Water  Resources  Fact  Sheet    Extracting  fuel  from  shale  formations  requires  pumping  hundreds  of  thousands  of  gallons  of  water,  sand  and  chemicals  into  the  ground  to  break  apart  rock  and  free  the  gas.  Some  of  that  water,  along  with  large  quantities  of  existing  underground  water,  returns  to  the  surface,  and  it  can  contain  high  levels  of  salt,  drilling  chemicals,  heavy  metals  and  naturally  occurring  radioactive  material.  Drinking  and  irrigation  water  sources  have  been  contaminated  by  oil  and  gas  chemicals  released  through  leaks  and  spills,  naturally  occurring  gases  and  radioactive  materials  from  disturbance  of  the  geologic  formation,  and  air-­‐borne  contaminants.        Lack  of  Regulation  The  oil  and  gas  industry,  in  particular  hydraulic  fracturing,  is  exempt  from  critical  sections  of  the  Clean  Water  Act,  the  Safe  Drinking  Water  Act,  and  other  laws  designed  to  protect  our  water  resources.    State  regulation  of  hydraulic  fracturing  as  it  relates  to  potential  contamination  of  ground  and  surface  water  is  limited  to  casing  construction  requirements,  setbacks,  disposal  of  oil  and  gas  wastes  (hazardous  materials),  and  reporting  of  leaks  and  spills.  Produced  water  needs  to  be  disposed  of  and  can  be  disposed  of  6  ways  in  Colorado:  

1. Injection  into  a  properly  permitted  Class  II  well;  2. Evaporation/percolation  in  a  properly  permitted  pit;  3. Disposal  at  permitted  commercial  facilities;    4. Disposal  by  roadspreading  on  lease  roads  outside  sensitive  areas  under  certain  conditions;  5. Discharging  into  state  waters,  in  accordance  with  the  Water  Quality  Control  Act  and  related  

rules  and  regulations;  or    6. Evaporation  in  a  properly  lined  pit  at  a  centralized  E&P  waste  management  facility  permitted  by  

the  Colorado  Oil  and  Gas  Conservation  Commission  (COGCC).1  

For  the  fluids  disposed  of,  the  BLM  states  that  “60  percent  goes  into  deep  and  closely-­‐regulated  waste  injection  wells,  20  percent  evaporates  from  lined  pits  and  20  percent  is  discharged  as  usable  surface  water"under  permits  from  the  Colorado  Water  Quality  Control  Commission.”  2  

With  all  of  this  “deep  and  closely  regulated”  activity  to  protect  citizens…  

There  were  615  spills,  271  (44%)  of  which  were  from  produced  water,  in  2015.    That  equates  to  nearly  two  spills  every  day  in  Colorado.  15%  of  the  spills  resulted  in  water  contamination,  with:  44%  within  50  feet  of  ground  water,  31%  within  1000  feet  of  surface  water,  39%  within  1500  feet  of  a  water  well,  

and  9%  within  500  feet  of  cows,  pigs,  sheep,  or  other  livestock.3  

What  about  radioactive  material?  Naturally  occurring  radioactive  material  comes  up  with  wastewater  produced  from  oil  and  gas  extraction.  The  waste  can  remain  radioactive  for  millennia.  Excessive  radiation  exposure  can  increase  cancer  risks;  radon  gas,  for  example,  has  been  tied  to  lung  cancer.  BLM  did  not  analyze  the  risks  of  exposure  to  radioactive  waste,  and  Colorado  does  not  have  regulations  in  place  to  manage  radioactive  waste  from  oil  and  gas  operations.    

The  North  Fork  Valley  watershed  cannot  afford  the  risk  of  contamination.  

                                                                                                               1 Colorado  Oil  and  Gas  Conservation  Commission  Rules  and  Regulations  300  Series  Drilling,  Development,  Producing  and  Abandonment,  900  Series  Exploration  and  Production  Waste  Management      2  Fracking  on  BLM  Colorado  Well  Sites"  BLM,  Fact  Sheet,  March  2011.  3  Center  for  Western  Priorities,  2015  Colorado  Oil  and  GasToxic  Release  Tracker.    

Water  and  the  BLM’s  Draft  Resource  Management  Plan  

Clean  water  is  the  lifeblood  of  the  North  Fork  Valley.  The  Bureau  of  Land  Management  (BLM)  proposes  to  lease  practically  every  acre  of  the  North  Fork  to  oil  and  gas,  which  would  threaten  our  drinking  and  irrigation  water.    A  Source  Water  Protection  Plan  is  developed  to  protect  a  community’s  drinking  water  source  from  contamination.  The  Bureau  of  Land  Management  (BLM)  is  required  to  honor  community  source  water  protection  plans.  The  towns  of  Crawford,  Hotchkiss,  and  Paonia  secured  source  water  plans,  which  were  not  taken  into  consideration  by  the  BLM  in  its  preferred  alternative.      

 Source:  The  North  Fork  Alternative  Plan    In  addition,  the  BLM  also  did  not  consider  the  permanent  removal  of  water  from  the  hydrologic  cycle  or  that  there  are  insufficient  water  supplies  necessary  to  support  fracking  and  other  drilling  operations,  particularly  in  this  period  of  persistent  drought.    

A  no  leasing  alternative  is  not  only  reasonable,  but  represents  the  best  way  to  protect  the  North  Fork  Valley  now  and  in  the  future.  

     

 

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