Environmental Monitoring

Residents in Colorado have expressed frustration with the lack of monitoring and information provided by industry and government representatives, when spills or chemical releases occur. 

• In July, 2005, a truck reportedly carrying 189 barrels of what may have been produced water and condensates (a crude oil byproduct of natural-gas drilling) wrecked.  Gary Gagne, a nearby resident, said he saw two hazardous materials trucks near the scene of the accident but was unable to find out more information about the spill. "I saw two guys come down wearing respirators or gas masks; I'm not sure what they were wearing but they were definitely masks. That just sort of adds to my worries. What do I do?" Gagne said. "I'm very upset that I'm not getting phone calls. There's nothing more scarier than when the gas industry leaves us uninformed."  ("Tanker truck overturns, spills on Dry Hollow Road south of Silt," Glenwood Springs Post Independent, July 12, 2005)
  

• La Boca Ranch (La Plata County): Drill site spill

  When a spill of drilling chemical occurred on La Boca Ranch in La Plata County , Chester Anderson, manager of the ranch, filed a complaint with the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission charging that 1) There as inadequate oversight prior to the drilling operation to prevent contamination of the pasture; 2) There was inadequate response to the initial complaint filed to prevent further contamination of the pasture or the water resources; and 3) No third party either took or had authority to protect the Pine River from contamination.(View documents associated with Chester Anderson's complaint)