Are the oil and gas people
really all that terrible?
Having written a column only a
few Sundays ago skewering the oil and gas industry, Tony Kindelspire, business
editor of the Times-Call is back again on May 27 with a similar offering, long
on emotionalism and short on scientific proof. He keeps emphasizing the danger
of drilling for oil and gas, especially the use of hydraulic fracturing, but
offers no scientific proof that anyone’s illness around here is, or ever has
been attributed to this activity. After all, drilling for oil and gas in
Boulder County, including Longmont, is not a new phenomenon. Black gold was
discovered just north of Boulder in 1901 and, according to the 1945 Colorado
Yearbook, two wells were still producing there. (While residing in Louisville
from 1965 to 1997, I knew of two active gas wells--one was located in Superior,
the other just north of Louisville.)
Does the oil and gas industry
need regulating? Yes. But I don’t think it was necessary for the columnist to
broad-brush the entire oil and gas industry (which would have to include its
employees and their families, some of whom no doubt reside in Longmont) into
his “Who do you trust?” category. He’s apparently upset that “20 inspectors for
the state’s 45,000 wells are not enough.” Is this the number of currently
producing oil and gas wells or is it the grand total of all the wells ever
drilled in Colorado? How many are now capped or were dry holes to start with?
And there’s not a word about the economic benefits and payment of things like
severance taxes.
I, too, appreciate
Councilman Bagley’s willingness to serve on the Local Government Designee
panel. However, did he stick around long enough to even get some play on his
ideas, using his lawyerly skills to sway the other committee members? I don’t
know.
Contrary to
Kindelspire’s criticism of the several City Council members who are allegedly
dragging their feet on this issue, I commend them for resisting a quick rush to
judgment.
If we’re going to pass
laws here in Longmont based on how many “fors” or “againsts” that can be lined
up at the City Hall microphone beforehand or, if that fails, put every issue on
the ballot so that outside talent and money can be brought in to achieve the
desired outcome, then there’s no need for a City Council. And yes, I’m for free
speech and the right to petition, although I quit signing petitions years ago
because they were often misleading. Now I see where a petition drive is already
underway. Only in Longmont. This is a clever strategy because it not only keeps
things stirred up, it puts a lot of pressure on each council member.
Drilling for gas
and oil, the last I heard, is a legitimate business, not a function of
government. To pretend that the outside business world is paying no attention
as to what’s happening here in Longmont is wishful thinking. For decades, this
community has enjoyed a positive reputation as a good place to do business—an
image hard to gain and preserve, too easily destroyed. Why worry?
Okay, there you have it. Blast away.
