Letter to COGCC's Director Matt Lepore - Unbecoming an Officer of the State

Dear Matt Lepore:

In a recent article:  http://durangoherald.com/article/20130719/NEWS01/130719493/Commission-director-apologizes-to-fracking-critics-

(Lepore originally made the statement at an energy summit in Loveland this week. According to The (Fort Collins) Coloradoan, Lepore said that residents who “storm city hall and demand you protect their health, safety and welfare” fail to connect how banning fracking would affect natural-gas prices.)

Although I appreciate you 'backtracking,' your comment has struck a sour note with citizens nation-wide.  Indicating that the price of natural gas is worth far more than the price of our inalienable Civil & Constitutional Rights is reprehensible. The people of Colorado and other 'fracked' states are continuously struggling to protect themselves from the harmful adverse impacts the largely unregulated  oil and gas industry imposes on our ways of life.  The COGCC appears to have only succeeded at one element of its mission statement to: 'protect correlative rights of mineral owners and that of the oil and gas industry.' Please understand that the price of natural gas will never increase when a single city bans fracking. Such statements are merely scare tactics that are absent of reality.

If you are unaware of the urgency, let the citizens inform you that 'storming a public place' operated by tax payers dollars to demand that our health and safety be protected is essential and a Constitutional Right. It's the nature of not being listened to in a meaningful, humane and civil way. Our rights to safety and protection have been taken away from us via federal oil & gas exemptions. 

Reminder: I had >75 active wells within a 1 mile radius of my house in Firestone. I lived in hell for two years there. I had a bloody nose for nearly 1.5 years, migraine headaches, GI problems, burning eyes and throat and other issues. I've since moved far away and my symptoms have subsided greatly or altogether.  Anecdotal physical symptoms from living that close to hundreds of tons of endocrine disrupting and carcinogenic chemicals is a real, factual observation, not anecdotal.  You have never experienced it, so please have decency and humility to those who cannot move and are being willfully poisoned by the industry's exemptions and mishaps.

Being that you are paid by our tax dollars, it's unbecoming of an officer to make such biased statements as you did.  You cannot erase it.  If you would like to meet sometime to better understand the failures of the COGCC's past to ensure a better, more well protected future, I am available. We can only succeed when we know our failures.

Wealth over health is the wrong way to operate and it's inhumane.

Thank You,

Shane Davis

Another letter from concerned citizen regarding the Parachute Gas Plant toxic waste spill

From: Matt Lepore - DNR <matt.lepore@state.co.us> 
Date: 
To: Jodee Brekke <Jodee.Brekke@cort.com> 
Subject: RE: Emailing: 536433_497576430298431_203489034_n.jpg 

Ms. Brekke:

No regulatory regime can prevent every spill; no regulatory agency can be on-site 24 hours, 7 days a week, 365 days a year to monitor an operator’s every action.  It appears Williams reported the impacts to soil and, subsequently, groundwater, to COGCC as soon as they learned of those impacts.  The Spill Report attached to your email was submitted to COGCC by Williams as required by our Rules.  That is evidence of a regulatory system working.  COGCC staff, including our Environmental Manager, our Rifle Office Manager, and several Environmental Protection Specialists, have been on site nearly every working day since the groundwater impacts were reported to us.  The companies involved have been taking action to respond to the contamination since it was discovered.  We have issued a Cease and Desist Order and Notices of Alleged Violations to the Parties, and are actively monitoring and overseeing the on-going response actions.  The responsible party or parties will be obligated to remediate the environmental impacts.  Fines and other remedies will be considered by the Commission at the appropriate time, consistent with the Commission’s statutory authority and our Rules. 

Sincerely,

Matt

Matthew Lepore

Director

Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission

From: Jodee Brekke [mailto:Jodee.Brekke@cort.com]
Sent: Tuesday, March 26, 2013 4:39 PM
To: Matt.Lepore@state.co.us
Subject: Emailing: 536433_497576430298431_203489034_n.jpg

Mr. Lepore,

In regard to the accident in Parachute CO (attached), the COGCC has once again failed to prevent adverse impacts and the industry operator should be held accountable for all reclamation costs, fines and punitive damages.

Jodee Brekke

Concerned citizen letter to COGCC Director and response regarding the recent Parachute gas plant spill

Mr. Lepore,

Once again COGCC has failed to protect the public.

It is disappointing that the filed spill documents are absent of water contamination results.

I assume they are in the process of being conducted?  COGCC documents appear

misleading because they indicate groundwater and surface water were 'not' contaminated.

It's highly likely that both ground and surface waters were contaminated due to the volume

and proximity of release!

We citizens hold you personally accountable to notify the public of the BTEX results.  In particular, 

all down stream recipients must be immediately notified.  Once again, COGCC has failed to prevent adverse

impacts and the industry operator should be held accountable for all reclamation costs, fines and punitive damages.

Sincerely,

NR

...............

COGCC Director, Matt Lepore's response

Sent: Wednesday, March 20, 2013 7:51 PM

Subject: RE: Parachute Spill

Ms. Rosa:

The Form 19 is for the limited purpose or reporting the fact of a spill.  Subsequent to reporting the release, the operator responsible for the release of hydrocarbons will submit a Form 27, which describes the sampling and other work that will be done to characterize the extent and nature of adverse impacts to the environment and describe the remediation work that will be done to remediate environmental impacts.  All of those plans will be reviewed and approved by COGCC. 

The COGCC’s primary concern regarding protecting the public was and is to prevent contamination reaching Parachute Creek; to that end we issued a cease and desist order on Friday, March 15 directing the companies to take all appropriate measures to prevent the hydrocarbons from migrating to the Creek.  Those efforts appear to have been successful thus far. 

I am not sure what documents you interpret as saying groundwater has not been contaminated.  That is clearly not the case:  hydrocarbons have contaminated both soil and groundwater near the pipeline right of way associated with the gas processing plant operated by Williams.  The Form 19s clearly indicate those facts.  With respect to surface water (Parachute Creek), as noted, we have no data at this time indicating hydrocarbon impacts to the creek.  The companies involved, as well as COGCC, are collecting groundwater and soil samples which will be analyzed to determine the scope and nature of contamination. 

Finally, the COGCC has directed the companies involved to “Identify and evaluate all potential receptors of both surface water and ground water within a one-mile radius of the interceptor trenches” on the site.  Thus, any users of surface or ground water within one mile will be assured their water supplies have not been impacted by the incident in question.  Furthermore, in the event hydrocarbon impacts are detected in Parachute Creek, we will immediately notify the Town of Parachute, Garfield County officials, and the Parachute Municipal Water District. 

I and my colleagues at COGCC care deeply about Colorado’s environment.  Releases like this are not acceptable, and the responsible party or parties will be obligated to remediate the environmental impacts.  Fines and other remedies will be considered by the Commission at the appropriate time, consistent with the Commission’s statutory authority and our Rules.   

Thank you for sharing your concerns with me.

Sincerely,

Matthew Lepore

Director

Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission