Colorado unveils fracking chemical disclosure state rules

STATE UNVEILS FRACKING CHEMICAL DISCLOSURE RULES

Article by Heather McGregor from the Glenwood Springs POST INDEPENDENT:

"A new state rule governing the disclosure of chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing of gas wells is slated to be officially published Thursday by the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. A formal public hearing on the rule is set for Dec. 5 in Denver.

If the proposed new rule is adopted, all gas drilling operators and well service companies working anywhere in Colorado will have to post information about the chemical ingredients in fracking fluids."

Click on the article link at the top of this post to read the entire article on the Post Independent's website.

WELL WATCH

The MIT Well Watch website has a new address. It can now be found at:
http://www.wellwatch.org

Strudley Lawsuit Filed In Denver

Read the full story by CLICKING HERE

Story by AP contributor, Catherine Tsai

Spills Happen All The Time

Click on the hyperlink below to read the full CBS story & watch the video

OIL & GAS SPILLS happen "all the time"

2010 toxic spills are three times the amount spilled by the Exxon Valdez.....

BREATHE Act To Strip Clean Air Exemptions For Gas Drilling

CLICK HERE to read the full story at the Colorado Independent

By David O. Williams -- March 18, 2011

U.S. Rep. Jared Polis on Thursday followed up his reintroduction this week of the FRAC Act — which would tighten federal regulation of natural gas drilling’s impacts to water quality — with the BREATHE Act, a bill that would remove two exemptions for gas drilling under the Clean Air Act.

Rep. Jared Polis

The huge spike in natural gas production in the United States over the last decade or so has brought air and water quality issues to the forefront in some unexpected places – like scenic Pinedale, Wyo., which recently saw several major drilling companies temporarily shut down operations because of ozone alerts. Polis, in a release Thursday, cited the Wyoming situation.

But closer to home, Garfield County – second only to Weld County in terms of Colorado drilling activity – has been the scene of intense public debate about air quality standards. Air quality is a major focus of an ongoing health impact assessment paid for by the county and in many ways colors the debate over major new drilling proposals in and around subdivisions in Silt and Battlement Mesa.

Drilling on Colorado's BLM Land

CLICK HERE to read 'Drilling on BLM Land Brings Billions of Dollars to Colorado' on KREXTV site

Oil and gas production on BLM lands here in Colorado is pumping billions of dollars into the state's economy. A study of the economic impact of activities managed by the Bureau of Land Management shows big money coming into the state from oil and gas production from lands the BLM leases to energy companies.

Colorado reaped close to $4 billion in direct economic benefits from minerals development on BLM land in fiscal 2010.

GV Citizens Alliance Meeting 3/8/11

Agenda: GVCA, March 8, 2011

Call to order at 6:00 at our new location in the conference room at the Rifle Library

Review of minutes 6:00 to 6:10 (Joyce)

Updates

BCC update 6:15 to 6:30 (Ron)

RSPN update 6:30 to 6:45 (Sandy, Nikki, Fiona)

WCC report 6:45to 6:55 (Frank or Paul)

Health Impact Assessment 7:55 to 7:10 (Ron or Bob)

Vote on Slate of Officers in June 7:10 to 7:15

Review of financial report 7:15 to 7:30 (Leslie)

Grant update, bills

Discussions: Hiring Tresi Houpt for advocacy and facilitation; marketing assistance (Progress Now or a marketing firm or ?); inviting WORC to come in for leadership training (when?); other.

Adjourn at 8:00

Agency eyes fix of wells near Silt over methane concerns

By Dennis Webb w/ Grand Junction Sentinel
Monday, March 7, 2011

State regulators are considering requiring retroactive top-to-bottom cementing of about 30 natural gas wells south of Silt because of concerns about possible methane contamination of domestic groundwater.

The approach is something the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission might evaluate and possibly require in some other areas in the region as well, said Stuart Ellsworth, the agency’s engineering manager.

