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This page is dedicated to public awareness For folks impacted by the worst of oil and gas development, information vital to the preservation of their health can be very hard to come by. Often, offending companies are uncooperative, regulatory bodies stonewall and independent scientific data is too expensive to pursue. This removes the American public from the most basic of constitutional and civil right protections. If you suddenly find yourself the subject of environmental impact, you are expected to be an expert at everything and move mountains with little or no resources. As such, these folks (ourselves among them) are at a debilitating disadvantage in recognizing and protecting themselves from an environmental disaster when it occurs - let alone preventing one. However, we have two very powerful resources within reach. One of which is easily achieved. 1) Social networking - and sharing our stories with one another; and 2) the media - which can be very hard to inspire, but can usually be relied upon to cover a story - at least to some degree - when an event occurs. This page is here to help you find other communities and individuals who have suffered impacts, so that we can all learn from one another. This really is all we have, but when people are fed up and finally willing to take a stand, it is a precious resource worth every word of truth and worthy of the sacrifice of those willing to share it. Maybe you have been able to afford one consultation which has yielded valuable insight into a problem being glossed over by "experts" or denied by regulatory agencies. Maybe you've found a useful way to make the reporting process more efficient. Maybe you have found a way to move officials into action (bless you!). If you wish to share your story here, please send me a summary of what is going on or has happened, scrape together the most revealing, compelling and comprehensive of news articles as well as anyone who would be willing to be contacted and share information. If you've put up a website (and I encourage you to - it's pretty easy and inexpensive), great! I'll link to it. Written a letter to the editor? Send it. If you find you are voiceless - you have a voice here. If you find you are powerless - you will find leverage here. If you feel defeated, frustrated and vulnerable, know that you are among others who feel the same. Together, we will stand tall. And, together, all of us willing to take that stand will make a difference. |
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What is Fracing? |
Click any of the diagrams below (they're all on one page) to check out the process, demonstrated by our friends Reprobate Energy of America and their subcontractors, Schmucks-R-Us Frac Jobs |
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Below is a link to a great fracing primer prepared by
Earthworks - citing references. |
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Have you been frac'd? Better still
and just released (August 2011) "You And What Army? How to Neutralize Conflict and Negotiate Justice for the Totally Outgunned, Inwardly Timid, Burnt Out or Socially Defunct" |
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Following are communities which have experienced a blow-out or other water, air or soils contamination due to or at least suspected of being associated with drilling activities (a lot of times energy companies will trash something, deny it and get away with it. Imagine that). In many of the cases cited, issues have arisen after fracing operations - some of which are still points of controversy and contention between landowners, gas companies and regulatory agencies. Here, I hope to provide, through each community's link, a summary of events, relevant articles and perhaps even contact information. This project is in its infancy and there is missing information simply because I don't have time to research everything, and in some cases I am waiting on permissions to reprint articles. However, I know individuals in these communities have been impacted. It can be challenging contacting folks who have or continue to experience grave impacts because they grow frustrated or weary of the battle and shut down communication, they grow fearful or intimated by industry or their community and remain silent, they sign non-disclosure agreements with industry in an effort to gain compensation and cannot speak of their circumstances, or they simply give up and move away. This is very real and raw, and for some it is too much to cope with. But our story isn't the only one. Here is where others' journeys through hell have begun.... |
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Fort Morgan "Field", Colorado Gas seeps force evacuations.... Read Fort Morgan's story, find relevant articles and folks to contact....
Silt (Divide Creek), Colorado You're at the place to find everything you ever wanted to know about the 2004 and on-going West Divide Creek seep, as well as the new seep of 2008. Thank you for your interest. Make the Sitemap your first stop. The Timeline your second, the Divide Creek Seep 2008 pages, your third. Of further interest maybe the hearing documents associated with these events. In them, you'll find out about what happened based on findings and testimony. Know that in any such document, you will only hear the filtered, official story. In our case - evidence was ignored (The very spot where the 2004 seep was first discovered and reported by a Oil and Gas Commission official was simply ignored throughout the investigation and never even sampled). But this site gives you rest of the story, so you can judge for yourself. View All 3 Hearing
Documents: Bill Barrett Seeks to Drill Within Moratorium - CGCCC Order 191-12 COGCC Lifts the Moratorium - COGCC Order #9 191 23 During the time of the Divide Creek Seep - other seeps erupted from the Arbaney pad (photo and backstory on home page), leading to EnCana's purchase of the property noted in the document. You don't hear much about this story but a neighbor's water well was thoroughly trashed because of it. You won't hear much either in the future. Settled. But this document survives. View the hearing document: COGCC Order 1V-297 Silt, Colorado ( outside links only ) To read the story of Laura Amos and her family (which occurred just a
couple miles away from us here at Divide Creek, but within the moratorium
area) click here on the Earthwork's website.
http://www.earthworksaction.org/cvLauraAmos.cfm. This story was written
before she was asked to hush-up in a settlement with EnCana. View the
hearing document: COGCC Order 1V-298 Another very detailed account is available on the Natural Resources Defense Council's website in an excellent article "How Haliburton Technology is Wrecking the Rockies" that also reveals the relationship between EPA whistle-blower Weston Wilson; the oil and gas industry, and the Cheney/Bush administration's 2005 energy policy. http://www.nrdc.org/onearth/06sum/rockies1.asp
Huerfano County, Colorado One man's losing battle as he contemplates walking away from the home he cannot live in, cannot sell, and may now no longer even be able to insure. Read Huerfano County's story, find relevant articles and folks to contact....
