Drilling would make town a worse place to live

Letter to the editor Drilling would make town a worse place to live

Posted: Saturday, September 10, 2011 12:41 pm | Updated: 3:46 pm, Sat Sep 10, 2011.

Drilling would make town a worse place to live 4 comments

Thank you for continuing to provide coverage of the oil and gas company's intentions to drill within the city limits of Castle Rock.

My husband and I just relocated to Castle Rock after selling our home in Thornton. We decided to rent for a year before purchasing a home so we could better familiarize ourselves with the area. After learning that the oil and gas companies wanted to start fracking in Castle Rock, we've decided to purchase a home in another city.

I've already contacted Colorado's senators and congressmen, asking them to protect the citizens of Colorado from the toxins and pollution related to fracking. All of the cities across the Front Range, not to mention all other public and private areas of Colorado, are being preyed upon by the oil and gas companies. It's become a statewide epidemic, and it's disheartening and frightening that land owners and citizens have very little, if any, legal recourse at all.

A law firm, Thomas Genshaft, in Aspen has teamed with the law firm Napoli Bern Ripka & Associates in New York, who won a settlement for the 9/11 workers, to gather information for a class action lawsuit against the oil and gas companies for polluting the air and water which in turn has caused health problems for the animals and citizens affected by fracking.

Castle Rock citizens should start testing the water and air now before the fracking begins so lawyers have a benchmark to work from if and when people become ill from toxins in the water and air. There are also property values to consider, and when everyone learns of the adverse effects of fracking, property values will fall, having a negative effect on the city because tax revenues will decrease.

Hopefully, Castle Rock will be able to compose regulations to make drilling within the city limits difficult or impossible, so the oil companies will look else where for other sites on which to drill.

Charlene Peterson

Castle Rock

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Posted in Opinion on Saturday, September 10, 2011 12:41 pm. Updated: 3:46 pm.

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4 comments:

Dano posted at 5:06 pm on Wed, Sep 14, 2011.

Posts: 23
I would also urge everyone to resist the 'taxes' and 'jobs' argument that town leaders may make without mentioning costs.
Remember: a cost:benefit analysis should be done on all proposed projects, not just on ones they don't like.
Best,
D
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ColoradoHomeboy posted at 12:36 pm on Sun, Sep 11, 2011.

Posts: 1
Thank you for taking the time to get this out there a little! I don't live in Castle Rock, but I can relate to the frustration of feeling powerless to do anything about Oil and Gas companies tearing up our landscape and endangering our health.
Anyone reading who wants to do something to strengthen regulations controlling fracking in CO could consider signing my petition on change.org:
http://www.change.org/petitions/tell-colorado-strengthen-fracking-regulations-now
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Alison Morrow posted at 7:36 am on Sun, Sep 11, 2011.

Posts: 2
Thank you for an excellent letter. I hope you will copy it and send it to the Castle Rock Board of Trustees as well. It makes me sick to think of what fracking is going to do to my sweet town.
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khmacski posted at 11:15 pm on Sat, Sep 10, 2011.

Posts: 3
Thank you for posting this very important letter to the editor.
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