An oil rig near Kersey, Colo., in November 2014. (RJ Sangosti, Denver Post file)
Re: Oil and gas companies in Colorado reported 615 spills in 2015, March 18 news story.
The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission is the state agency responsible for the regulation of the oil and gas industry. COGCC spokesman Todd Hartman stated, We re always concerned about spills … but an industrial activity involving human beings will always be imperfect. That is what Detroit said about manufacturing defects in automobiles, until in the 1980s when the Japanese auto companies decided that zero defects was a worthy and achievable goal, and proceeded to do it and beat the pants off American car companies.
The COGCC knows that almost two spills a day is avoidable. But apparently it is acceptable. It makes one wonder what happened to the part of its mission to protect public health, safety, and welfare, including the environment and wildlife resources.
Steve Billig, Denver
This letter was published in the March 23 edition.
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