There is a MASSIVE plan to drill over 160 new oil and gas fracking wells all around and underneath the Aurora Reservoir and schools, parks, and thousands of homes in the area, and right next to the Lowry Landfill Superfund Site too!
The plan, called the “Lowry Ranch Comprehensive Area Plan” or “Lowry Ranch CAP”, will sneak through approval unless we come together to demand the regulators protect our health, safety, and environment! Local residents are organizing as Save The Aurora Reservoir (or “STAR”) to push back against this dangerous plan! Check out the Calls to Action here and the More Information section below!
CALLS TO ACTION (Take Action Now!)
Online Actions
- Submit a written comment by the May 3, 2024 Deadline: Click here to submit a written comment to the Colorado ECMC.
- For pointers, see Sample Comments below.
- Looking for more tips and context for submitting your comment? Check out the video recording of our virtual comment writing workshop here!
- Spread the Word on Social Media! Follow, like, comment, and share Save the Aurora Reservoir on Instagram and on Facebook here!
- Write a Letter to the Editor or Op Ed! The opinions section is the most read section of newspapers; use your voice to raise awareness of this critical issue and demand that lawmakers and regulators take appropriate action. The “Stop Lowry Ranch CAP!” LTE Toolkit here has everything you need to get started!
- SAVE THE DATE: ECMC virtual public hearing on (tentatively) Wednesday, June 26th, 2024.
In-Person Actions
- Want to volunteer with STAR (Save the Aurora Reservoir)? Complete the Volunteer Sign Up form here!
- STAR has requested a “local public hearing” (under 2 Colo. Code Regs. § 404-1-511). If granted by the ECMC, the hearing will be held in-person in the vicinity of the proposed drilling in southeast Aurora. We don’t know the date yet but as soon as we do we will publicize it loudly – STAR has set a high goal to have a LARGE turn out at the local public hearing – please stay tuned and plan to join us there!
MORE INFORMATION
What is Oil and Gas Fracking?
Fracking is a heavy industrial process whereby millions of barrels of water are mixed with hundreds of undisclosed and often toxic chemicals and sand, and then injected through well bores deep into the earth under extremely high pressure to fracture deep rock formations and force oil and natural gas (methane) to the surface. Peer-reviewed scientific research and on the ground experiences have proven that fracking poses grave risks to public health, clean air and water, and a stable climate. Fracking fouls our air, water, and climate, and deteriorates our landscapes and home values.
Here in Colorado, oil and gas fracking is our #1 source of air pollution causing the climate crisis and the ‘severe’ ozone air pollution problem along Colorado’s front range. The Denver Metro Northern Front Range area has been out of compliance with EPA standards for ground-level ozone air pollution for over 16 years and each new oil and gas well drilled adds to the problem.
Learn More about Fracking:
- 350 Colorado’s “Colorado Fracking Resource Hub”
- Neighbor 2 Neighbor’s “Colorado Oil & Gas 101”
- “Health impacts of Fracking in Colorado” by Physicians For Social Responsibility
What is planned for the Aurora Reservoir?
The plan to frack the Aurora Reservoir, called the “Lowry Ranch Comprehensive Area Plan” or “Lowry Ranch CAP”, is a massive oil and gas development plan covering 63 sq. miles or 40,000 acres with 10 different pads and up to 164 new wells located to the north, south, and east of the Aurora Reservoir. From these well pads, the oil and gas drill bores will extend down thousands of feet and extend to the east and west for miles. Construction is planned to begin in 2024 with all sites to be producing by the end of 2028. After pad construction, drilling, fracking, and flowback/tubing installation, each well is expected to produce fracked oil and gas for up to 25 years.
→ LEARN MORE about the plan from our friends at climate movement co. here!
The plan covers a tremendous area in the southeast of Aurora in the Denver Metro Area.
The proposed plan has 10 well pads (dark red shapes) with dozens of drill lines (red lines) running horizontally out from the well pads.
This new Lowry Ranch CAP is in addition to another CAP already approved by the ECMC called the Box Elder CAP. Together these two CAPs cover a tremendous area of Aurora to the east of Denver where the metro area is rapidly expanding. A majority of the Box Elder CAP is designated as Disproportionately Impacts Communities (DICs), and the northern third of the Lowry Ranch CAP is DICs with some of the most toxic air and polluted waterways in the state.
Who opposes this plan?
Save the Aurora Reservoir (“STAR”) – a community group started by Southeast Aurora residents protecting our community’s air, water, and health from the risks of fracking. Become a member, donate, get gear, and learn more on STAR’s linktree here!
350 Colorado – a statewide organization building the local grassroots movement to solve the climate crisis and transition to a sustainable future.
Black Parent United Foundation Colorado – community-based non-profit empowering parents of black and brown children to empower their children, promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion through confidence building, community development, and community engagement.
climate movement co. – “in the business of telling stories,” helping frontline Colorado communities tell stories through photos and video, and fight for climate and environmental justice.
