Climate action community makes history

We made history on March 28! It was the first time that a top oil and gas producing state debated a bill to phase out new oil and gas permits, and debate it we did – for nine hours! This historic bill, SB24-159, would have phased out new fracking permits by 2030 and enacted liability reform to hold operators responsible for clean-up costs. The transition away from fossil fuels is already underway, and this bill was a crucial piece of a responsible policy for managing it. There were over 200 people signed up on both sides of the issue to testify on and in the end we outnumbered the testifiers who were against the bill. So even though it failed in committee, it was a powerful first step. Read some of the testimony below, published with permission of the speakers. This represents a fraction of the testimony in support of this bill. Thank you to everyone who turned out to give testimony in person, on zoom, or in writing!

If you would like your testimony added to this blog post, please email Heidi@350Colorado.org

Testimony from people representing themselves

Thank you, Mr. Chair. My name is David Alley. I live in Denver, and I am in favor of SB-159.

I am a retired small business owner. In my view, this bill is about creating a future ALL Coloradans need in terms of public health and economic vitality. The Oil and Gas Industry has a business problem.

The economic reality is we need to reduce demand and phase out new permits. Oil and Gas must adopt a business model that’s best for our economy LONG TERM, not what’s best for shareholders and execs this quarter or this year.

What is the real economic value of continuing unrestrained permitting? A year ago, the Colorado Fiscal Institute found:

• Oil and gas extraction, along with pipeline construction, transportation, and support industries for oil and gas make up just 1.8% of total wages in the state, 3.3% of GDP and less than 1% of total employment.
• Meanwhile it creates significant health and environmental costs paid by Coloradans, not the industry. Oil and gas pollution will cause well over $13 billion in damages between now and 2030, based on social costs set in state law.
• It contributes to climate change, harming agriculture and recreation industries, and disasters costing the state between $20 and $50 billion since 1980.

For me that’s the business case for SB-159. It’s both an imperative for public health and an investment strategy for economic growth.

–David Alley

You have very tough jobs. I want to thank you for your service.

When I play with my grandkids, I see enjoyment of life and innocence. When I think of the future world they will inherit, it makes me testify on their behalf.

I strongly support SB24-159. I am asking you as our leaders to act now to support future generations. Later is TOO LATE!

I have worked in the environmental field for over 40 years, almost all in CO. I was a water guy, and switched to climate 8 years ago, as I learned what is predicted to happen. As Senator Hansen tells us, “we know climate change is non-linear, and we don’t know what will happen, and when”.

As you know, SB24-159 will phase out new oil and gas permits by 2030. This is only about new permits. We now have 50,00 operating oil and gas (O&G) wells in CO, and many more will be drilled by 2030. We will have plenty of oil and gas after 2030.

The O&G industry is excellent at its relentless disinformation, and they are mobilized against this bill. They tell all of us how CO has tough rules, they care about us and are committed to clean air, while showing beautiful photos. And they have more lobbyists than anyone else. Their huge profits allow the industry to continue their disinformation when they tell you the O&G phase out will destroy our economy, have massive job losses, and we will have shortages. The climate movement is way out-resourced here.

O&G industry operations are the largest source of air and climate pollution along the Front Range, and the primary cause of worldwide climate change.  That’s what the science clearly tells us. The industry will not stop because they care about us or our air.

A 2023 study by the CO Fiscal Institute showed the O&G industry has much less of an economic impact in CO than it claims. The industry accounts for just 2% of CO total wages, 1% of employment, and 3.3% of GDP. The annual cost of pollution damages is 1.5 times the total taxes and fees the industry brings to CO. There are now more jobs in renewable industries than oil and gas.

We cannot wait to transition away from fossil fuels. What are we waiting for? CO should be a leader in this effort. Vote yes on SB24-159. Thank you.

LATER IS TOO LATE!

–Marc Alston

Thank you Chair. My name is Dr. Eleanor Andrews, representing myself. I’ve never done this before.

Three things about me:

One, I live in Weld County, in an area identified by the Department of Public Health as a disproportionately impacted community. My 1-year-old son and 2-year old daughter should long be in bed. Are the risks to baby Gus’s health worth the zero sales tax my Commissioners are so proud of? Is Raina’s future worth so little?

Two, I teach and conduct social science research on climate change, at CSU and now the School of Mines.

Three, my faith also tells me to be a steward of the Earth.

All those together lead me to say the following:

First, today I’ve heard about some of the tradeoffs associated with this bill—I get that; it’s literally my job to think about those sorts of issues. But there’s also a simple truth at the core: fossil fuels are yesterday’s energy sources. Oil and gas are yesterday’s feedstocks. Everything else in the next one year, ten years, fifty years, comes after that first principle.

Second, this bill may be costly. But the costs of climate change are orders of magnitude higher—including on schoolchildren, who have gotten so much attention in this hearing. And with this effort and others, we can make sure the burden doesn’t fall on the least among us. That at least is in line with my own faith.

Mitigating climate change isn’t just about sacrifice, about making do with less; it’s a chance to build something better, a more prosperous economy, a more equitable society. Please vote yes on this bill.

–Dr. Eleanor Andrews

My name is Cynthia Beeler. I worked 15 years for Exxon building oil & gas facilities and, after earning a Master’s in Environmental Engineering, worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for 18 years mainly enforcing the Clean Air Act with oil & gas companies.

My EPA work included many hours in the field using a thermal infrared (IR) camera to observe plumes of emissions vented or leaked from oil & gas production sites and compressor stations. Those plumes can be harmful from nearby to global: Carcinogens like Benzene are health concerns for those living or working around the wellpads; VOCs (volatile organic compounds) combine with the NOx (nitrogen oxides – from burning field gas in engines, pumps, and combustor wellpad equipment) to form Ozone, a regional air quality concern; and Methane a greenhouse gas, 80+ times more potent than CO2 in climate warming globally.

I used the IR camera in several states and hundreds of facilities. It is rare to find no emissions at a site. CDPHE’s oil & gas air rules lead the nation, but oil & gas is at its grittiest upstream at wellpads before processing, causing malfunctions, especially as the equipment ages.

I would not want to live by a wellpad or compressor station, I do not want my son to have to check ozone levels before going out for a run, and I do not want my grandchildren growing up with fires, floods and famine from human-induced climate change.

–Cynthia Beeler

Chair Roberts and Committee members.

Please pass SB24-159 to protect Colorado tax payers from fracking well clean-up costs and to phase out new O&G permits.

Endless fracking permits will poison astronomical amounts of Colorado water. On ECMC’s website, the 2022 and 2023 cumulative impacts report reveals that the 1500 approved wells used 14 billion gallons of surface and groundwater those two years. That is equivalent to 5 years of water for all of Greeley, using EPA figures. And it does not include the 1000s of previously approved wells and 100s of wells applied for in CAPS. Per David Hugh’s 2019 report, past fracking in the Niobrara used up to 25 million gallons per well. Total water injection per well increased 240% from 2012 to 2018 to 6.9 million gallons, average.

Fracking wells involves injecting billions of gallons of water mixed with chemicals into the ground at extremely high pressure to break up the shale formations and extract oil & gas. Most water is taken from surface water or groundwater. It is permanently removed from the water cycle & must be injected deep underground, too polluted for use.

Despite our recent precipitation, Colorado and the West are in the worst mega drought for 1200 years. Water is a threatened precious resource as drought gets more frequent and severe in the climate crisis. There are two concerns. 1. Water is permanently removed from the hydrologic cycle when drought is increasing. 2. Risk to our ecosystems and drinking water from contaminated water. Since 2014, the EPA reported that polluted frack fluid can migrate into groundwater and aquifers.

A second issue in this bill is restructuring financial responsibility for plugging and remediation of O&G wells. If you don’t pass 159, CO taxpayers will be stuck paying hundreds of millions to clean up the mess, indebting our grandchildren. O&G will be long gone, their pockets full.

Colorado’s 100,000 O&G wells must be plugged and remediated, costing from 100K to 250K each and wellbores and pipeline infrastructure monitored for toxic leaks into perpetuity. Currently it is a shell game. Large companies sell to small companies, divesting their responsibilities for cleanup costs. Small companies eke out small amounts of product, can’t afford the cleanup and go under. The wells go into the state’s orphan well program. Coloradans, after suffering decades of pollution impacts, then must clean up the toxic mess. It is an outrage. Financial responsibility for cleanup should be with all prior owners.

Please pass 159

–Deb Bjork

Thank you for the opportunity to address the committee on this crucial proposal

IF, two letters, one of the smallest words in the dictionary yet it carries so much weight.

What IF the oil industry hadn’t spent the last 60+ decades engaged in the sort of propaganda, misinformation and lies that are outlined in the ‘Disinformation Play Book’ provided your offices this week?

What IF in 1981 Reagan had not removed the solar panels from the White House and stripped away the Carter administration’s tax credits to do R&D to develop clean renewable energy to start the country on the path to energy independence?

What IF instead of falling deeper and deeper under the spell of the oil cartels and their lies and propaganda if instead we had seen through those deceptions decades ago or if they had never engaged in such deceptions?

I’ve heard SB24-159 was not really expected to pass but more of a “conversation starter” IF the oil cartels hadn’t been such obstructionist we might have had these conversations decades ago, passed this legislation decades ago.

The problem we’re faced with today is: What if we needed to take these actions 5 years ago to avoid the worst impacts on our communities, our environment, to avoid the worst impacts of the Climate Crisis?  What IF we only have 3 more years?  What IF we let this moment pass and we will have thrown it all away?

We can no longer dither wondering WHAT IF. The time for action, the time to aggressively but responsibly phase out fracking is NOW and not wait until suddenly tipping points are in the rear view mirror and we’re asking ourselves “What IF we had acted sooner, when there was time to make a difference?”

I encourage you to pass SB24-159 for what it will do for generations yet to come.

I welcome any questions especially about “But what happens to the oil field workers”

–Ron Booth

My name is Ryan DeCrescent. I live in Boulder. I’m a physicist at one of the many national labs there. Here today, I represent myself, my community, and the natural environment.

Vote YES on SB24-159, Mod to Energy and Carbon Management Processes.

As a person of faith who acknowledges our responsibility to care for the Earth and all its creatures, I know it’s time to phase out and clean up our use of oil and gas.  Oil and gas operations are the biggest cause of ozone and climate pollution in Colorado.  This pollution accelerates climate change and creates an enormous, global threat to public health, including the impacts of extreme heat, drought, flooding, and wildfires.  Asthma and other respiratory ailments are commonplace now due to the effects of carbon emissions.  Premature death, heart disease, neurological issues, and gastrointestinal problems are also brought on by oil and gas pollution.1  Incredibly, over half of all Coloradans live in areas exposed to pollution from oil and gas operations, including many communities who are disproportionately impacted.

Carbon emissions, including oil and gas operations, have already resulted in billions of dollars in damages to Colorado.  Emissions from oil and gas operations harm our agriculture and recreation sectors and increase the occurrence of natural disasters.  Damages cost the state 1.36 billion dollars per year, which is one and a half times greater than the total taxes and fees paid by the oil and gas industry.

Colorado doesn’t need all the oil and gas it produces.  Let’s phase it out now and provide Coloradans with clean air and healthy living conditions.  Let’s take responsibility for securing a thriving planet for future generations.

I urge you to vote yes on SB24-159.

(reference: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Summary Report for Policy Makers, https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_SYR_SPM.pdf)

–Dr. Debra Gerkin

Thank you Chair Roberts and members of the Committee. I am Jaime Giesen and I am here representing myself. I come from a working class family which includes family who have worked their entire lives in the energy industry. I also had childhood asthma. And,  I’ve raised a child through the Adams 12 school District.  My daughter took classes from Ms. Martinez who lost her family in a home explosion in 2017 caused by a leaking and uncapped gas line. I have a strong personal interest in this topic and I understand that it is nuanced.  So when the scary ads came on TV and my feeds,  I researched them. It didn’t take much digging to expose them as either exaggerations or lies.

