Colorado Floodwaters Cover Fracking And Oil Projects: ‘We Have No Idea What Those Wells Are Leaking’
Colorado flooding has not only overwhelmed roads and homes, but also the oil and gas infrastructure stationed in one of the most densely drilled areas in the U.S. Although oil companies have shut down much of their operations in Weld County due to flooding, nearby locals say an unknown amount of chemicals has leaked out and possibly contaminated waters, mixing fracking fluids and oil along with sewage, gasoline, and agriculture pesticides.
“You have 100, if not thousands, of wells underwater right now and we have no idea what those wells are leaking,” East Boulder County United spokesman Cliff Willmeng said Monday. “It’s very clear they are leaking into the floodwaters though.”
Photographs shared by East Boulder County United, a Colorado environmental group that opposes hydraulic fracturing, show many tanks have been ruptured and others floating in the flood. At least one pipeline has been confirmed broken and leaking.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/09/17/2630131/oil-fracking-colorado-flooding/
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That last picture: it holds what the industry calls "produced water", which means it has been mixed with a number of chemicals, injected into the ground under pressure, and some of it blows back and is dumped into these pits. It's toxic. It CANNOT be used for agriculture or any other purpose. It is forever poisonous. Each well consumes many millions of gallons of water, so these pits, sometimes tanks, are necessary throughout fracking regions. Such installations are a necessary component of the process.
Given that, it was astounding last night when a local news story about our concerns included an interview with an industry spokeswoman who smirked and then said, with a straight face, "No fracking sites have been affected by the flooding."