In the Mamm/Divide creek area, the technique is being considered for wells where shallower gas not being targeted for energy development could rise through the uncemented area between the well casing and the outer edge of the well bore. Gas related to drilling has been found in domestic groundwater in the area.

Geoffrey Thyne, a geological consultant for Garfield County, long has contended that methane levels have been rising in water wells in the geologically faulted Mamm/Divide creek area as a result of drilling, and he has recommended consideration of top-to-bottom cementing. He welcomed news that the state is evaluating the approach for some wells.

“I think overall when we work in these structurally complex areas it seems to be a good idea to cement top to bottom,” he said.

The state requires that approach in coal-bed methane development. In Piceance Basin wells, however, it requires cementing around the well casing only from the bottom up to above the gas production zone, and from the top down to below domestic groundwater levels. That leaves the intermediate area unsealed.

Chevron voluntarily cements essentially the entire length of its local wells, where it operates outside De Beque, to protect groundwater and keep the metal well casing from being corroded by water. ExxonMobil, which operates in Rio Blanco County, also normally cements from top to bottom, state officials say.

The approach costs more. But state officials are evaluating whether it might make sense in some cases where the intermediate portions of wells pass through formations containing what Ellsworth called “nuisance” gas of noncommercial volume. Water around the well casing can create enough pressure to keep the gas in place, but if not, cementing may be needed, Ellsworth said.

Unfortunately, he said, where there is enough gas pressure, it can be hard to create a seal because the gas creates channels through the cement before it hardens. When that happens, the damaged cement that is in place makes it difficult to do repairs. As a result, sometimes it’s better to try to control the gas “by other methods, so you don’t hide a problem,” he said.

COGCC Looks Into Use of Diesel In Fracking

CLICK HERE to read the full story in the Post Independent

Colorado regulators are investigating recent accusations that oil and gas drilling companies injected 1.3 million gallons of diesel fuel into the ground during gas drilling activities between 2005 and 2009.

The charge was made in a report written for members of a congressional committee, released in late January, which found evidence that more than 32 million gallons of diesel fuel were used by the industry in 19 states, including Colorado.

“We're currently reviewing our records” to determine if the allegation is true, said Dave Neslin, executive director of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, at a meeting on Thursday of the Northwest Colorado Oil and Gas Forum.

The fluids cited in the report were used in a procedure known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in which vast amounts of water, sand and chemicals are injected into gas-well bores under pressure, to break up buried rock formation and make it easier for gas and oil to flow to the surface.

The technique has been used by the industry for decades, and is now used in nearly all wells currently being drilled, including those in Garfield County.

But the procedure has come under growing scrutiny as the industry has converged on a geologic formation known as the Marcellus Shale, a rock bed the size of Greece that lies about 6,000 feet beneath New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio.

The New York Times has published several stories in recent days about the drilling phenomenon, under the title, “Drilling Down,” concentrating mainly on the Marcellus Shale operations.

2nd Draft of Battlement Mesa Health Study

CLICK HERE to read the full article in the Post Independent

"A Denver-based team of scientists has concluded, for the second time, that the health and safety of the residents of Battlement Mesa probably will be threatened by oil and gas drilling within the boundaries of the community.
The HIA, basically a review of existing data, began in May of 2010 and was conducted to establish a baseline of health information for residents of Battlement Mesa, an unincorporated community of 5,000.

The gas drilling company Antero Resources has plans to drill up to 200 gas wells from nine surface well pads within the boundaries of the community.

The first draft, issued in September 2010, predicted that residents most likely will face negative health effects from Antero's activities.

That report was met with strong condemnation from the oil and gas industry and technical criticism from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment [CDPHE]."

New York Times Feature Article

Click Here to read the full article from the NYT site

Excerpt from IAN URBINA of the New York Times

"So energy companies are clamoring to drill. And they are getting rare support from their usual sparring partners. Environmentalists say using natural gas will help slow climate change because it burns more cleanly than coal and oil. Lawmakers hail the gas as a source of jobs. They also see it as a way to wean the United States from its dependency on other countries for oil.