While coal was how my cousins earned their paychecks, the global economy is already shifting away from fossil fuels. In 2023, investments in renewables surpassed investments in fossil fuel developments.  This means that jobs are shifting as well – not going away. This is going to happen – it’s already happening.  Ignoring it is only going to hurt Coloradoans. You have the ability to empower Coloradoans to make that transition.  The Colorado Fiscal Institute has identified which areas of the State and which school districts will need the most State funds for this transition. Colorado recognized this fact last year  with the introduction of HB23-1074, which  is still in progress.  This bill, SB-159 works in tandem with work that is already ongoing to support energy workers and getting State funds where they need to be.  Change can be scary. Like waking up at 8 years old and not being able to breath is scary.  The best way to deal with change is to prepare for it.  I urge you to vote yes on SB 159 and move Colorado forward.

–Jaime Giesen

Thank you Chair Roberts and members of the Committee. My name is Ciara Guerrero. I am here representing myself and my family as a parent and a resident of El Paso County. I encourage you to support this bill.

Arguments from big oil and gas that low-income families will suffer from higher gas prices are frustrating for me to hear since I’m low-income myself and the oil and gas industry doesn’t speak for me on that point. I care most about my kids and everyone else’s to be able to have a relatively safe and livable future. This is about life on Earth and also public health in our state.

I’ve heard a lot here about money and I recognize the material need for funding and tax money, but I also ask how long we are comfortable funding our kids’ education with industries that actively worsen children’s health and limit their future opportunities.

Change is challenging for everyone, especially when we’ve had so much of our lives pre-built around using oil and gas products, but we need to face reality because we can’t avoid change forever.

We’ve already heard a lot from professionals about the negative health impacts oil and gas extraction contributes to and I have to say I’m concerned about the impact all this will continue to have on everyone, including local farmers and their farms, who will be struggling more heavily with worsening heat and drought. I get a majority of the food for my family from a local farm because I prefer it to supporting corporate monopolies even if it costs a bit more. As the climate crisis worsens, we will need to invest more urgently into local regenerative agriculture, but we should be doing everything we can to avoid massive crop failure before it happens, including passing this bill.

–Ciara Guerrero

I am Doug Henderson, speaking for myself and others in Larimer County where I live, in support for this bill. Both science and our lived experiences of warmer winters and summers provide clear evidence that climate change is happening. The question is: what we will do in the face of climate change?

One priority is to stop burning carbon fuels and transition to non-carbon energy. The faster we transition, the more we can mitigate climate change. Innovations in energy and rapidly changing economics strongly favor non-carbon energy.

Electricity from sun and wind is now cheaper than from fossil fuels. The global economy is shifting away from fossil fuels. Investments in renewables last year surpassed those in fossil fuel developments –and global demand for fossil fuels is forecast to start declining this decade.

Here in Colorado, demand for fossil fuels peaked several years ago and is declining. Investments in non-carbon energy are rising. Coloradoans want and need energy – and non-carbon energy is where future growth and jobs will be.

Oil and gas make up a small part of Colorado’s total jobs and economy, but a bigger part in some areas and those areas will be harder hit by the transition to clean energy. SB 159 provides for a plan to help and support the workers who will be on the front line of the transition. If planned well, the transition can lead to greater prosperity.

Research commissioned by the AFL-CIO lays out a plan for this transition – in which workers do not have a loss of income and can avoid the boom and bust of global markets. It depends on a managed contraction of the oil and gas industry and state commitment to invest in these workers and communities. Colorado owes support to these workers and communities, helping them transition from dependency on an industry that is in inevitable decline.

–Doug Henderson

Thank you Mr. Chair and members of the Committee. My name is Ruth Hund, and I am a resident of Golden. I have a master’s degree in Environmental Science and Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines. I am representing myself.

The oil and gas industry has been blanketing Fox 31 with ads claiming that over 300,000 jobs will be lost if this bill passes. According to the American Petroleum Institute report, 300,000 jobs includes indirect and induced jobs. Direct jobs include roofing tiles and asphalt. Indirect jobs include gas stations. Induced jobs include grocery stores. Roofing tiles, gas stations, and grocery stores are not going away. According to the independent Colorado Fiscal Institute report in 2023, the oil and gas industry is directly responsible for 0.7% of Colorado’s employment in 2022, roughly 20,500.

What about the overall economy? Oil and Gas is responsible for 3.3% of GDP, ranking well behind finance, information and manufacturing. From 2018-2021, oil and gas gross domestic product in Colorado shrunk by 21.4%. During that same period, Colorado’s economy thrived, increasing by over 17%. From 2019 to 2022, oil and gas jobs decreased by 37.4%. Total Colorado employment increased during that same time.

We need to embrace the future and manage the transition responsibly. I urge you to vote yes on SB-159

–Ruth Hund

My name is Ann Karlberg, and I am submitting this written testimony as a Colorado citizen who is concerned about environmental justice.  I am strongly in favor of SB24-159.  I became concerned about climate change when I was in high school.  Now, 50 years later, it has developed into a climate crisis, and we are at a point in history where our decisions are critical to the survival of the planet and future generations.  I believe it is crucial that we stop investing in fossil fuel extraction and production and move our state toward a more sustainable energy economy.

SB24-159 supports this goal by phasing out new oil and gas permits over the next 6 years. It also requires operators to clean up old wells that are no longer productive rather that burden communities with the responsibility and cost of clean-up. Finally, the bill also has a provision to follow up on the workforce transition study (HB23-1074) regarding how to support oil and gas workers in transitioning to other industries.

This is the part of SB24-159 I would like to focus on. In 2019, the Office of Just Transition (OJT) was created within the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. The purpose of this newly created office, the first of its kind in the country, was to help coal workers prepare for and obtain good paying jobs in other industries as coal-burning power plants closed. A recent article in the Sierra Club’s spring magazine highlighted the success of the OJT’s efforts in Nucla, Colorado. It further stated that in 2022, the state allocated $15 million to the OJT to provide similar support for 8 other coal communities in our state.

