If you are asked to sign a petition to put Initiative 78 on the statewide ballot, I 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 (COGCC) assessed the impact of the proposed ballot initiative, concluding that 95 percent of surface acreage in the top five oil and gas producing counties in Colorado would be unavailable for future oil and gas development or hydraulic fracturing operations. In practice, the mandatory 2,500- foot setback would become a ban on oil and gas 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 oil and gas development in northern Colorado, Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment (CDPHE) health indicators demonstrate that the occurrence of asthma, cancer, birth defects, low birth weight, and infant mortality in Larimer County (with fewer than 300 active oil and gas wells) is virtually indistinguishable from that in nearby Weld County (with more than 22,000 active oil and gas 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 on emotionally-charged issues. Call the mandatory setback what it is – a ban on oil and gas development in Colorado.
I urge you not to sign the petition for Initiative 78.
Matt Stiasny
Dove Creek