COMMERCE CITY — A handful of protestors targeting hydraulic fracturing tried to overshadow a press conference this morning called to announce some goods news about three local businesses.
The group Commerce City Unite held up signs during the announcement at the civic center that Cummins Rocky Mountain LLC, UE Compression and Precast Concepts plan to expand in the city to add 150 jobs.
The protestors then moved outside the complex, where they held signs reading “Cummins = Fracking” and “Fracking By Our Elected Officials.”
“We’re here because our city seems to be welcoming this type of activity and putting the profits before the welfare of our families,” protester Beth Borta said.
Hydraulic fracturing is a controversial issue in Commerce City, where city leaders are considering a 6-month moratorium on any surface or subsurface oil and gas exploration. Hydraulic fracturing, also called fracking, is an extraction process that uses a sand-water-chemical mix to loosen gas from underground rock.
Among its many products, Cummins Rocky Mountain remanufactures high-horsepower engines used in mining operations across the country.
Cummins, UE Compression and Precast Concepts said their various plans to expand will result in 150 new jobs and more than $30 million in capital improvements to Commerce City.
Cummins is expanding its existing East104th Avenue campus in Commerce City to house four significant business operations, including a training center, back-office shared services center and a potential manufacturing facility, the city said.
Company officials along with state, city and Adams County officials were at the press conference this morning, praising the three companies for staying in the community and growing their operations.
Although they had little to say about the protestors, Adams County Commissioner Alice Nichol called the protest inappropriate.
“We’re here in Adams County trying to jump start jobs,” Nichol said. “What (the protestors) are doing is a separate issue. I don’t appreciate them trying to ruin what we are doing here in Adams County.”
Monte Whaley: 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com
