A crew works on a gas drilling rig at a well site for shale based natural gas in Zelienople, Pa., in 2012. (Associated Press file)
Re: “Oil and gas folks protest too much,” June 28 Steve Lipsher column.
Steve Lipsher claims the oil and gas industry “pollutes the groundwater with dangerous chemicals,” that “fracking is taking a horrific environmental toll,” and that the industry is “lining up industry-paid scientists to spin research” in an effort to “deny proven science.”
Last month the Environmental Protection Agency issued a draft of a four-year study, titled “Assessment of the Potential Impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing for Oil and Gas on Drinking Water Resources.” The EPA concluded, “We did not find evidence that these mechanisms have led to widespread, systemic impacts on drinking water resources in the United States. … The number of identified cases where drinking water resources were impacted are small relative to the number of hydraulically fractured wells.”
This is the proven science. Lipsher is the one guilty of ignorance and denying proven science. How this kind of misinformation, hyperbole and fearmongering garners a monthly column in The Post baffles me.
Jeff Llewellyn, Denver
This letter was published in the July 5 edition.I am proud of the educational outreach being done by Coloradans for Responsible Energy Development (CRED) and other organizations across the state to provide factual information to our citizens. The oil and gas industry has played a vital role in our state’s economy for more than 60 years and those revenues provide critical resources to support our infrastructure needs (parks, libraries and school improvements, to name a few). For the past several years, Colorado has passed stricter and stricter regulations, leading the nation in safety when it comes to hydraulic fracturing.
I think Steve Lipsher needs to realize the citizens of Colorado are learning and listening to the benefits of responsible energy development in our state and not the scare tactics of out-of-state anti-fracking activists and their big money.
Jennifer Churchfield, Englewood
The writer is communications director for Arapahoe Responsible Energy Advocates.
This letter was published in the July 5 edition.