But the relatively new drilling method — known as high-volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing, or hydrofracking — carries significant environmental risks. It involves injecting huge amounts of water, mixed with sand and chemicals, at high pressures to break up rock formations and release the gas.

With hydrofracking, a well can produce over a million gallons of wastewater that is often laced with highly corrosive salts, carcinogens like benzene and radioactive elements like radium, all of which can occur naturally thousands of feet underground. Other carcinogenic materials can be added to the wastewater by the chemicals used in the hydrofracking itself."

NYT Video Featuring Garfield County

CLICK HERE to watch.

MIT Well Watch Website

CLICK HERE to access the MIT Well Watch site.

Enter your address and monitor complaints lodged against the wells nearest to your residence.

LEGAL OPTIONS IN GARFIELD COUNTY

Tuesday February 22, 2011

Glenwood Springs Community Center

Glenwood Springs, Garfield County, Colorado

EXPLORING LEGAL OPTIONS

IN GARFIELD COUNTY, COLORADO

It was a standing room only crowd Tuesday night for a meeting to discuss the legal options of residents living near the sites of natural gas drilling operations. The informative meeting was hosted by the law firms of Napoli Bern Ripka & Associates from New York City, and the law firm of Thomas/Genshaft LLP out of Aspen, Colorado, which specializes in real estate law. In the days leading up to the meeting, it had been suggested that it was possible the firms were ‘ambulance chasers,’ only latching onto the potential cases because oil and gas drillers have deep, deep pockets. By the end of Marc Bern’s impassioned speech, that notion seemed to be dispelled, and the attendees were heard murmuring to one another about how maybe, just maybe, the tide was about turn in their favor.

Marc Bern’s law firm is no stranger to daunting cases. They settled a case against the City of New York, winning approximately $800 million dollars for the emergency responders in the New York and Washington D.C. terrorist attacks of 2001. Before that settlement, many of the emergency workers who had become ill after helping others in the maelstrom that was left in the wake of the attacks were left to fend for themselves when they became too sick to work and maintain their health insurance benefits. Napoli Bern Ripka & Associates has experience with cases of groundwater contamination in New York, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. The firm also represents residents from Dimock, Pennsylvania, which is practically a ghost town after natural gas drilling operations there have contaminated the land and water and sent many residents fleeing the area as if it were Chernobyl. Unfortunately, most people cannot afford to abandon homes that they’ve paid for or are still paying for. The properties cannot be sold. The aquifer in Dimock has been contaminated by methane gas, and dangerously high levels of aluminum and iron. The oil and gas company responsible for the contamination, Houston, Texas-based Cabot Oil & Gas, began delivering water to the town after the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection took all of the residential wells offline. In the meantime, property values plummeted and residents got sick, or sicker. Their tale is as familiar as the one that has been unfolding for years in Garfield County, Colorado, which is featured in the Oscar nominated documentary film, GASLAND.

Bern opened the meeting with a short clip about the effects that hydraulic fracturing contamination has had on the residents of Dimock. He went on to explain that there are countries around the world which import natural gas from the U.S., even though they have their own underground resources, because they do not want to destroy their own environments. Bern also pointed out that China recently bought a multi-million dollar stake in oil and gas fields in southern Texas. There’s probably nothing anyone can do to slow or stop this modern day underground Gold Rush, but residents in this once peaceful and independent county are about to find themselves with access to contingency-based legal representation. It isn’t that Garfield County residents didn’t have legitimate concerns and issues before now, they simply did not have the financial means to go up against an industry that is well-funded by the methods that are making people sick.

To keep the meeting moving along smoothly, Bern asked that questions be written down, allowing him and his colleagues, Tate Kunkle, of Napoli Bern Ripka, and Corey Zurbuch, of Thomas/Genshaft, to answer more efficiently.

