FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts: Anne Lee Foster: 757-870-5102 anneleefoster@gmail.com
***PRESS RELEASE***
NEW ANALYSIS PROVES PROP 112 IS NOT A BAN
MINERAL DEPOSITS REMAIN ACCESSIBLE, DESPITE INDUSTRY USE OF SCARE TACTICS TO SWAY VOTERS
DENVER – This month, an assistant professor from the Division of Economics and Business at the Colorado School of Mines released an analysis disproving industry claims that Proposition 112 is a ban on oil & gas development. The report identifies subsurface minerals that will still be accessible under Prop 112’s proposed 2500 ft setback from new oil & gas development to protect homes, schools, playgrounds, and waterways. The analysis was published as part of a commentary series through the school’s Payne Institute.
In the fracking process, oil and gas drills down to the shale layer and then out horizontally to access crude oil and gas trapped in the shale rock. The analysis found that if using only one-mile laterals to drill horizontally, “42% of the non-federal subsurface would be accessible, or nearly three times the available surface area.” The oil & gas industry regularly drills double that distance and further in Colorado, making this a conservative estimate.
Anne Lee Foster of Colorado Rising stated, “This is proof of the industry’s use of wild exaggerations and fear-mongering to avoid even the most common-sense protections for our communities. Oil & gas has chosen to use a misleading map, based on outdated technology, to convince the public that 112 is a ban, when in fact they would be able to access significant reserves, at least three times what they falsely claim. This analysis shows the industry can and will continue to operate in Colorado, all while protecting public health and safety with a commonsense buffer zone, based on health studies, from this toxic, industrial activity. We have seen these Chicken Little scare tactics from big corporations before, and Coloradans aren’t falling for it again.”
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