Colorado Fracking Ban Initiative (2022)
| Colorado Fracking Ban Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 8, 2022 | |
| Topic Fracking | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type State statute | Origin Citizens |
The Colorado Fracking Ban Initiative was not on the ballot in Colorado as an initiated state statute on November 3, 2022.
The initiative was deisgned to ban hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in Colorado except on federal lands.[1][2]
Text of measure
Full text
The full text is available here.
Background
Fracking
- See also: Fracking
Hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, is a method of oil and natural gas extraction. The process involves injecting fluid into subterranean rock formations at high pressure. The high pressure fluid produces a fracture network that allows crude oil and natural gas inside dense rocks to flow into a wellbore and be extracted at the surface. The fluid (known as frac fluid) contains between 98 percent and 99.5 percent water and sand; between 0.5 percent and 2 percent of the fluid is composed of chemical additives, which are used to stop the growth of microorganisms, prevent well casing corrosion, increase the rate at which the fluid is injected, and reduce pressure, among other uses.[3] While states have primary regulatory authority over fracking, oil and gas operators must meet requirements in the following federal environmental and public health laws, among others:[4]
- The Clean Air Act, which regulates air pollutants emitted during oil and gas production
- The Clean Water Act, which regulates all pollution discharges into surface waters and requires oil and gas operators to obtain permits to discharge produced water—fluids used during fracking as well as water that occurs naturally in oil or gas-bearing formations—into surface water.
- The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, which requires oil and gas operators to report the release of hazardous substances during oil and operations and allows the EPA to investigate hazardous substance releases and require operators to restore areas affected by hazardous spills.
Fracking in Colorado
- See also: Fracking in Colorado
According to the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, hydraulic fracturing in the state became a regular technique during oil and gas drilling beginning in the 1970s. According to the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission's Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document on hydraulic fracturing (accessed in May 2017), "Hydraulic fracturing continues to be refined and improved and is now standard for virtually all oil and gas wells in our state, and across much of the country."[5] According to U.S. Energy Information Administration data from December 2017, Colorado accounts for about four percent of U.S. crude oil production and holds 4 percent of the country's crude oil reserves. Eleven of the 100 largest natural gas fields are located in Colorado.[6] The map below shows all oil and gas wells in Colorado (as of May 2017). An interactive version of the map below can be accessed here.
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- See also: Fracking on the ballot and List of Colorado ballot measures
Proposition 112 of 2018
Proposition 112 was on the ballot in 2018 and was defeated by a vote of 44.9% in favor to 55.1% against. Proposition 112 was designed to mandate that new oil and gas development, including fracking, be a minimum distance of 2,500 feet from occupied buildings such as homes, schools, hospitals, and other areas designated as vulnerable.
Proposed measures that failed to make the ballot
Of the nine other fracking measures Ballotpedia has covered, eight were in Colorado (in the years 2014, 2016, and 2018) and one was in Michigan (in 2018). None of the measures qualified for the ballot. Following are some of the statewide measures related to fracking proposed in Colorado:
- Colorado State and Local Oil and Gas Development Regulations Initiative (2018): This measure would have affirmed that local governments may regulate certain aspects of oil and natural gas developments as long as they do not restrict a property owner's access to their surface or mineral property, or "impose technically or economically unfeasible conditions on access or development."
- Colorado Mandatory Setback from Oil and Gas Development Amendment (2016): The measure would have amended the state constitution to establish that all new oil and gas development facilities must be at least 2,500 feet from an occupied structure.
- Colorado Ban on Fracking Amendment (2016): The measure would have amended the state constitution to ban the use of hydraulic fracturing in oil and gas development.
- Colorado Mandatory Setback of Oil and Gas Wells Amendment (2014): The measure would have set a mandatory distance from occupied structures for new oil and gas wells requiring a state or local permit, including those using hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. Democratic U.S. Representative of Colorado's 2nd Congressional District and candidate for Governor of Colorado Jared Polis was a primary supporter of this measure, though he opposed Proposition 112.
Ballotpedia tracked seven measures related to fracking in Colorado between 2012 and 2014.
Ban on oil and gas fracking
The City of Lafayette Ban on New Oil and Gas Fracking Amendment, Question 300 was on the November 5, 2013, election ballot for voters in the city of Lafayette in Boulder County, Colorado. It was approved by a vote of 60 to 40 percent but later struck down by a court ruling. It would have amended the Lafayette city charter to add a "Community Bill of Rights and Obligations" section which would impose a ban on oil and gas extraction and all related activities, especially fracking, within the city limits. [7][8]
The Longmont City Fracking Ban Question was on the November 6, 2012 ballot in the city of Longmont, which is in Boulder and Weld Counties, Colorado. It was approved. This measure sought to ban the use of fracking in the city. It was overturned by the Colorado Supreme Court in 2016.[9][10][11]
Path to the ballot
The state process
In Colorado, the number of signatures required to qualify an initiated state statute for the ballot is equal to 5 percent of the total number of votes cast for the office of Colorado secretary of state in the preceding general election. State law provides that petitioners have six months to collect signatures after the ballot language and title are finalized. State statutes require a completed signature petition to be filed three months and three weeks before the election at which the measure would appear on the ballot. The Constitution, however, states that the petition must be filed three months before the election at which the measure would appear. The secretary of state generally lists a date that is three months before the election as the filing deadline.
The requirements to get an initiated state statute certified for the 2022 ballot:
- Signatures: 124,632 valid signatures
- Deadline: August 8, 2022
The secretary of state is responsible for signature verification. Verification is conducted through a review of petitions regarding correct form and then a 5 percent random sampling verification. If the sampling projects between 90 percent and 110 percent of required valid signatures, a full check of all signatures is required. If the sampling projects more than 110 percent of the required signatures, the initiative is certified. If less than 90 percent, the initiative fails.
Details about this initiative
- Thomas Williams and James Newell filed the initiative on November 5, 2020.[1]
- The measure was deemed withdrawn by the Colorado Title Board due to failure of one of the designated representatives to appear at the title hearing on December 2, 2020.[1]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Colorado Secretary of State, "2021-2022 Initiative Filings, Agendas & Results," accessed November 16, 2020
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Initiative #5 full text," accessed November 16, 2020
- ↑ Frack Wire, “What is Fracking,” accessed January 28, 2014
- ↑ U.S. Government Accountability Office, "Unconventional Oil and Gas Development - Key Environmental and Public Health Requirements," September 5, 2012
- ↑ Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, "Information on Hydraulic Fracturing," accessed September 18, 2018
- ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, "Colorado overview," accessed September 18, 2018
- ↑ Grist.org, "Colorado city wants more than just a ban on fracking," accessed October 7, 2013
- ↑ Boulder County elections office, November 5, 2013 ballot content, accessed October 10, 2013
- ↑ The Colorado Independent, "Longmont ballot initiative fuels debate over fracking," August 17, 2012
- ↑ Weld County Elections, Sample Ballot
- ↑ Times-Call Local News, "Colorado Supreme Court strikes down Longmont's voter-approved fracking ban," accessed September 18, 2018
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