These efforts are laudable. The work of the OJT to facilitate just transitions for coal workers and their communities is exactly the kind of support needed for oil and gas workers as we begin to reduce drilling permits and move toward renewables. I’m proud of Colorado’s initiative in developing and funding the Office of Just Transition and want to see us do more of this kind of progressive planning as we move into the future.

This is why I urge you to support SB24-159. Its provisions are a reasonable way for our state to begin scaling down oil and gas drilling, address the environmental risks associated with orphaned wells, and facilitate new economic opportunities for workers and communities currently dependent on the fossil fuel industry. Please vote “yes” on SB24-159.

–Ann Karlberg

There is a bill before the Colorado state senate’s Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee called the Phase Out and Clean Up bill. It’s named Senate Bill 24-159 and it would call for a gradual cessation of all oil and gas drilling permits starting with highly impacted communities in 2028 and ending with a complete stop in 2030.

As they’ve done in the past, the American Petroleum Institute, flush with money, is inundating the airwaves with commercials suggesting passage of this legislation will mean the end of civilization. You can kiss our economy, schools, and state parks goodbye, they say.

Schools are funded by property taxes. That’s an issue in Colorado because of skyrocketing property assessments, but that could be remediated by a graduated tax rate. Landowners with million -dollar assets should pay a higher rate than those who’re truly hurt by the increased rates.

The API calls SB24-159 an “anti-energy bill,” ignoring renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. They say it’s a “total ban” forgetting there are 50,000 active oil and gas wells in Colorado and the average life of those wells is 20 to 40 years.

Economically, API claims 300,000 jobs would be lost. That number is more like 20,000 and our booming economy isn’t exactly job-constrained right now. Many of the skills required in the oil and gas drilling industry (electricians, ironworkers, pipefitters, etc.) are cross applicable to renewable energy.

Significantly, SB24-159 would call for the industry to pay for capping their orphaned wells. Currently, large drillers dump wells that’re tapping out onto smaller companies that’re about to go bankrupt. When those little guys do go belly up, taxpayers get stuck with the tab. Under SB24-159, those costs could be traced back to previous owners.

SB24-159 is to be taken up by the Ag committee on March 28. Please contact state senators Steve Fenberg (Stephen.fenberg.senate@coleg.gov) or Dylan Roberts (dylan.roberts.senate@coleg.gov) and ask them to move this legislation forward

–Fred Malo Jr., from an OpEd published in Aspen Daily News, March 31, 2024

Please have the courage to strongly support this bill.  It’s a necessary incremental step for Colorado to hit its emissions goals and to improve pollution in the Front Range.  Thank you!

I am a husband and dad to two young kids, living in unincorporated Boulder County.   We cherish our beautiful state.  After watching the 2013 Boulder floods, having our farm destroyed by a 100-year flood in 2018, and witnessing the 2021 Marshall fire, I’m terrified by what my children may lose from our overheating planet.

We in Boulder feel the deadly and costly impacts of extreme weather caused by global overheating.  2023 was the hottest year on record since the 1850s.  The hottest 10 years have occurred in the last 10 years.  And earth’s temperature will continue to rise until we stop burning fossil fuels like coal, oil, and methane (natural gas) as sources of energy, and properly close/cap all energy infrastructure that is leaking methane gasses.

Fortunately, there are alternatives which are cleaner, healthier, and transformative to our energy economy.  In Colorado, we’re blessed with abundant wind and solar energy.  Ending dependence on dirty expensive fossil fuel energy will provide benefits to us, our community, and our economy.

I urge our Colorado lawmakers to pass SB24-159 which guides Colorado’s responsible transition from fossil fuels to clean energy.   It’s the only responsible choice.  It’s ok to give oil and gas companies and utilities plenty of time to prepare.  But let’s not pretend that we can continue approving new sources of carbon emissions past 2030 and also say we care about local pollution and global warming.

Let’s manage this transition responsibly.  Let’s reduce pollution on the front range.  Let’s reduce carbon emissions in Boulder and the state of Colorado.  Our health and safety is in your hands.  Please make the right choices for now and for our future, even if they are hard.

– Scott Miller

Thank you chair and committee members, my name is Jason Moses and I am speaking in support of SB24-159. I am a member of Colorado Jewish Climate Action and I’m here because I care about the health of my family, myself, and many other families across Colorado, including those in disproportionately impacted communities.

Some of you may worry that this bill is so bold, that it is a danger to our economy. But actually the opposite is true. The reality is that delaying this transition won’t stop it from happening and the longer we take to transition to a green economy, the more harm will come not only to our economy, but also to our health. The longer we delay bold action, the more likely we will see more frequent events like the Marshall Fire, the more our limited water will be taken to support the wells, and the more our citizens will be dealing with and paying for health issues (including increased cancer rates as well as increased cardiovascular emergencies and respiratory issues) – these are all significant drains on our economy.

We know that we are already late to this transition and we know that the longer we take, the more consequences we experience, some of us more than others.

This is a bold bill, but the existing wells will continue producing more than Colorado needs for decades. We don’t have to sacrifice the health of our citizens or our workers. The new economy lifts all citizens and employees. There are already more than twice as many jobs in clean energy in Colorado than in oil and gas and the skills are transferable.

Please support this bill. If not now, then when?

–Jason Moses

The issue regarding SB24-159, which would transition us away from the permitting of the extraction of fossil fuels, should be a non-partisan one. Science, as robust and universal as is the science behind understanding the effects of adding heat-trapping gases to the world’s atmosphere and their absorption into the oceans, combined with the stunning confirmation of this science in the observable world, should be accepted as guidance for decision making. It should be non-partisan. Especially since there are no good alternative scientific explanations.

But, the refusal of a powerful few to do their homework and critically look at the robust science has allowed for lies to creep into decision making. The lies have led to the demonization of good people, and demonization leads to violence. The inaction on the part of a few, supported and encouraged by those who profit today from delay, is murderous. And not just in the threats of violence of today. For a group of people who claim to be “pro-life,” the consequences of their urging that we all further heat the atmosphere are definitely anti-life.

