RULES ON FRACKING RELEASED, CRITICIZED FOR NOT TAKING FIRMER HOLD
New rules released for hydraulic fracturing on public and tribal lands by the U.S. Department of the Interior called for increased transparency on chemicals used by posting them to the website FracFocus within 30 days of completing operations, “validation of well integrity and strong cement barriers between the wellbore and water zones through which the wellbore passes”; “higher standards for interim storage of recovered waste fluids from hydraulic fracturing to mitigate risks to air, water and wildlife”; and “measures to lower the risks of crosswell contamination with chemicals and fluids used in the fracturing operation.”
The rules were an update to 30-year-old existing well-drilling regulations.
“As we continue to offer millions of acres of public lands for conventional and renewable energy production, it is absolutely critical the public have confidence that transparent and effective safety and environmental protections are in place,” Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell said in a press release.
Environment America criticized the rules as fundamentally failing to protect American lands from pollution. The 12 million acres of parks, forests and public lands that the oil and gas industry has expressed interest in drilling are not offered protections and the chemicals used in fracking are not limited.
“Some places are just too precious to drill and frack, and that includes our parks, canyons, and forests,” said Kim Stevens, campaign director with Environment Colorado.
These rules apply only to wells on public and tribal lands, and take effect 90 days after their March 20 release. There are more than 100,000 oil and gas wells on federally managed lands, according to the Department of the Interior, and 90 percent of wells currently being drilled are fracked.
COLORADO’S CHILDREN STRUGGLING TO CATCH UP
Children in rural Colorado are struggling with poverty, abuse and healthcare access, and minority students are expelled and suspended from school more often than white students, according to the Colorado Children’s Campaign’s annual report on children’s health, education, and family and community support.
In Colorado’s rural counties, 23 percent of children live in poverty, compared to 19 percent in urban counties. That percentage was higher in 2013 than it was in 2007 before the recession started.
“In some of our cities and rural communities, child poverty is still high and growing, even while the economic situation of the average Colorado child is looking up,” Chris Watney, president and CEO of the Colorado Children’s Campaign, said in a press release.
Children of color are more likely to live in poverty.
Maternal and infant health is also lower in Colorado’s rural counties, according to the report, which also found that prenatal care is less likely and the highest uninsured rate for children is found in those same areas.
“Among Colorado children under 18, one in five has been exposed to at least two adverse childhood experiences,” according to a press release from the Colorado Children’s Campaign. “Among low-income children, that percentage rises to one in three.”
Those adverse experiences include divorce, abuse, neglect, caregiver substance abuse and exposure to domestic violence, which put children at higher risk for physical and mental health problems for the rest of their lives.
Colorado ranks among the least affordable states in the country for centerbased child care, ranking second for infant care and sixth for 4-year-olds. Children of color are less likely to be enrolled in preschool.
Black students are also more than twice as likely to be suspended or expelled from school than white students. Hispanic and American Indian students were expelled at higher rates, too. The report’s press release states, “Research shows students of color often receive harsher punishments than non-Hispanic white students for similar infractions.”
