells under high pressure to open natural fractures in gas-producing areas of rock strata to allow the gas to escape up the well.
The groups contend that toxic chemicals are components of frac'ing fluid and could pose a threat to human health.
"For municipalities such as Silt, it's difficult to take steps to protect our residents from oil and gas chemicals if we don't know what they are or whether or not they are entering the environment," said Rick Aluise, Silt town manager, in a prepared statement.
Last year the Oil and Gas Accountability Project, an industry watchdog group, took issue with a report by the Environmental Protection Agency that said frac'ing does not need federal regulation because it poses no threat to drinking water safety. The process was also declared exempt from federal regulation in the 2005 Energy Policy Bill.
Among the fluids used in frac'ing is diesel fuel, which contains volatile organic compounds such as benzene that are known to cause cancer.
A bill proposed by U.S. Sen. Jim Jeffords last year that would have required the EPA to regulate frac'ing fluids under the Safe Drinking Water Act was defeated. It would have banned the use of diesel fuel and other hazardous chemicals and would have required individual states to regulate frac'ing.
"We believe the people who live in the gas patch have the right to know what is being used (in frac'ing)," Sura said.
In a letter sent to Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) on June 14, the San Juan Citizens Alliance, Western Colorado Congress, Western Slope Environmental Resource Council, the Grand Valley Citizens Alliance and the Oil and Gas Accountability Project said chemicals known to be toxic to humans are being used by the industry in Colorado.
Of particular interest to the groups is the process of hydraulic fracturing which injects fluids into wells under high pressure to open natural fractures in gas-producing areas of rock strata to allow the gas to escape up the well.
The groups contend that toxic chemicals are components of frac'ing fluid and could pose a threat to human health.
"For municipalities such as Silt, it's difficult to take steps to protect our residents from oil and gas chemicals if we don't know what they are or whether or not they are entering the environment," said Rick Aluise, Silt town manager, in a prepared statement.
Last year the Oil and Gas Accountability Project, an industry watchdog group, took issue with a report by the Environmental Protection Agency that said frac'ing does not need federal regulation because it poses no threat to drinking water safety. The process was also declared exempt from federal regulation in the 2005 Energy Policy Bill.
Among the fluids used in frac'ing is diesel fuel, which contains volatile organic compounds such as benzene that are known to cause cancer.
A bill proposed by U.S. Sen. Jim Jeffords last year that would have required the EPA to regulate frac'ing fluids under the Safe Drinking Water Act was defeated. It would have banned the use of diesel fuel and other hazardous chemicals and would have required individual states to regulate frac'ing.
"We believe the people who live in the gas patch have the right to know what is being used (in frac'ing)," Sura said.
