Colorado governor John Hickenlooper is a strong supporter of the controversial process known as fracking, which extracts previously inaccessible natural gas from below Earth’s surface by injecting a watery mix of undisclosed chemicals. Hickenlooper’s stance as pro-fracking puts him squarely at odds with many of his fellow Democrats both in Colorado and nationally. He is wrong in supporting this controversial process and should follow the progressive example of other Democrats who have regard for the environmental consequences.
A fracking boom swept the nation in 2008, when new technology made this previously inaccessible natural gas available for exploitation by energy companies. From North Dakota to Pennsylvania to Wyoming, the boom drove new economic growth in many states as the nation limped along in recovering from the recession.
However, it also took its toll on the environment: air quality and water quality concerns swept through areas recently opened to fracking. People living in the areas also reported weakness or sickness after wells were dug near their homes, and horror stories of kitchen faucets in Pennsylvania and Wyoming bursting into flames when turned on were just some of the visible consequences.
While the environmental consequences are apparent, the environmental benefits also need to be considered. The resultant natural gas burns far cleaner than the coal it is replacing in the energy industry of the U.S. This has reduced carbon emissions and put the U.S. in a position to meet its carbon emission reduction goals. While this is certainly a step forward, the rights of local counties and communities need to be respected.
In Colorado, Hickenlooper is facing a challenge by municipalities that have outlawed fracking within their city limits. Longmont residents voted to ban fracking late in 2012 despite major advertising effort by oil and gas companies, and has been sued by the state of Colorado for denying mineral rights owners access to their property. Other cities along the Front Range have banned fracking recently, but have not been sued.
Hickenlooper’s position that the State should control the gas and oil industry is likely to be challenged in the legislature. House Majority Leader Dickey Lee Hullinghorst, a Democrat, indicated last month that forthcoming legislation will attempt to tackle this issue.
Hickenlooper indicated that he may be willing to compromise with local municipalities that ban oil and gas development if they properly compensate mineral rights owners. But the governor is still squarely on the pro-fracking side, as he announced to a Senate committee in February that he drank a glass of fracking fluid made by energy giant Halliburton.
On the national level, Hickenlooper also seems to buck the trend among Democrats. While most fracking has taken place under Republican governors, with Pennsylvania, Wyoming and the Great Plains states from North Dakota to Texas leading the way, Hickenlooper has little party precedent to work off of. The only state with a Democratic governor with a major fracking play is New York, which currently has a moratorium on all fracking in the state. This is the result of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the Democratic state house demanding a more thorough environmental review before opening the state to the technique.
While fracking has not become a strictly partisan issue, a great number of more environmentally- conscious Democrats have taken a strong stance against it. Hickenlooper is testing his loyalty with fellow Democrats by suing Longmont and being a strong supporter of fracking. Instead, he should follow the lead of Hullinghorst in supporting more stringent fracking regulation in Colorado, as well as respect the bans passed on fracking within the city limits of Colorado communities.
