GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo.—State regulators are investigating more reports of possible spills from natural gas operations in western Colorado after a cancer-causing chemical was found in groundwater.
The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission issued notices of alleged violations to Williams Production and Oxy USA after the waste was found in water northwest of Parachute in June.
Benzene, a carcinogen found in gas, was detected in water samples collected by a rancher.
Williams spokeswoman Donna Gray told the Glenwood Springs Post Independent newspaper that the company sent someone to the site Monday to investigate.
Oxy USA, a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum Corp., also notified the state after discovering waste in several area springs in a second spot. A state inspector returned June 19 for water samples.
Williams wasn’t cited in that case.
No one answered a phone number listed for Oxy USA in Grand Junction Tuesday.
Notices were issued May 30 to Williams and three other companies about benzene found in drinking water at a cabin outside Parachute. The notices blame the benzene on waste from oil and gas operations and says one person went to a hospital with throat problems after drinking the water.
State health officials are watching the situation, but aren’t involved in the investigations, said Mark Salley, spokesman for the Colorado Department of Health and Public Environment.
The state water quality division sets groundwater regulations and the oil and gas commission enforces the regulations when oil and gas operations are involved.
Earlier this year, the oil and gas commission investigated the release of tens of thousands of gallons of waste liquids from gas drilling storage pits on the Roan Plateau near Rifle, about 18 miles east of Parachute. State and federal officials said that tests on streams in western Colorado showed no lingering environmental damage from releases from gas drilling waste pits on the Roan Plateau.
Reports of the waste spills in western Colorado, one of the hot spots in the state’s natural gas boom, demonstrate the need for the safeguards in new regulations proposed by the oil and gas commission, said Frank Smith of the conservation group Western Colorado Congress.
The rules call for buffers around community water supplies where wells and drilling wouldn’t be allowed.
“Based upon events like these, it’s evident the current ‘honor system’ doesn’t work and it’s time for a change,” Smith said.
The oil and gas commission will vote in August on new rules proposed by its staff. The new regulations would implement laws requiring more consideration of public health, environmental and wildlife concerns when approving oil and gas development.
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Information from: Post Independent,