Colorado Rising – a statewide organization working to protect Colorado’s health, safety, wildlife, environment, and the future of our climate from the impacts of oil & gas development.
Colorado Sierra Club – state chapter of the largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the U.S.
Physicians for Social Responsibility Colorado – offering evidence-based education and advocacy, elevating the voices of health professionals to protect current and future generations from the health impacts of hydraulic fracturing, the climate crisis, and exposure to radionuclides and other toxic substances.
Sample Comments
Use these sample comments as examples to get you started in drafting your own written comments. Written comments are most effective when they are written in your own words and are specific to what you personally care about. Make it personal, passionate, and persuasive!
Sample Comment #1 – Protect Our Open Space & Wildlife
Sample Comment #2 – Protect the Health & Safety of Our Families
Sample Comment #3 – Protect Our Water & Seismicity & Superfund Site
Sample Comment #1 – Protect Our Open Space & Wildlife
The Lowry Ranch CAP proposal is a threat to our reservoir, homes, community, and lives. I am therefore writing to express my opposition to this proposed CAP. The Aurora Reservoir, since its opening in June of 1991, has provided a place for the community to gather and enjoy swimming and boating as well as walking trails, a nature center, scuba, archery, and more. It has been a centerstone for many of the communities in southeast Aurora. Additionally, it provides water to all the residents of Aurora.
The body of water is pristine and clean at this time — some of the cleanest residential water in the country. Surface and airborne pollutants, which are unavoidable side effects of fracking operations, will contaminate this critical water source over time. We only need to look at Pennsylvania and West Virginia to see the devastation caused to waterways when PFAS released from fracking contaminate fish and wildlife.(1)
The many types of flora and fauna that live in the wild areas within and adjacent to the CAP deserve protection. The area is home to eagles and other raptors as well as swiftfox — an endangered and protected species in Colorado. Various deer, antelope, and other wildlife rely on the open space and access to clean water and air. Local research has found nesting locations for an eagle pair as well as habitat for the swiftfox and Preble’s Meadow mouse. The total impacts of fracking on biological systems are still being studied, but initial results show concerning outcomes.(2)
Returning to the human component, hundreds if not thousands of Aurora and Denver metro residents utilize the CAP area to walk, run, swim, bike, and recreate outside. The chemicals and pollutants that are part of the hydraulic fracturing process emit volatile organic compounds known to reduce air quality and cause health problems over time and will degrade our ability to participate in outdoor activities.
There are also 13 schools either within or directly adjacent to the CAP area. Children are known to suffer a five-fold increase in pediatric cancers when exposed within a mile of an active well pad (3) and are also at increased risk of developing asthma and other lung problems. A study done by Anschutz Medical in Aurora/Denver details the enhanced risk of childhood heart problems.(4) Additionally, this plan for over 160 new wells in the Lowry Ranch CAP will devalue the homes of the 80,000+ residents that live nearby, which will in turn impact school funding which is based on housing values.
In summary, I want the commission to evaluate the proposal as a whole — considering the cumulative impacts of projects like these on Coloradans. All of the issues listed here outweigh the value of the proposal. The State is responsible to its citizens per SB 19-1815, not to the industry, so please keep this in mind as you consider the proposal. I appreciate your time and consideration.
REFERENCES
2 – https://news.wisc.edu/drilling-in-the-dark-biological-impacts-of-fracking-still-largely-unknown
3 – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5235941/
Sample Comment #2 – Protect the Health & Safety of Our Families
I am writing to express my opposition to the Lowry Ranch CAP application and urge the ECMC to reject this development proposal. The ECMC’s mission is to regulate the development and production of the natural resources of oil and gas… “in a manner that protects public health, safety, and welfare, including protection of the environment and wildlife resources.” The Lowry Ranch CAP application proposes over 160 new oil and gas fracking wells that will add to and exacerbate serious risks and impacts to our public health and safety.
First, scientific studies have found multiple serious health impacts from oil and gas fracking, even when studies are carefully designed to eliminate any cumulative impacts from industry, road traffic, construction, and other impacts. For example, studies have found:
- Fracking well density was associated with increased rates of hospitalization for cardiac, neurological, urological, cancer-related and skin-related problems. (1)
- Proximity to natural gas fracking operations was associated with progressively worsening asthma symptoms. (2)
- Mothers giving birth to babies with congenital heart defects and neural tube defects were more likely to live near the highest density drilling. (3)
- Mothers living in most active fracking areas are at increased risk of premature birth. (4)
- Children and young adults diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia were up to four and a half times more likely to live in areas with the highest density/proximity to wells as compared to those outside of 16 km radius. (5)
Second, residents living in the vicinity of the proposed wells in the Lowry Ranch CAP proposal are already at higher risk of respiratory disease and challenges including chest pain, coughing, throat irritation, congestion, bronchitis, emphysema, and asthma because of the “severe” levels of ground level ozone air pollution in the Denver Metro/North Front Range nonattainment area. Since oil and gas operations are the largest source in Colorado of ozone air pollution precursors, adding over 160 new oil and gas wells in the nonattainment area is certain to increase impacts to our health and safety.