We need to stop burning fossil fuels. It must be done in a transition away from them, as it takes time to put the solutions we have in place. But this transition, as it is delayed, is increasingly governed not by our human actions, but by the changing world climate itself. If we do not act with expedience, we will lose the capacity to act. Supply lines will break. Human crises will pile up. There will be more and more refugees streaming north.

Or we can act together. We can build a new economy that closely resembles the old one. Our children can enjoy a climate close to the one in which we grew up. We can build a world today for which we can be proud, and of which our children can be proud.

We live in a good world right now. Politicians are pulling us apart for their own ends. Look around! Compare American health care to even 20 years ago! So many things are good! In our day to day lives we all get along very well. Yet, there are those who have set us against each other. We must reject their divisions, find our common ground, and transition away from fossil fuels into a new, cleaner, energy economy.

Later is Too Late.

–Jeff Neuman-Lee

I urge the Committee to support SB24-159.

Virtually everyday, we hear news of catastrophic climate events. Extreme fires and drought, storms, floods, melting glaciers, record high temperatures.  The list goes on. It is clear that the world is now feeling the impacts of climate change. And the longer greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels continue, the worse it will become.

In a recent report, the International Energy Agency, or IEA, says, quote: “The  energy  sector  is  the  source  of  around  three‐quarters  of  greenhouse  gas  emissions  today  and  holds  the  key  to  averting  the  worst  effects  of  climate  change,  perhaps  the  greatest challenge humankind has faced.”  The IEA calls on all governments to significantly strengthen and successfully implement their energy and climate policies.  If this doesn’t happen, it warns that we are on course for a 2.1 degree increase in temperatures, well in excess of the 1.5 degrees that represents the maximum safe level.

Everyone–including the State of Colorado –needs to heed this dire warning.  SB24-159 represents a modest but important step in this direction, by phasing out new oil and gas drilling and fracking by 2030. It is a responsible step towards averting climate disaster.  Allowing  drilling of new wells that will be active for many decades to come is exactly the wrong direction to go.

Like many of you, I have children and grandchildren. What will their lives be like if we fail to act? What kind of environment will they live in?  Any costs of acting now pale before the future costs of deaths, species extinction, coastal flooding, massive climate migration and wars for scarce water and food that will ensue if we fail to act. The time for excuses is over.

In closing, I ask you to approve this bill so it can be considered by the full Senate.

–Gail Nordheim

Thank you Chair Roberts and members of the Committee. I am Natalie Pierce. I am here representing myself. Please vote yes on SB 159. We are currently facing a desperate crisis which deserves to be treated as an emergency.  If we continue to produce and use oil at the current rate and don’t make significant reductions, our land, children, and communities will suffer. This bill may seem bold or extreme, but please remember to see it in light of all of the wildfires, floods, droughts, heatwaves, loss of biodiversity, and human lives lost. In light of this crisis, this bill is the bare minimum. Thank you to senator Priola and Senator Lewis for sponsoring this important bill.

There are many reasons I am passionate about this, but like many people, it took personal experience to spur me into action. My husband was raises in Lahaina on Maui, Hawaii. As you likely know, Lahaina was burned down on August 8th of last year. There have been many wildfires on the Island throughout the years, but this one was historically destructive and would not have caused so much damage if it weren’t for climate change, if it weren’t for our over production and consumption of oil, if it weren’t for my neighbors in Colorado producing oil and not taking responsibility. I will never experience the beauty of Lahaina and having my husband show me his old stomping grounds. My people destroyed the homelands of my husband’s people. I can’t stand for it anymore.

If you’re worried about the money that we’ll lose due to cutting down production, please consider the 5.5 Billion dollars in damage caused by the Lahaina wildfires. Or the $2 Billion caused by the Marshall Fires. It costs us more to clean up than it costs to prevent the issues and protect our people in the first place.

This bill phases out permits starting in 2030. This means that current production and even future wells will be producing for at least the next 70 years. This gives us time to creatively secure funding for the areas of our lives that currently are funded by fossil fuel production. But we need you to take action by passing this bill NOW.

–Natalie Pierce

I am Scott Simmons – I am a resident of Windsor CO and have been a resident of Colorado since 1996.

I am urging you to actively support SB24-159 which will provide a transitional roadmap for a frack-free Colorado.

This bill is important for three key reasons:

1. Fracking requires huge amounts of fresh water – although an attempt was made last year to require the use of recycled water – it failed due to intense lobbying by the O&G industry — as an example, two recent proposals for Comprehensive Area Plans BOTH require over 4-5 BILLION gallons of freshwater — this makes no sense when you consider the water issues that we are experiencing.

2. We continue to see a proliferation of stripper and orphan wells which the O&G industry refuses to address.  In fact – many of the small and medium sized O&G companies seem to believe that it is the responsibility of the Colorado tax payers to clean up these sites.  This must end – SB24-159 will force the issue.

3. We continue to have the worst air pollution in the country largely due to ozone nonattainment – this is the direct result of fracking as volatile organic compounds (e.g. benzene, toluene, etc.) and gases (methane, propane) pollute the air in the Front Range – and the industry is unwilling to even basic steps to address for example reducing production and pre-production fracking activities during times of nonattainment.

And – as a final point – I am the grandfather of the wonderful 5 year old girl who loves to play in the park.  Unfortunately, my house sits about 1000 feet from an existing well site which requires maintenance operations 2-3 times a year.  As a result, I do not let her play outside in the summer due to the health impacts of breathing in emissions from the site.  However – even more alarming are the 10-12 houses all within a few hundred feet of the well heads.  Or the plight of the kids at Bella Romero Academy in Greeley where the children have to breathe polluted air all day while in class.

We need to finally realize that the health of our citizens and planet should not be compromised for the sake of fossil fuel profits – I urge you to support SB24-159.  The welfare of our state is at stake.

–Scott Simmons

Our community has experienced adverse impacts from 6 unconventional well pads and nearly 100 older conventional wells. Infrastructure ages and fails even with best management practices.   Contaminated soil and methane leakage, including from plugged wells, leakage from midstream pipes, VOC emissions from new wells, including benzene. A half a million spent to replug an older well and vent methane so that homes could be built.

