[ECA Note: the ballot initiative discussed in the below article, Proposition 112 (an initiative that would dramatically increase oil and gas drilling setbacks from homes, businesses and waterways), failed this past Tuesday. Now more than ever, this story is an example of why the cleanup decision-making at a site is so important; unexpected issues come up after cleanup is "complete" that still may pose a risk either to health and
the environment or to the way that a community is viewed by third parties. When looking at any new risk-based initiative, DOE and host communities must think about the future and the potential use of the land and the resources.]
As a decision
looms by Colorado voters on more stringent siting requirements for oil and gas drilling, an energy company has applied to drill up to 31 wells near the former Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant.
Highlands Natural Resources Corp., registered in the United Kingdom, applied this month to the state for a spacing plan for wells on a 2,560-acre site where it has leased minerals in the
area of the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge.
Rocky Flats, between Denver and Boulder, was converted to a wildlife refuge after a $7.7 billion Superfund cleanup of a plant that produced plutonium triggers for nuclear bombs from 1952 to 1989. The Department of Energy retains control of a 1,300-acre fenced core where contaminated waste is buried.
Highlands said in a statement Wednesday that because of the public’s concern about development in the area, it “intentionally located proposed oil and gas locations outside the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge boundaries.” The company said it has contacted local, state and federal government officials about its drilling proposal.
However, the company didn’t respond to a question about whether it plans to drill underneath Rocky Flats. Gina Hardin, president of the conservation group 350 Colorado, said it appears from the company’s application that drilling would occur within the site’s boundaries.
“This is incredible,” Hardin said. “This is a
graphic demonstration of just how much the industry needs our regulation, that they will not self-regulate.”
