If you are asked to sign a petition to put Initiative 78 on the statewide ballot, I would encourage you to say “no.”
The initiative calls for amending the state constitution so that “All new oil and gas development facilities, including those that use hydraulic fracturing, must be located at least 2,500 feet from an occupied structure or area of special concern.”
The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission assessed the impact of the proposed ballot initiative, concluding that 95 percent of surface acreage in the top five gas and oil producing counties in Colorado would be unavailable for future gas and oil development or hydraulic fracturing operations. In practice, the mandatory 2,500-foot setback would become a ban on gas and oil development in Colorado.
Section 1 of the initiative states “the People of the State of Colorado find that oil and gas development, including the use of hydraulic fracturing, has detrimental impacts on public health, safety, welfare, and the environment.” Yet, after 45 years of gas and oil development in northern Colorado, the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment shows that the occurrence of asthma, cancer, birth defects, low birth weight and infant mortality in Larimer County (having fewer than 300 active wells) is virtually indistinguishable from that in nearby Weld County (having more than 22,000 active gas and oil wells).
Do we really want to amend our state Constitution over unsubstantiated claims like these?
The initiative also ignores Article II of the state constitution, which provides for compensation should private property be taken for public use. Denying mineral and lease holders their property rights would result in billions of dollars in claims against the state, take years to litigate, and would likely result in a sizable judgment that could bankrupt Colorado.
Ballot initiatives and constitutional amendments should not be used capriciously to settle scores between opponents of emotionally charged issues. Call the 2,500-foot mandatory setback what it is – a ban on gas and oil development in Colorado.
I urge you not to sign the petition for Initiative 78.
Matt Stiasny
Dove Creek