The ECMC says it is “dueling science” when our data shows the inadequacy of industry’s monitoring and reporting. Our peer-reviewed health study showed impacts on adults within a mile of well pads and on children up to 2 miles. This bolsters scientific findings about a need for a 1.86 mile setback while the ECMC compromises with 2000’ and off-ramps. The ECMC also compromises with their financial assurances and has trouble collecting enough money to clean up this mess.

Progress has been too slow. Industry spends millions to fight regulation while complaining regulation will put it out of business. It hasn’t prepared for phasing out as we transition to renewables and electrification. Still too much profit to prevent and mitigate the impacts of fossil fuel use. In the meantime, costs of climate change mount with wildfires, floods, hail, heat, food and water shortage, plastic pollution, refugees. Please vote yes to move our agencies forward to protect public health and meet our GHG and Nitrous Oxide goals.

–Lois Vanderkoii

Thank you, Chair Roberts and members of the Committee. I am here representing myself. I urge you to vote yes on SB 159 and I wish to thank the sponsors of SB-159.

I am speaking to you today for humanity. I am a human being, a mother and grandmother, a lover of nature… I am speaking for millions of other human beings, for parents and grandparents concerned for their children and grandchildren’s dire-looking futures; I am speaking for those who have no voice – wildlife, our air and waters, our lands being destructively harmed by climate change. These living beings of Nature may not have a “voice” we can hear but they are speaking massive volumes right now. And I am speaking for the millions of life species going extinct before our very eyes due to the burning of fossil fuels by oil and gas CEOs.

I am a Registered Nurse with over 30 years of experience who still follows science and medical journals. Pollution from oil and gas production has impacted the health of Coloradans and human beings worldwide for decades.  Oil and gas companies drill wells releasing massive amounts of air, water, soil, and climate pollution, and are often not held responsible for cleaning up their mess. Four million people in CO are at risk from ground level ozone at levels known to cause cardiovascular and respiratory emergencies. The cancer risk of 3.7 million Coloradans in 12 counties is higher than the EPA level of concern – Directly due to toxic air pollution from oil and gas operations! ~300,000 Coloradoans live within ½ mile of oil and gas facilities – we’re talking schools and daycares – our babies and children. The oil and gas industry is Colorado’s top climate polluter, and climate change is the number one public health threat, YET the oil and gas industry in CO is a small fraction of our economy, contributing only 3.3% of our GDP and less than 1% of jobs.

THIS DATA ALONE SHOULD MAKE EVERY ONE OF US SIT UP AND PAY HEED!

To Oil and Gas CEOs and representatives: “You KNOW this! You know your burning of fossil fuels harm life and harms our planet, yet you continue to push this toxic destruction on the rest of us.”

And Colorado promotes itself as a “healthy outdoorsy” state?

Each year, extreme temperatures take 5 million lives, while 400,000 people die from climate-related hunger and disease and scores perish in floods and wildfires. Perhaps the new legal theory that says fossil fuel companies –the leading contributors to planet-heating pollution – could be tried for homicide for climate-related deaths is warranted, because oil companies fought to delay climate action in the 1980’s, despite FULLY knowing about global warming and hiding this from the public. My belief is the oil and gas industries are all guilty of climate homicide – guilty of blatantly and arrogantly promoting and perpetuating life-shortening disease of our physical health and dis-ease of our mental health by continuing the burning of fossil fuels which threatens the health, safety, and well-being of every single life on Earth.

I AM a lover of nature and our incredible planet Earth   – a human being who believes the FACT AND SCIENCE of this climate change emergency is no vague concept – but real. Our Earth is being blatantly, greedily, and horrifically destroyed directly by the number one contributor to climate change and global warming – the burning of fossil fuels by the oil and gas industry. One need only turn to the news to see a new climate catastrophe each day around our world.

Here are four major ways that CO residents are seeing the impacts of climate change right now.

1)Increases in Heat – Increases in heat mean increased energy grid system stress, and increased illness and death for our infants and young children, people over 65, those already ill, athletes, outdoor workers, and residents of low-income neighborhoods vulnerable to illness and death from heat stress. Excessive heat aggravates existing human health conditions like respiratory issues and cardiac disease and reduces air quality by increasing ground-level ozone. We already have an F from the EPA and American Lung Association – how much lower can we go?

2) Declining snowpack and snowmelt – our winters are warmer AND summers are getting hotter, too. Declining snowpack and snowmelt mean declining water supplies in Colorado’s river basins.

3) Severe drought –caused by global warming, directly caused by the burning of fossil fuels. The Colorado River system is a vital source of water for more than 33 million people in seven western states and has experienced persistent drought since 2000.

4) Increased wildfires – Warm and dry conditions from the climate crisis fueled directly by the burning of fossil fuels increases the frequency and extent of wildfires across the West. In 2013, Colorado was listed as the third-most wildfire-prone state in the US. Don’t forget the toxic smoke we are forced to breathe when wildfires are burning in the West and Canada – toxic particulates tiny enough to reside within our cells, promoting further pulmonary, cardiac, cancer and other disease.

Are you feeling my anger and rage yet? I am speaking for the anger of millions around the globe who demand a phase out of the burning of fossil fuels, and I am speaking for those in Nature who have no voice – the birds, the rivers, the trees “the lungs of our planet” being burned in massive fossil-fueled wildfires, the oceans, the millions of species O&G is directly causing to go extinct.

Haven’t gotten angry yet? Give it a try. Not a fan of grief and sadness? Maybe let a little in. I think about climate change and its effect on our world every single day. The vast majority in this country and beyond are in favor of phasing out the oil and gas industry, and we are increasing in number.

Another slick trail of slime visible that we can all see from the oil and gas CEOs is the recent ballot measure by O&G executives — a new low as a misinformation stunt, besides their onslaught of deceptive ads in the last few months that seek to warp the minds of viewers with misinformation that CO’s economy will be in ruins should this bill pass, when in reality this bill seeks to phase out only NEW oil and gas development and fracking while maintaining existing oil and gas drilling.

