Federal and state regulations were written to address past legacies of environmental problems, health issues, and abuses. Some examples:
• Clean Water Act for fishable and swimmable waters;
• Clean Air Act for limits on smoke stack emissions (carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, particulates, mercury, etc.), industrial emissions including gas/oil sites, and automobile emissions;
• Toxic Control Act to address the removal and dispose of PCBs from commerce and the environment;
• Resource Conservation and Recovery Act to end the improper disposal of hazardous waste into the land, water, and air;
• Superfund Act to clean up abandoned hazardous waste sites;
• Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund (0.1cent/gallon fee of oil) to address underground contamination; and
• Safe Drinking Water Act to ensure the absence harmful microbial and chemical contaminants in drinking water.
These national laws were necessary since many states lacked the commitment to be good stewards of public health and the environment. And, yes, there are federal regulations that have attempted to curb risky practices by the financial and investment institutions but this effort has been much more elusive as everyone knows.
While the practice of “fracking” of oil/gas wells will continue in Colorado despite reasonable concerns regarding the short- and long-term health, environmental, and quality of life consequences, there is an opportunity to mitigate some future consequences, notably the real and potential failure of the integrity of decommissioned wells 10, 20, 50 years from now. There are industry standard practices to properly cementing spent wells, but some operators might skimp and state oversight during and after this procedure will most likely fall short, e.g., the BP oil disaster from a multitude of documented missteps.
Fracking is basically a long metal casing drilled through the rock and soil strata down to the geologic formation that is the source of oil and gas. The fracking liquids and solids are pumped at high pressure to shatter the formation and free up the gas or oil to increase production. After abandonment, there is essentially a long pipeline in place which can corrode with time as it is exposed to water, soil and air, and become another part of the “aging infrastructure” of the nation. Also, motion and movement of the penetrated rock strata, not uncommon in the Front Range, can stress or crack the metal casing. If toxic liquids then seep through the corroded pipe casing into nearby formations, they could contaminate the drinking water of future generations.
Recall the ongoing environmental problems with abandoned mines in Colorado that are still spewing waters contaminated with a variety of heavy metals where the “original” owner of the mine is long gone or, if identified, does not have the financial resources or willingness for cleanup, leaving the state or well-intentioned citizens to mitigate. The practice of “fracking” of gas/oil wells may have the same potential for similar environmental problems in the future.
It is suggested that either the legislature and/or the governor’s committee established to formulate guidelines for reasonable practices for the oil/gas industry consider a FDIC-type fund, i.e., all financial institutions that accept public money contribute to this fund to bailout institutions that fail ensuring the public’s money is safe. In this way, there are financial resources to address and clean up gas/oil sites and wells where the integrity of the borehole has failed or there is above ground contamination and abandoned equipment.
The state could use these funds to establish and monitor the integrity of these wells. The funds could be generated by simply increasing the Colorado severance tax slightly which is low compared to other states. It must be made absolutely clear the purpose of these funds, which cannot be used by the legislature to fund anything else, e.g., education or a “rainy-day” fund. Of course, long-time monitoring of decommissioned wells for their integrity is critical to identify problem wells. If, after 20 to 50 years, the funds far exceed the projected clean-up cost at these well sites, then the funds could revert back to the state — maybe for fixing failing road and bridges.
We know there would be objections by the gas and oil industry, their lobbying organizations, and legislators to any tax increases no matter how noble the public good, but when traveling the “high road” of corporate responsibility these days, there is very little traffic.
Meanwhile, Colorado’s state and county highways are being pummeled by trucks transporting heavy equipment and supplies to and from the drilling sites. These roadways were not designed to carry this type and volume of traffic; and guess who will have to pay for these rapidly deteriorating roadways?
Martin J. Allen, Ph.D., is retired from the Water Research Foundation and lives in Centennial. Neil Grigg, Ph.D., is a professor at CSU.
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