Question 1) What is the possibility of a class action suit?

The law firms plan individual law suits for residents whose land, water, and health have been impacted. They will also be seeking to have the gas company (in this particular case, it is Antero Resources) create a medical monitoring fund which will allow residents free access to regular health screenings to detect potential future illness.

Question 2) What are the odds of getting the industry to change their practices?

Bern said, “Dick Cheney made sure the energy act exempted hydraulic fracturing.” He believes that Congress will eventually overturn that exemption, saying, “Change happens because of law suits.”

Question 3) How will you defend loss of property value in this recession/economy?

Bern explained that while the overall national drop in real estate property is approximately 30%, if it can proven that a resident’s property is now worth even less than that 30% average, they have a legal case for diminished valuation. “If you don’t have water that can be used for crops, livestock, pets, or personal use, that’s going to be more than the national 30% loss.”

Question 4) Is there a contact person for legal representation?

Marc Bern and Tate Kunkle with Napoli Bern Ripka & Associates 1.800.642.8901

Question 5) Do you represent legal issues before problems?

Medical monitoring would track symptoms, which is why we will be seeking court-ordered funding from the gas company.

Question 6) If one does not own property, but their health is affected by exposure to gas drilling, can they still file for legal assistance?

Yes – one does not need to be a land or home owner to file for representation.

Question 7) Can government leaders be held accountable for decisions that allow drilling to continue?

Government representatives are immune; they cannot be sued. Plaintiffs must go after the owners of property rights given to drilling companies.

Question 8) What is the statute of limitation for bringing a suit against the drilling company?

Statute of limitation for damage or contamination of property is 3 years. Statute of limitation for personal injury is 2 years. However, if one had not been aware of the cause & effect of the personal injury (not realizing that an illness was caused by the drilling process), one may still file a law suit.

Question 9) What are ‘stigma damages’?

‘Stigma damages’ are based on having a property that is not physically affected, but is still affected by a neighboring parcel of land which IS damaged by the drilling. This includes diminished property values.

Question 10) Do you require a retainer fee?

Cases are based on contingency. If the firm doesn’t believe there’s enough to win a case, they won’t take it. Legal fees are taken only after the law suit has been won.

The first case which will be brought against Antero Resources will be filed by Napoli Bern Ripka & Associates LLP within the next two weeks, and will be based on the plaintiff’s contaminated domestic well, personal injury to health, and diminished value of real estate property.

For information about retaining legal representation, contact Marc Bern or Tate Kunkle at Napoli Bern Ripka & Associates @ 1-800-870-8732

RSPN MEETING 3/2/2011

Rifle/Silt/Peach Valley/New Castle Concerned Citizens will host their next meeting Wednesday March 2nd at the fire house in Silt. 7pm. Topics to include the BOCC decision to drop Intervention and the Antero 'Memorandum of Understanding'.
Call Sandy Pickard @ (970) 618.9770 for more information

GASLAND screenings

Gasland airs tonight in Carbondale Colorado, 3rd Street Center 5:30. Rick Roles, Dee Hoffmeister, and Tara Meixsell will be there for the after discussion - hosted by Wilderness Workshop.

Tomorrow Gasland screens in Aspen at ACES at 7:30

No IMMEDIATE Plan To Intensify Silt Mesa Drilling

Read the full Post Independent article by CLICKING HERE.

Antero Resources currently has no plans to conduct intensified drilling in the Silt Mesa area for the next year or two, a company official said at a public meeting held Wednesday.

But in response to questions from the audience, Antero vice president Kevin Kilstrom said that, after a year or two, the company may renew its applications for 10-acre downhole spacing permits from the state.

In the meantime, he said, Antero is planning to drill 40 new wells around the county this year.

Silt Mesa, however, is likely to see only one new well drilled in 2011 — a fifth test well on what is known as the Jewell Pad at the northern edge of the neighborhood.

