Oil & Gas
There is no question that Oil and Gas is a hot topic for Erie and its residents.
With a large number of families working in the industry, contrasted by a large number of residents feeling the negative impacts of the industry in our town, it’s a certainty we have to act in a way that allows for our community as a whole to be heard and assure residents that the decisions being made are for the greater good of the entire community.
I want to be realistic with you: I believe that we, as a town, need to focus on local control. We need to make sure that our decisions are based on our residents, not based on what Weld and/or Boulder Counties believe we should do. We have seen the impact on our town when we are held to other towns/counties/state regulations. We have an opportunity to take control, and we need to act on that.
While I do understand the need for oil and gas — and I have not seen any evidence of a strong, immediate transition to renewable energy sources as of yet — I do believe there are many things we can do to lessen the stronghold this topic has on our community.
As the Mayor of Erie, this is what I would like to work with the board to accomplish:
- I believe we need to develop a team around that includes experts from both sides of oil and gas, a lobbyist that understands law and regulation and can act at the state in a political arena. This would allow the board and residents to acquire information and advice on what our options are and how we go about eliminating the negative impact it’s had on our community. In addition, a team comprised of experts from both sides of the oil and gas stance would ensure all our residents have a voice and it would be my recommendation that just like our environmental planner, these people would be appointed through staff and citizen groups. I would encourage this group of individuals to host community events based on educations, sounding boards for concerns, and general roundtable discussions.
- Work with the board to properly equip our firehouses with detection technology that would allow them to respond to concerns quickly and have the proper equipment to determine if there is an issue. A couple of devices I would like to see in our firehouses is a portable, wireless advanced VOC monitor with benzene-specific technology as well as HS2 monitors. Possessing these would enable our town to quickly and effectively monitor a site without the need for a third party making their way to the site, sometimes hours or days after the initial concern was brought to the town. We need to possess the ability to respond quickly as our residents deserve such attention to their concerns.
- Work with the oil and gas companies operating in Erie to develop a plan for a plug, abandon, and relocate (relocate if necessary), to eliminate operations in close proximity to residential areas, schools, and areas where our community gathers. This is something that I believe could be completed within a 12-month time-frame with buy-in and support from the board and our residents.
- Put into place a requirement in the operator’s agreement to include closed-loop systems to reduce the environmental impact of drilling operations. For more information on closed-loop systems, please see this article from earthworks: https://www.earthworksaction.org/issues/alternatives_to_pits/#CLOSEDLOOP
- Put into place a requirement in the operator’s agreement to limit operating times or processes to ensure that night operations do not impact our residents and their right for peace and comfort as best we can without prolonging the operation.
- Frequent monitoring of operating sites to ensure, at a minimum all operations fall within the guidelines set by state guidelines and requirements. In addition, work with our firehouses to perform routine monitoring using infrared cameras, smell catering equipment, HS2 monitors, and VOC monitors.
- I would also work with the board to ensure we are presenting our residents with information as soon as possible as I believe our responsibility is to bring information to our residents rather than depending on our residents to monitor operations and bring information to our board. I would suggest doing this through the town’s automatic emailing system that requires residents to sign up for alerts. This will ensure those who want/need information are receiving information as quickly as possible. In addition, this utilizes processes that are already in place for various notifications.
