Colorado flooding: Evacuations, broken oil pipeline in Weld County

[lunasun]

Industry crews "are shutting in the lines, shutting in the wells," Rudisill said.

In a statement, Gary Wockner, of Clean Water Action, said "Fracking and operating oil and gas facilities in floodplains is extremely risky. Flood waters can topple facilities and spread oil, gas, and cancer-causing fracking chemicals across vast landscapes making contamination and clean-up efforts exponentially worse and more complicated."

As Front Range floodwaters continued to drain into the swelling South Platte River Saturday, authorities scrambled to evacuate stranded residents from homes and deal with a broken oil and gas industry pipeline.

They also braced for the possibility of more rains in the mountains.

Weld County rescue crews used boats and helicopters to evacuate about 30 residents east of Greeley during the night Friday.

And county commissioners also said at least 140 roads have been closed, including parts of Interstate 25.

http://www.denverpost.com/environment/ci_24095949/colorado-flood-evacuations-broken-oil-pipeline-weld-county

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=303629926445907&set=vb.122305737911661&type=2&theater

[madamesilverspurs]

1. Related

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023671482

[lunasun]

2. Is there a media blackout on the fracking flood disaster in Colorado?

See the local site I mentioned above . Others are asking too!
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=303629926445907&set=vb.122305737911661&type=2&theater

[starroute]

3. GOP Fought To Cut Dam Maintenance Budget In Colorado

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/09/14/gop-fought-to-cut-dam-maintenance-budget-in-colorado-now-the-dams-are-breaking

The torrential rains in Colorado this week have resulted in flooding which has killed several people so far. This flooding is made worse by multiple dams which have already failed due to overfill, with dozens more at risk.

Why are they at risk? It turns out that state Republicans have blocked bills to deal with repair or maintenance on infrastructure throughout the state. These efforts, done in the name of fiscal conservatism, do not save money at all, and wind up costing far more than the money saved. Several bridges and dams had already failed before the flooding, which makes the added stress of the current conditions too much to bear. It is reported that over 100 bridges are unsafe while the number of dams nearing failure continues to climb, with over 300 dams listed as at-risk, and two dozen as of extreme risk.

The department tasked with managing the repairs for dams in the state is woefully understaffed and underbudgeted, and the state Republicans refuse to fund any repairs in their push for “small government.” This flies in the face of the reality of aging dam infrastructure across the United States, with 85% to be over a half-century old by 2020.

[starroute]

4. Here's a link to the Occupy Boulder Flood Relief Facebook page

At this point, they're just starting to organize, conduct orientation sessions, and collect information on where help is needed. (You should be able to view the page even if you don't have a Facebook account.)

https://www.facebook.com/boulderfloodrelief

[starroute]

5. The Navajo further south also have serious flooding problems

At this point, all I have on it is a single Facebook post from the Occupy Sandy people who have been helping out and cleaning up in New York and New Jersey for the past year.

https://www.facebook.com/OccupySandyReliefNyc/posts/522332621180277

I just talked to the Navajo Nation, In New Mexico and Arizona are in a state of emergency. The flooding is so bad they are having to life flight our people off the tops of their homes. They are in need of:
Bottle Water
Volunteers at the local chapters
Back hoes
Sand Bags, baggers
The Red Cross is helping but they are in need of more help.
You can call 505-371-8415 to find out where to go
Please share this across all the networks this needs to get out. This is as bad, or worse than Colorado.
Help get the word out of the help they are in need of!!
This image is in New Mexico

[lunasun]

6. With dams 85% to be over a half-century old by 2020. , 300 dams listed as at-risk/ 24 extreme risk.

and currently 11 percent of all U.S. highway bridges structurally deficient nothing else could go wrong

[Berlum]

8. Typical Republican FAIL aimed at the heart of America

[progressoid]

7. Sounds like a good place to run Keystone XL