A contentious statewide ballot item in Colorado proposing to extend the oil and gas requirement to 2,500 ft has met with severe opposition from energy producers and other businesses in Colorado because it would nearly halt hydraulic fracturing in the state.
The ballot measure would increase the distance between oil and gas wells and homes, schools, and bodies of water to 2,500 feet. The crowd gathered to say the measure would decrease jobs and hamper the oil industry.
the following mayors joined the group Mayors Against Proposition 112, according to James: Ault Mayor Rob Piotrowski, Dacono Mayor Joe Baker, Eaton Mayor Kevin Ross, Evans Mayor Brian Rudy, Fort Lupton Mayor Zo Stieber, Greeley Mayor John Gates, Hudson Mayor Dwayne Haynes, Johnstown Mayor Scott K James, Kersey Mayor Gary Lagrimanta, LaSalle Mayor Andy Martinez, Milliken Mayor Beau Woodcock, Platteville Mayor Adrienne Brossman Sandoval, Severance Mayor Don McCleod, Thornton Mayor Heidi Schoenenberger Williams and Windsor Mayor Kristie Melendez.
Additionally, The Aims Community College Board of Trustees unanimously passed a resolution Thursday opposing Proposition 112.
But Carl Erickson, a candidate for at-large Weld County commissioner, said he supports Proposition 112 and doesn’t believe as many people will lose their jobs as the oil and gas industry claims.
“I don’t see it as a death knell for oil and gas in the state of Colorado,” he said.
Erickson did not attend the gathering.
Don’t frack so close to me: Colorado voters will weigh in on drilling distances from homes and schools
Coloradans will vote on a ballot initiative in November that requires new oil and gas projects to be set back at least 2,500 feet from occupied buildings. If approved, the measure – known as both Initiative 97 and Proposition 112 – would mark a major change from their state’s current limits: 500 feet from homes and 1,000 feet from schools.
As sociologists who have researched oil and gas drilling in the communities that host it for the past seven years, we think this measure would provide local governments and Coloradans more say over where drilling occurs and enhance the rights of those who live near these sites.
Fracking boom
Domestic oil and gas production has soared over the past decade, leading the U.S. to become the top global producer of those fossil fuels.