Finally, increased risk of wildfire is another serious impact to public health and safety posed by the Lowry Ranch CAP. As we all learned from the Marshall Fire that killed 2 people and burned 6,026 acres and 1,084 structures in one day, housing developments like those in and around the Lowry Ranch CAP can be extremely vulnerable to wildfire when the conditions are right. Oil and gas truck traffic and activity at well pads and pipelines are all potential ignition sources. The CAP proposes putting many dozens of wells just over 3000 feet from densely populated neighborhoods that are separated from the wells only by fields of Piedmont tall-grass (aka “flash fuel”), creating the perfect conditions to replicate the Marshall Fire disaster. The proposal does not include sufficient mitigation of wildfire risk nor adequate fire protection. The closest pads must be moved further away to much safer locations to mitigate the risk of wildland fire.
In conclusion, approval of the Lowry Ranch CAP as proposed does not protect public health, safety, and welfare. The risks to my community are unacceptable. The state is responsible to its citizens per SB 19-181, not to the industry. Please keep this in mind as you consider this proposal. I appreciate your time and consideration.
REFERENCES
1. Jemielita T. et al, 2015. Unconventional gas and oil drilling is associated with increased hospital utilization rates. PLoS ONE.
2. Rasmussen, SG, et al (September 2016). Association Between Unconventional Natural Gas Development in the Marcellus Shale and Asthma Exacerbations. JAMA
3. McKenzie, L. M., et al. (2014). Birth outcomes and maternal residential proximity to natural gas development in rural Colorado. Environmental Health Perspectives.
4. Casey J.A. et al. “Unconventional Natural Gas Development and Birth Outcomes in Pennsylvania, USA.” Epidemiology.
5. McKenzie, L. M., et al. (2017). Childhood hematologic cancer and residential proximity to oil and gas development. PLoS ONE 12(2);e0170423.doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0170423
Sample Comment #3 – Protect Our Water & Seismicity & Superfund Site
As a resident of southeast Aurora, I would like to express my concerns about the Lowry Ranch CAP proposal. I, my family and my neighbors will be directly impacted by the 166 new wells in this proposal.
My concerns begin with the effects of fracking on water — reservoirs, streams, groundwater, and aquifers. Studies have consistently shown fracking pollution in groundwater and frequently in private wells1. The proposed Best Management Practices for the Lowry Ranch CAP fall short of recommendations made by experts in the field. Current practices in Colorado focus specifically on the proposed well pad location, ignoring the risks that spills, leaks, and fires pose to the larger surrounding area. This is of significant concern to me because the industry is expected to self-report when they encounter spills and issues on their well sites.
Further, my community and I are very concerned about the location of the proposed wells in relation to the Lowry Landfill Superfund Site, fearing the combination of underground explosions and high-pressure injections into underground structures that are not fully known. Detailed research by knowledgeable third parties has already revealed faults along the Aurora Reservoir dam as well as near/under the Superfund site. These reports, including a USGS report which the CGS took as a baseline, show faults in the areas where drilling is planned.
Additional comprehensive geologic and geophysical surveys are required to understand other yet unmapped faults, fractures, and discontinuities that are highly common in shale formations such as those underlying our entire region. While massive accidents are rare, the fact is that a minor shift of the terrain in the proposed area could have immediate catastrophic consequences for nearby residents and our precious aquifers, and would surely yield long-term exposure to the Superfund site’s toxic pollution for residents across the metro area.
A final point to consider is the location of the Superfund site in relation to the four large aquifers that supply much of Metro Denver and the region with its water. These underground bodies of water are beneath the Superfund’s unlined pits and above the fracturing area, positioning them perfectly to absorb the leaking toxic mess from above. Since PFAS (“forever chemicals”) have already been found in nearby wells and in the local water supply, fracking in the area is a reckless and dangerous gamble to take with a major drinking water supply of the Denver metro region.
Lastly, the quantity of water required for the fracking wells of the Lowry Ranch CAP — expected to be 3.4 billion gallons — is an irresponsible and wasteful use of such a precious resource. Water used in fracking is lost from the water system at a rate of over 85%, meaning that for every gallon used we might get back at best 13 ounces. How long can we survive with so much water being wasted on dirty oil and gas?2
To summarize, the environmental impact of this proposal will be substantial with major additional risks of disaster. Who will pay if the Superfund site leaks even more after fracking? Where will the chemicals go? Current speculation is that the toxic spew could flow all the way to Pueblo, creating a massive problem over hundreds of miles. What is fracking worth? From my perspective, the costs of this proposal are simply too high. The state is responsible to its citizens per SB 19-181, not to the industry. Please keep this in mind as you consider this proposal. I appreciate your time and consideration.
REFERENCES
1 – https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fracking-can-contaminate-drinking-water/