A Fractured State: Counties Divide Over Proposition 112

BOULDER, CO - Weld County Commissioners came out this week against Proposition 112, a state ballot initiative that would increase oil and gas setbacks to 2,500 feet from all occupied structures. Their statement puts them in direct opposition to Boulder County Commissioners, who issued a June press release in favor of the measure. Weld's resolution vote was unanimous and described 112 as "a one-size-fits all, blunt instrument that would create a de facto ban on oil and gas production, even in communities that embrace responsible energy development ..." reported the Daily Camera this week.

112 is a measure that both men vying for statewide votes in the governor's race–Republican Walker Stapleton and Democrat Jared Polis–have spoken against in recent weeks. According to analysis by conservative think-tank Common Sense Policy Roundtable that was reviewed by Colorado School of Mines faculty, the Wall Street Journal reported this week that 112 could kill up to 147,800 jobs and reduce state GDP by as much as $218 billion by 2030, generating a potential loss of $1.1 billion in state and local tax revenues.

Those numbers hit far closer to home in Weld County than Boulder. Recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data puts the location quotient for oil and gas extraction jobs in Weld at 7.4, meaning that the percentage of that county's population employed by the industry is 7.4 times the national average. Boulder's is less than 2. Similarly, according to Colorado's state department of labor and employment, reported the Camera, there were 12,486 oil and gas jobs in Weld in the first quarter of this year, compared to less than 100 in Boulder County. An article in the New York Times earlier this summer reported that the fracking boom has flooded Weld with money and jobs. Don Warden, the county’s finance director, was quoted as calling the shale below him “the gift that keeps on giving.”

Proponents of the measure focus on recent studies about the health dangers of fracking as well industry-related disasters and dangers across the area. "Since the flowline-related explosion last year that killed two men and injured one woman in their Firestone home," said Boulder County Commissioners in their June 2018 news release, "Colorado has experienced at least a dozen reported fires and explosions at oil and gas sites resulting in death or serious injuries...not only are chemical releases, fires and explosions an issue, but just last year in Colorado there were 619 reported spills, including 93,000 gallons of oil into soil, groundwater and streams, and 506,000 gallons of produced water spilled."

The Colorado Independent reported this month that Protect Colorado, the group opposing the measure, has raised over $21 million as of Sept. 4, while supporters Colorado Rising are operating with just $698,000 in contributions. Boulder supporters are actually responsible for almost half of those donations, a total of $324,000, but Colorado Rising's second-largest funding group was Washington DC-based organizations such as Food and Water Watch, according to the Independent. The vast majority of Protect Colorado's funding comes from Texas oil companies–some of which have offices in Colorado.

According to state data on DrillingEdge, in May 2018 there were 36,331 producing wells in Colorado. 11,155 of those were in Weld, while 244 were in Boulder County.

It's election season! Keep updated with a free Patch newsletter. Subscribe here.

Image Credit: Shutterstock