Inspector shortfalls: Activists and Western Slope residents have long complained that the state doesn't employ enough people to inspect oil and gas operations. Congressional investigators have criticized the Bureau of Land Management for a lack of personnel to ensure environmental protection. What's known: A 2005 report by the Western Organization of Resource Councils, a group that studies environmental policies, faulted Colorado and other Western states for having too few inspectors and weak enforcement of rules. It said the problem would only get worse as the gas boom continues unless personnel were added...
Cleanup money: Some critics question whether energy companies are required to set aside enough money to cover environmental messes in cases where a company skips out on cleanup work, does it poorly or goes out of business before it is completed. The concern is growing as the number of gas wells in Colorado skyrockets, possibly setting the stage for substantial cleanup work years and even decades from now...
Habitat fragmentation: Gas drilling has expanded into remote parts of the state, bringing with it roads, wells and other facilities that are fragmenting what have been wide-open regions where animals could migrate freely and gain access to winter nourishment...
Poaching/Roadkill: Oil and gas workers in remote locales have been caught poaching wildlife, and the building of new roads in once hard-to-reach areas has improved access for would-be poachers and joy-riders. Fast-growing and fast-moving truck traffic is leading to increases in roadkill...
Loosening rules: The Bureau of Land Management often grants exceptions to rules known as "stipulations," which are designed to protect wildlife from oil and gas development on public lands. The agency says it grants exemptions only when it won't harm wildlife, but wildlife advocates say the stipulations are routinely waived...
Ozone formation: Oil and gas production increases emissions of so-called volatile organic compounds, or VOCs. Those compounds, when exposed to sunshine and hot temperatures, form ground-level ozone, a pollutant that harms the lungs and makes breathing more difficult, particularly for those with existing respiratory conditions...
Hazy air: Heavy engines that run drill rigs and compress natural gas into pipelines, as well as engines associated with the heavy trucks that work the gas fields, generate nitrogen oxides and tiny particles, both of which can create hazy skies that affect views in wilderness areas, forests and national parks around drilling areas...
Toxic exposures: Chemical emissions from tank clusters, wells, leaks and other gas and oil facilities can become temporarily trapped in the rugged landscape of northwest Colorado, settling into troughs where rural homesites sit. Those chemicals could be responsible for a variety of ailments afflicting some residents of affected areas, from headaches to skin rashes to more serious issues...
Faulty wells: When wells are drilled to access gas deposits, poor construction, well blowouts and uncertain geological conditions can lead to contamination of aquifers, streams and water wells. Old, poorly plugged wells, or those with aging concrete, also can lead to contamination of water supplies...
Fracing fluids: Companies use secret chemical brews to fracture deep underground rock formations and liberate trapped natural gas, a process known as fracing (pronounced "frakking"). Critics, including some Environmental Protection Agency regulators, worry that the chemicals could escape the wells and underground formations and contaminate drinking water supplies. But industry officials and the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission maintain there is no evidence of a problem. A COGCC official said none of the 38 instances of known water well contamination associated with drilling involved fracing...
Stormwater runoff: Gas companies scrape off several acres of land to create sites for wells, roads and other facilities. The work exposes bare soil to wind and rainfall. Storms create flows that send dirt into waterways, degrading water supplies and threatening habitat and spawning areas for fish...
Water losses: When drillers pump out groundwater to free up methane gas, some farmers and ranchers say they are lowering the water table, threatening to dry up natural springs and drain aquifers. The water pumped out is sometimes reinjected into deep wells, cut off from drinking water supplies...
'Produced' water: Water pumped from underground during natural gas production can contain hazardous chemicals, including fracing fluids. If not properly disposed of or treated, the water can pollute streams, aquifers, soil and air. Water pumped to free coal-bed methane can be high in salts, which can harm soil and crops if used for irrigation...
Leasing public lands far ahead of production: The Bureau of Land Management is leasing public land in Colorado and the West for oil and gas development, even as millions of acres of already leased land sits idle, waiting for industry to drill. Advocacy groups say the BLM should slow down leasing, especially on more popular landscapes...
Sensitive lands: The BLM and U.S. Forest Service have proposed oil and gas leasing in scenic landscapes, including several that are in areas citizens have proposed be set aside as protected wilderness areas or are within roadless forest areas -- areas home to rare plants and animals and sites popular with hunters and hikers, such as the Roan Plateau, the Vermillion Basin and the HD Mountains...
Restoring the land: When lands are carved up for roads, well sites and other facilities, they aren't always properly restored. Sometimes companies don't properly recontour the site and native vegetation isn't restored. As a result, the site erodes and noxious weeds invade.
