Publications
Colorado Currents | Winter 2013
Oil and Gas Drilling and Fracking
Clean Water Action has worked with local groups around the state to raise awareness of water dangers and other risks posed by oil and gas drilling and fracking. Together with local “fractivists” and municipalities, Clean Water Action helped win new fracking regulations and local moratorium measures, including those in Fort Collins and Boulder County. The Fort Collins moratorium is in effect through July 2013. The Boulder County moratorium expires this February, but will likely be extended to give the county time to update and strengthen its recently adopted fracking regulations. Helping additional communities exercise their rights for local control of drilling and fracking operations is a priority for the coming year.
“Setback” rules determining the distance allowed between drill sites and structures such as homes and schools were also hotly debated. Current state law allows drilling and fracking as close 350 feet in densely populated areas and 150 feet in rural areas. A state “setbacks stakeholder” group is recommending new drill site setback standards.
Communities along the Front Range are concerned about current standards and are looking to scientific studies to guide setbacks rulemaking. Clean Water Action supports a 2,000-foot minimum drill site setback in Colorado. Read more
Save the Colorado River
2012 was a BIG year for Clean Water Fund’s Save the Colorado River campaign, with some good news for the health of the Colorado River. The river itself received attention across the Southwest thanks to a successful multi-city tour by Robert and Jamie Redford’s “Watershed Movie.” Save the Colorado supported the film’s “Seven City Sins of the Southwest U.S.” tour, traveling to Denver, San Diego, Los Angeles, Tuscon, Phoenix, Salt Lake City and Las Vegas. The tour concluded in Fort Collins and Boulder, having been attended by more than 4,000 people and garnering extensive media coverage.
Oil and Gas Drilling and Fracking in Colorado
Clean Water Action has worked with local groups around the state to raise awareness of water dangers and other risks posed by oil and gas drilling and fracking. Together with local “fractivists” and municipalities, Clean Water Action helped win new fracking regulations and local moratorium measures, including those in Fort Collins and Boulder County. The Fort Collins moratorium is in effect through July 2013. The Boulder County moratorium expires this February, but will likely be extended to give the county time to update and strengthen its recently adopted fracking regulations. Helping additional communities exercise their rights for local control of drilling and fracking operations is a priority for the coming year.
Don't Frack Denver's Water!
Antero, Spinney, and Eleven Mile Reservoirs are in the South Park Basin located in Park County. These reservoirs supply nearly 40% of Denver’s and Aurora’s drinking water supply.
2012 Colorado Election Spotlight
Pueblo State Rep. Sal Pace is running to unseat first-term anti-environment U.S. Rep.
Other Publications
Built By Michigan - April Newsletter
Ann Arbor city council passes EV resolution
By Charles Griffith - Climate & Energy Program Director, Ecology Center
In a great example of a good start, Ann Arbor’s city council approved a plan earlier this month to further prepare the city’s infrastructure to support plug-in electric vehicles. The resolution calls on city staff to review permit and planning processes, as well as zoning codes, to remove barriers to creating plug-in infrastructure. The resolution also requires the city’s administrator to consider adding plug-in vehicles as part of the city’s fleet.
Turning Up the Heat II: Exposing the continued failures of the manufacturers thermostat recycling program
A manufacturer-run program for collecting mercury thermostats is failing to keep the toxic heavy metal out of the trash—and the environment. Turning Up The Heat II estimates that, at most, the industry recycling program has captured 8% of mercury thermostats coming out of service in the past decade. This has resulted in the disposal of over 50 tons of mercury into the environment, which can expose people to the neurotoxin through fish consumption.
Coalition for a Safe and Healthy Connecticut Newsletter | March 2013
Help us continue to make Connecticut Safe and Healthy!
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CSHC leads the way with 3 bills to protect health
HB 6526 Toxics Disclosure and Innovation for Healthy Children. This bill will:
- Require DPH to identify chemicals of concern to children and prioritize 2 every 2 years for action.
- Require manufacturers to disclose the presence of the prioritized chemicals in children’s products.
- Require the development of a plan to shift to safer alternative.
- Assist CT businesses that manufacture children’s products to work with green chemistry experts in CT to shift to a safe alternative.
New Jersey Currents | Spring 2013
new jersey currents
Hands Off New Jersey's Water!
There’s an expression we use a lot in New Jersey: “Jersey Strong”. We are proud of our strength and resilience and our ability to stand up to anything. Superstorms, superbugs, superfund sites — you name it, we (think) we can conquer it.
But New Jerseyans aren’t going to be
“Jersey Strong” much longer if a bill that will weaken New Jersey’s
drinking water quality makes its way through the New Jersey Legislature.
The new legislation (A2123), sponsored by Assemblyman John Burzichelli
(D-Gloucester), proposes to add industry representatives to the Drinking
Water Quality Institute (DWQI). This would allow polluting interests to
decide what level of contaminants end up in New Jersey tap water — as
if the state’s drinking water situation wasn’t already bad enough. Read More