The company already has drilled four wells in the Silt Mesa area, which has prompted some residents to join together in opposition to the intensified drilling plan.

Approximately 200 people jammed into the central common space at Coal Ridge High School on Wednesday evening to hear from Antero Resources about its gas drilling plans for the area.

The high school, located between New Castle and Silt, sits atop a potential natural gas deposit itself, which now is leased to Antero by the Garfield Re-2 School District.

Public Meeting with NYC Law Firm

PUBLIC MEETING - OIL & GAS ISSUES

LEGAL OPTIONS

Napoli Bern Ripka & Associates, LLP together with Colorado counsel invite the public to a community informational meeting addressing Natural Gas Drilling Concerns and Legal Options

DATE: February 22, 2011

TIME: 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm

LOCATION: Glenwood Springs Community Center

Napoli Bern Ripka & Associates, LLP, a New York City based law firm (www.nbrlawfirm.com), and Aspen based Thomas|Genshaft LLP (www.thomasgenshaft.com), are hosting an informational meeting for residents located in Western Colorado on potential adverse effects of unconventional natural gas drilling in their community.

Napoli Bern Ripka has been investigating reports from residents in many states, including Colorado, Wyoming, Oklahoma, New York and Pennsylvania, about air and water pollution, property damage, diminution in property values, and the industrialization of their communities. Napoli Bern Ripka represents families and individuals throughout the country who are suffering from the effects of natural gas drilling and fracking, including many residents in Dimock, Pa, whose plight was highlighted in the academy award nominated film “Gasland”.

About Napoli Bern Ripka & Associates, LLP

Napoli Bern Ripka & Associates, LLP is a nationally recognized law firm whose main focus is plaintiff's mass tort litigation, concentrating in areas such as toxic torts, environmental litigation, pharmaceutical litigation, securities arbitration, wrongful death, product liability, labor law, and defective prescription drugs. Napoli Bern Ripka’s experienced environmental attorneys have represented clients throughout the country harmed by a multitude of environmental pollutants and toxins such as petroleum spills, dioxin, PERC, asbestos, and the gasoline additive MTBE in public water supply wells.

Napoli Bern Ripka also represents over 10,000 ground zero workers in In re: Word Trade Center Disaster Site Litigation, including firemen, police personnel and other rescue personnel who were injured as a result of exposure to the toxic dust at the site. The case recently settled for over $700 million.

For further information, contact:

Marc Jay Bern

Napoli Bern Ripka & Associates, LLP

350 Fifth Avenue, Suite 7413

New York, New York 10118

(212) 267-3700

mjbern@napolibern.com

What is Fracking?

CLICK HERE to read the entire article.

Often an oil- or gas-bearing formation may contain large quantities of oil or gas, but have a poor flow rate due to low permeability, or from damage or clogging of the formation during drilling.[1] This is particularly true for tight sands, oil shales and coalbed methane. Hydraulic fracturing (also known as fracking, which rhymes with cracking) is a technique used to create fractures that extend from the well bore into rock or coal formations. These fractures allow the oil or gas to travel more easily from the rock pores, where the oil or gas is trapped, to the production well. [2] Typically, in order to create fractures a mixture of water, proppants (sand or ceramic beads) and chemicals is pumped into the rock or coal formation.

Hydraulic Fracturing Operation Click here for larger view

Eventually, the formation will not be able to absorb the fluid as quickly as it is being injected. At this point, the pressure created causes the formation to crack or fracture. The fractures are held open by the proppants, and the oil or gas is then able to flow through the fractures to the well.[3] Some of the fracturing fluids are pumped out of the well and into surface pits or tanks during the process of extracting oil, gas and any produced water, but studies have shown that anywhere from 20-40% of fracing fluids may remain underground.[4]

Potential Groundwater Contamination - As mentioned previously, hydraulic fracturing is used in many coalbed methane (CBM) production areas. Some coal beds contain groundwater of high enough quality to be considered underground sources of drinking water (USDWs). According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ten out of eleven CBM basins in the U.S. are located, at least in part, within USDWs. Furthermore, EPA has determined that in some cases, hydraulic fracturing chemicals are injected directly into USDWs during the course of normal fracturing operations.[8] (Read stories by Peggy Hocutt and Laura Amos to learn how hydraulic fracturing of coalbeds and other geological formations has affected their lives.)