Thank you for your consideration, and I urge you to vote in favor of SB-159.

–anonymous

Group support for SB24-159

Many groups were part of this effort including 350 Colorado, WildEarth Guardians, Green Latinos, Womxn from the Mountain, Aspen One, Black and Brown Parents United Foundation, Citizens for a Healthy Community, Clean Energy Action, Colorado Jewish Climate Action, Colorado Rising, Communication Workers of America Union, Empower our future, Erie Protectors, GreenFaith, Indivisible Colorado, Mothers Out Front, Rocky Mountain NAACP, Sierra Club, Safe & Healthy Colorado, Save the Aurora Reservoir, Third Act Union, Women’s Lobby of Colorado, PSR Colorado, Larimer Alliance for Health, Safety, and the Environment, and Colorado Coalition for a Livable Climate (with 49 member organizations).

Here are a few examples of their testimonies:

Good afternoon, Senators. My name is Ed Behan, a resident of Fort Collins speaking on behalf of the Larimer Alliance for Health, Safety, and the Environment. I want to urge your support for Senate Bill 24-159. This legislation calls for the phased cessation of new permitting of oil and gas development by January 2030.

Climate change is a reality, impacting us locally and globally in more extreme weather events, ongoing drought, and a year-long wildfire season. Ironically, key data on increased atmospheric and oceanic CO2 and its warming effects was gathered in the 1970s on an Exxon tanker during its voyages, and they performed serious in-house modeling in the 1980s. While academic reports were published, they chose to divert public attention from the data, and the need to transition to renewable sources of energy, stalling work that could have begun decades ago to ease the process while maintaining a viable economy. It is time to stop deluding ourselves that this can go on indefinitely.

Whether by government direction or evolving market changes, this shift is going to happen. Colorado is positioned to rationally manage that. This legislation includes continued attention to providing a just transition to other employment for workers and communities affected by this change, as mandated last year in House Bill 23-1074. It does not call for the cessation of existing oil and gas operations.

Equally important in this forward-looking bill is a call to ensure operators of those existing sites will be responsible for cleanup and environmental restoration when they cease operations. As we transition to an economy based on more sustainable, renewable energy generation, that will be a crucial element of our moving forward to a cleaner, brighter future. Again, I urge your vote in favor of Senate Bill 24-159. Thanks for this opportunity to speak.

2015 Article from Inside Climate News on Exxon’s Research on the Potential for Climate Change and the Role Played by Fossil Fuels in Causing It:

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/16092015/exxons-own-research-confirmed-fossil-fuels-role-in-global-warming/

–Ed Behan

Mr. Chair, committee members, my name is Ellen Buckley and I’m a board member of the Women’s Lobby of Colorado, which I’m representing today, and we urge you to support this bill.

The phaseout of new fracking permits required by this bill is absolutely necessary and well past time. The fossil fuel-caused climate crisis cannot be lessened without ending extraction and use of fossil fuels. The last decade was the warmest on record. Colorado is already being devastated by the effects of the climate crisis. Outdoor recreation and our water supply is in jeopardy.

Climate change is literally killing us. The picture behind me is of the Marshall fire. Two people lost their lives and thousands lost their homes. The climate crisis gave rise to the dry conditions and fierce winds that caused the massive fire. Personally, trying to safely get away from the fire that day was horrifying.

You’re hearing the same “the sky is falling” arguments the industry makes any time there is an attempt to regulate them. It’s time the outsized influence of this industry on our government ends and Colorado starts putting the health of its residents and the environment ahead of oil and gas.

Our children and grandchildren demand you act now to protect them. This bill is too important to be killed in this committee, allow floor debate.

We thank the sponsors for bringing this bill, and urge a yes vote.

–Ellen Buckley

Thank you.  I’m Dr. Velma Campbell, a public health specialist & volunteer with Mothers Out Front, a climate justice organization. I appreciate & agree with those who have spoken in support of protecting public health & environment, by phasing out of new permits by 2030, which isn’t ending existing oil and gas operations or revenues in CO at that time.

I also agree with testimony supporting the accountability and liability sections of the bill for orphaned and abandoned wells, my main topic. I noted   previous speakers mention “takings” when production and profits are at issue. When the health and safety of CO residents & communities are at issue, “takings” are not  mentioned.  Yet, the owners of abandoned and orphan wells & sites currently play a costly game of “hot potato” with the lives and tax dollars of the people of CO, especially in impacted communities.

*  Orphaned and abandoned wells are significant sources of greenhouse gas and toxic emissions, dangerous to health. Shutting them is public health  priority as well as for reduction of climate change.

*  The Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission (ECMC) estimates there are 33,000 unplugged abandoned wells across the state (COGCC, 2023)  ECMC has on its Backlog page about 1400 orphaned sites with 648 orphaned wells to plug, a huge & costly difference.

*  That cost should be paid by the industry which is accustomed to externalizing so much of its costs, and responsibilities, to the general public. Joint and several liability is appropriate and necessary to address it.  The benefits that we all have received from that industry are no excuse for irresponsible industrial practice.

–Dr. Velma Campbell

Good afternoon, members of the Senate Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee.  My name is Kevin Cross.  I’m a resident of Fort Collins and the convener of the Colorado Coalition for a Livable Climate, or CCLC.  The CCLC advocates for strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to a level supportive of a livable climate, and is comprised of 49 member organizations stretching from Pueblo in the south to Fort Collins in the north to Paonia in the west.  I am here today to urge you to approve SB24-159, the “Phase Out and Clean Up Bill.”

The CCLC applauds the fact that since our founding in 2015, Colorado has established reasonably ambitious climate goals and has been taking steps to achieve them.  Those steps have largely focused on making buildings more efficient, moving toward the greater use of renewables to generate electricity, and electrifying both the building sector and transportation by promoting technologies like heat pumps and electric vehicles.  This is all good.

