Colorado grandparents deliver anti-fracking letter

0
Colorado Gov. Hickenlooper in 2011

 

A day after National Grandparent’s Day, grandparents from around Colorado will deliver a letter to Gov. John Hickenlooper and other governors protesting against the oil and gas drilling process known as fracking.

Hickenlooper will be the keynote speaker at the National Governor’s Association Policy Forum on Shale Energy Development today in Broomfield. Before the speech, anti-fracking activists planned to deliver the letter to the governor.

A press release from the groups involved says the grandparents express concern in the letter about risks that fracking poses to air, water, land value and human health. They specifically ask Hickenlooper to drop lawsuits that the state has filed against municipalities that have banned fracking.

The communities represented by the grandparents include Longmont, which has banned fracking and is involved in a lawsuit against oil companies and the state, as well as Broomfield, Fort Collins, Loveland, Lafayette and Boulder. All of those cities and towns will soon have proposals before city council or voters themselves about fracking.

“The Western Governor’s Association Policy Forum on Shale Energy Development does not include one voice from residents who have been directly impacted by fracking or have been sued by either Gov. Hickenlooper or the industry for exercising their democratic right to vote,” the press release notes.

The groups that have organized the letter-writing and delivery are Our Broomfield, Citizens for a Healthy Fort Collins, Protect Our Loveland, Frack Free Colorado, Our Longmont and Food & Water Watch, the press release says.