Full Extent Of Oil And Gas Spills From Colorado Floods Remains Unknown

[Bill USA]

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/10/07/2738341/oil-spills-colorado-floods/

Last month’s widespread and unprecedented flooding in Colorado caused the release of more than 43,000 gallons of oil and more than 18,000 gallons of so-called “produced water” that flows back during the oil and gas development process known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

Those totals are likely to rise, as state oil and gas commission inspectors have yet to evaluate about a fifth of the areas affected by flooding. “I think if we have another week of good weather we’ll be able to say we’ve been through all of it,” said Todd Hartman, a spokesman for the state’s Department of Natural Resources.

That there is much still to be learned about the flood’s impact on Colorado’s extensive oil and gas fields and its possible threats to health and the environment is a concern for Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO), whose district includes some of the most intensively developed oil and gas regions in the state.

“We don’t even know the full extent of it,” said Polis in a phone interview. He said the state oil and gas commission is “woefully understaffed” and the oil and gas industry “has a self-interest in minimizing the perception of damage.”
(more)

[russspeakeasy]

1. ...and it will remain that way.