However, the latest Colorado Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report shows us missing our 2030 and 2050 goals, in the first case by a narrow margin, in the second case by a fairly large margin.  So we are going to need to take additional actions in the areas of building energy efficiency, adoption of renewables, and electrification.  A bigger challenge, however, is that we have done little so far to transition away from the production of oil and gas, much of which is used out of state.  That needs to change.

Dr. Fatih Birol, the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, said in 2021 that “the pathway to net zero is narrow but still achievable.”  He further stated that, “If we want to reach net zero by 2050, we do not need any more investments in new oil, gas and coal projects.”  Net zero by 2050 is of course our goal here in Colorado.

We must act to stop making new investments in fossil fuel projects to protect our state, country, and world from the worst effects of the climate crisis.  Phasing down the number of new permits for oil and gas wells, starting in 2028 and continuing through 2030 as SB24-159 would do, is an excellent step in this direction.  Please vote to move this bill out of committee today.  Thank you!

–Kevin Cross

My name is Paul Culnan, I am a senior policy analyst with Empower Our Future, and I am on the board of 350 Colorado. I am here asking you for a yes vote on SB24-159.

Mankind has been burning fossil fuels, namely coal, for centuries. In the 1700s coal became the power source of the industrial revolution.

For the previous 7000 years, the earth’s climate had been remarkably stable and that was one of the enabling factors in the development of civilization.

The increased use of fossil fuels, first coal, then petroleum, and recently fossil methane, was one of the enabling factors leading to our modern lifestyle.

However, as we now know, and have known for decades, this economic progress came at a price: the degradation of the natural world we all still depend upon.

We turned the great ethos of progress on its head. Instead of we paying the price so our progeny might enjoy a better life than us, we are now enjoying a fossil-fueled lifestyle that future generations will suffer because of. Climate change is here. What we can do now is limit the damage and suffering for our children and future generations.

The climate that had served mankind so well since Adam and Eve has been turned against us by the unintended consequences of burning fossil fuels. We must now manage the rapid transition away from fossil fuels, and SB24-159 is an appropriate step in that direction.

Thank you for your attention. For the sake of future generations of constituents, Please vote yes. I am happy to answer any questions you may have for me.

–Paul Culnan

Mr. Chair. My name is Moshe Kornfeld and I am the Executive Director of Colorado Jewish Climate Action.

When our air is too polluted to breathe, when our water is too contaminated to drink, when our soil can’t grow food, and the climate too unstable to sustain life, what will we tell our children? We did it for the money. We couldn’t find the courage to take the actions we knew were necessary. The time for bold climate action is now.

The Torah teaches, “Justice, Justice, You Shall Pursue.” We must pursue a world in which families don’t need to choose between a good paying job at the cost of exposure to fracking chemicals that are linked to cancer, as well as gastrointestinal, circulatory, respiratory, developmental, and neurological disorders. We must pursue a clean energy future that does away with the sacrifice zones upon which the fossil fuel economy is dependent.

We have a sacred obligation to steward Creation, to care for our beautiful, life-sustaining planet. Our water, soil, and air can’t serve as dumping grounds for polluters who profit while leaving us to take care of the clean-up. This bill eliminates the legal loopholes that allow polluters to cause harm while leaving us with the check.

Jewish wisdom teaches: If I am not for myself, who will be for me; If I am only for myself, who am I, and if not now, when? Now is the time for bold action at the scale that science and justice demand. The science is clear, we must stop extracting and burning fossil fuels. The demands of justice are also clear. We need to stop polluting our air, water, and soil especially in disproportionately impacted communities and we need to hold polluters accountable.

Thank you!

–Moshe Kornfeld

Thank you Mr. Chair and Committee members. I’ve submitted online some reports that you might find helpful, and some of Dr. McKenzie’s research. I’m Heidi Leathwood, here on behalf of 20,000 members of 350 Colorado and we urge a yes vote on SB 159. Climate change is an existential threat, and we are getting closer and closer to irreversible tipping points. Dr. Jillian Gregg, co-author of 2023 State of the Climate Report was ready to testify to on the 14th – the snow day. This peer reviewed report has been signed by over 15,000 scientists and it’s in the reports I have sent you

The oil and gas industry regards the proposal to phase out new oil and gas permits as an existential threat. Ironic that they face a threat of their own making – they created the real existential threat to life as we know it on this planet. The real threat to that industry is not this bill but the fact that annual investments in renewables now surpass investments in fossil fuels. Demand for oil will peak this year, and demand for natural gas will peak a few years from now. This transition is underway. And in order to meet global climate goals the UN and the IEA have announced there can be no new fossil fuel development starting now. 8 countries have already done this and CO has the opportunity to lead in the US.

In Colorado, oil and gas operations emit volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides that cause $100-180 million annually in damages. Every year 70 deaths can be directly tied to oil and gas pollution. Annual quantifiable damages from health impacts and premature deaths caused by oil and gas are $480 million to $1 billion. Damages from emissions of carbon dioxide equivalent average $1.36 billion per year. Western slope homes within 1 mile of drilling have lost 35% in value. Oil and gas uses enough water every year to serve 300,000 people. Adding this up, damages are 2-2.5 billion every year. More than double the state and local revenue from the industry.

In 2021 total state and local revenue from oil and gas was about $960 million, including property tax and severance tax. This is a lot of money but it is only 1.2% of total revenue to state and local governments. Oil and gas jobs make up 0.7% of jobs in Colorado. In March 2022 the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows 20,475 jobs in oil and gas, down from about 33,000 in 2019. In contrast, the outdoor recreation industry has about 120,000 jobs.

Due to the success of the oil and gas disinformation campaign, it’s historic that this bill was even introduced. But we are counting on you to make sure Colorado follows the science. We must phase out oil and gas permits to have even a chance at limiting warming. This industry is going down due to global transition away from fossil fuels. This bill shows strong and responsible leadership to limit the chaos.

–Heidi Leathwood

If you gave oral or written testimony on this bill and would like it included on this blog, please email Heidi@350Colorado.org. If you would like to get involved in ongoing efforts to phase out new permits of oil and gas in Colorado, please email Bobbie@350Colorado.org