NYC Law Firm Eyes Garfield County

CLICK HERE to read the full story at The Colorado independent

Residents of Garfield County neighborhoods impacted by natural gas drilling have been approached by a New York City firm that last year landed a $712.5 million settlement for workers injured in the World Trade Center cleanup.

A representative of Napoli Bern Ripka LLP will attend a meeting of potential plaintiffs Feb. 22 at the Glenwood Springs Community Center, according to an activist group fighting to mitigate drilling impacts. Also on hand will be attorneys from the Aspen law firm of Thomas Genshaft PC.

Dave Devanney, co-chair of Battlement Concerned Citizens, said there was so much interest in a possible “mass tort” lawsuit that a meeting originally scheduled for last month had to be postponed to this month to accommodate all the interested property owners. He added it’s not clear at this point who all the defendants might be or the basis for any potential litigation

“It appears that the scope of possible legal action may have been broadened beyond just [diminished] property values,” Devanney wrote in an email Monday. “Plus, the scope of possible clients may have also changed.”

Attorneys first began contacting residents of the Silt Mesa subdivision last month. Denver-based Antero Resources began drilling there last summer and had been seeking an increase in well density from one per 40 acres to one per 10. The company reportedly backed off that plan in a meeting with the county commissioners on Monday, also committing to a setback of 500 feet from an occupied building.

Meeting Time Changed

GVCA meeting will now be held on Saturday at 10am, upstairs at the Rifle Library.

COGA Withdraws Lawsuit Challenging Revised Regulations

Click here to read the article from The Colorado Independent

“This heralds what we hope will be a new era of collaboration and predictability in the development of our energy resources,” Gov. John Hickenlooper said in the release. “It’s important to get beyond old fights and move ahead to develop Colorado’s abundant natural gas and protect our environment at the same time.”

Newly elected COGA Chairman Scott Moore, of Anadarko, echoed the sentiments of Hickenlooper, a former geologist: “Abundant, affordable, clean burning natural gas is a cornerstone of Colorado’s energy, economic, and environmental solutions moving forward. The Hickenlooper administration clearly recognizes this and is committed to a balanced and engaged dialogue moving forward.”

Some are afraid the new administration may be too friendly with the state’s oil and gas industry. That fear was not assuaged by comments Hickenlooper made recently in The New York Times: “We should drill the living daylights out of natural gas and cut regulation.”

Administration officials quickly tried to explain that statement, but to some residents of heavily drilled areas like Garfield County, the new administration’s stance is somewhat worrisome."

(All rights: David O. Williams/The Colorado Independent)

ANTERO Community Meetings

Antero will be holding their annual community meetings this week.

Wednesday Feb 9th at 6:30 @ Coal Ridge High School in Silt

and

Thursday Feb 10th at 6:30 @ the Battlement Mesa Activity Center
0398 Arroyo Drive in Parachute

GVAC Meeting

Grand Valley Citizens Alliance

The GVCA will be holding a meeting tomorrow evening (Tuesday Feb 8th) at 6:00pm at the Rifle library.

~~Canceled~~

RSPN

Click on the link below to join the Facebook page specifically pertaining to residents and the issues affecting the towns of Rifle, Silt, Peach Valley, and New Castle, Colorado.

RSPN on Facebook

'Fracking the Western Slope' on Facebook

Click below to join the Facebook community group & stay informed of local news pertaining to gas drilling on the western slope of Colorado, as well as keep up to date on meeting times and locations.