Parachute, Colorado Two springs Northeast of Parachute reveal benzene in their waters. A sick outfitter, and dead animals follow. Read Parachute's story, find relevant articles and folks to contact....
Rifle Colorado This refers to the Goad water well incident that happened some years ago. The Goad water well was contaminated from - I think it was a Bill Barrett operation - later acquired by EnCana. The info is sketchy and the trend in on-line news searches is not to archive the item or distribute it to a cataloging server that charges for retrieval. If you have an old article about this incident, please let me know. According to a conversation with an EnCana hydrologist over our own water well concerns, the Goad was mentioned, and apparently contamination continues today. Read Rifle's story, find relevant articles and folks to contact.... Trinidad, Colorado Trinidad is experiencing water contamination also, and folks there are packing up to go....
Read Trinidad's story, find relevant articles
and folks to contact.... Aztec, New Mexico Dead cows, trashed water, these folks were finally driven from their ranch. Read
Aztec's story, find relevant articles and folks to contact.... Eunice, New Mexico Read Eunicie's story, find relevant articles and folks to contact....
Bainbridge Township, Ohio It's the same old story for this community in north-eastern Ohio.
Energy company trashes the water then tries to blame someone else, or the
geology, of the gas for existing, or, well, you get the idea.... oh, an
interesting side-note on this one... a house blows up with people inside. Dimock, Pennsylvania Formation (production) gas makes its way into water wells that, according to resident's (who I'd darn sure believe over industry) were fine for thirty years.... but now? Methane contamination. Read
Dimock's story, find relevant articles and folks to contact.... Grandview, Texas Another private and formerly drinkable water well bites the dust as drilling rigs and chemicals move into Grandview. Read
Dimock's story, find relevant articles and folks to contact.... Arvada, Wyoming View the full U.S. Senate testimony of a rancher sharing her family's experience with Coal Bed Methane - and the total devastation it has caused to their land and way of life. (note, this story was reported earlier as coming from Billings Montana - due to location on testimony document. I've since corroborated this story and found the location more appropriate to Arvada, WY - hence the correction.) Read Arvada's story, find relevant articles and folks to contact....
Pavillion, Wyoming Gas well blow outs - methane in aquifers, drilling fluids.... you name it.
Read Pavillion's story, find relevant articles and folks to contact.. Clark, Wyoming Sour gas and methane in the water plague this Northern region of the Rocky Mountains. Read Clark's story, find relevant articles and folks to contact....
Rosebud - Alberta, Canada This sleepy little rural hamlet awoke one day to methane and other contaminants in their water wells. Deadly sour gas is another bane for the folks in this shallow gas target zone. Read Rosebud's story, find relevant articles and folks to contact.... More on this situation as documented on W-5 TV interview W-FIVE : Fueling Fears : Fueling
Fears, part one W-FIVE : Fueling
Fears : Fueling Fears, part two Vulcan - Alberta, Canada Horror stories of sour gas and one family's struggle to survive it. Meanwhile, in the winter of 2008, someone in the Community of Tomslake begins sabotaging EnCana's pipeline facilities. Read Vulcan's story, find relevant articles and folks to contact.... More on this situation as documented on W-5 TV interview (same links as above) W-FIVE : Fueling Fears : Fueling
Fears, part one W-FIVE : Fueling
Fears : Fueling Fears, part two
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Click here for
a collection of newspaper articles discussing the perils of hydraulic fracturing |
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Last but not least - and most hopeful is this list of grassroots activists who are trying to be proactive in protecting their communities before the worst can happen.... Send me your link to get your organization listed here. Note: It is our policy not to promote violent terrorist-type folk or their activities. If this is the type of stuff you engage in, you're on your own. If, however, you strive to elevate awareness through the relentless telling of truth and advocacy for responsible change, we welcome you. New Mexico Coalition for Otero Mesa Santa Fe Not Oil
Pennsylvania Un-natural Gas.org
Water Under Attack
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| For those of you who have been waiting, it's finally here...
A book to help you through it all...
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Main links within this site
Fracked Frank's Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracing / Fracking) Primer Divide Creek Seep 2008 - An astonishing and on-going chronology of total regulatory failure and silenced investigation. Updates Only a year after the 2004 blowout and the resulting moratorium was lifted, EnCana proceeds to drill 80 new wells within a mile of my home. By January 2012, all but 9 are in... and so is a new seep... Mean Energy - Sure, industry brings a few jobs to impacted regions, but they bring a heck of a lot else. See what can happen to individuals, the environment, communities and economic diversity when the boom hits. Site Map - The sitemap is strongly recommended since this site has been added to like a poorly planned remodel... which is what -- under the pressure of continuous impact and adaptation -- it has become. |
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All contents of this site, unless
otherwise noted are copyrighted by Lisa Bracken, 2007-2012 (present). All rights are
reserved. |