FRACKING THE WESTERN SLOPE

COLLATERAL DAMAGE by Tara Meixsell

Purchase a copy from Amazon by CLICKING HERE

Collateral Damage: A Chronicle of Lives Devastated by Gas and Oil Development and the Valiant Grassroots Fight to Effect Political and Legislative Change Over the Impacts of the Gas and Oil Industry in the United States, by Tara Meixsell, examines the effectiveness with which our legislators and public officials protect us from the health and environmental impacts of fossil-fuel development. The 350-page book chronicles the experiences of the residents of Garfield County, Colorado, who live at the epicenter of gas and oil development. Few people, even within the environmental community, are aware of the extraordinary devastation that has occurred in Western Colorado -- and indeed, in communities throughout the United States -- particularly over the last decade, thanks to the post 9-11 energy frenzy. Gas wells are drilled 150 feet from homes, while toxic and undisclosed chemicals pollute the air and water. Citizens sickened -- sometimes permanently -- by the practice of "off gassing" from the open pits and wells are literally knocked to the ground, overcome by fumes. Domestic water wells erupt and are fouled, and the industry credo is to deny any wrongdoing. The current world situation has set the stage for lax to non-existent regulation of the domestic gas and oil industry, sanctioned by former President George W. Bush's energy friendly administration which allowed industry-biased regulations and accelerated development. As a result, the American West has become open range, and those living near gas and oil development are collateral damage.

GASLAND Excerpts

For more clips, simply head over to youtube and do a search for 'Gasland'.

CLICK HERE to watch key scenes from Josh Fox's Oscar nominated documentary, GASLAND

Purchase your own copy from Amazon by CLICKING HERE

Little did director Josh Fox know that he'd find himself trailing the history and future of natural gas mining for this documentary, Gasland, or so he claims in this moving and evocative political exposé. Thankfully unpretentious and lacking in the didacticism that plagues many political documentaries, Gasland is edifying in the most entertaining and palatable way. Fox's open-ended questions presented during his narration are answered by interviewees found as he travels cross-country to source out water pollution happening as a result of hydraulic fracturing. The tension begins when Fox researches a letter he receives in the mail at his rural Pennsylvania farmhouse, inviting him to sell his land for $100,000 and permission to mine natural gas. He comes to discover how the Delaware River watershed's imminently endangered status will threaten New York City's main water source, and towards the end of the film focuses on New York City, as respected politicians like John Gennaro and Congressman Maurice Hinchey speak on behalf of this issue. But before filming congressional hearings, Fox charts his personal dilemma and how it quickly spirals outward, as first his neighbors tell him horror stories about water contamination due to this process. And as he tours Colorado, Wyoming, and Texas, where hydraulic fracturing has already contaminated myriad underground wells, Fox actually films many families' water faucets catching fire as people hold a match to their running tap water. Fox's continuing investigation ties this unchecked chemical process to Dick Cheney's Halliburton activity and bills covertly passed during the Bush administration. Gasland does not have a conspiratorial feel; it takes an honest, even-keeled investigative approach and relies on information relayed to Fox from renowned activists like Dr. Theo Colborn and Environmental Protection Agency staffer Weston Wilson. This documentary sheds light on what has been a practice that many American citizens have assumed mysterious and possibly benign. It is easy to understand why Gasland has garnered so many film festival awards, since it presents vital information that will necessitate action once it reaches enough of the population. This is grassroots documentary filmmaking at its finest. --Trinie Dalton

MIT Well Watch

CLICK HERE to access the MIT Well Watch site.

Simply type in your address for a view of the wells in your area. From there, you can submit problems you've experienced due to proximity to a particular well pad.

Antero Annual Meeting

Antero will be holding a community meeting at Coal Ridge High School on Wednesday February 9th. Meeting begins at 6:30pm.

Commissioners Plan Intervention

Garfield County commissioners plan a formal intervention against gas drilling expansions in Silt, Colorado.

Click here to watch the news clip from Grand Junction station, KJCT8.