Gas-drilling foes turn out in force, against tall odds | GJSentinel.com.
PAONIA — North Fork Valley residents are rallying again to try and stop oil and gas development involving tens of thousands of acres, but in this case face a daunting challenge because the land already is leased.
Some 200 people turned out at a Bureau of Land Management meeting at Paonia High School regarding SG Interests’ plan to drill up to 146 natural gas wells in the upper North Fork Valley, with many in attendance indicating their concern about the project.
Some 30 people addressed the BLM and crowd, and none voiced support for the plan. Many in the crowd raised their hands when one speaker asked them if they worried that the project could hurt their property values.
…Residents Tuesday voiced concerns including possible air and water impacts, heavy truck traffic on Highway 133, the potential for harm to the Paonia area’s burgeoning organic farm industry, and whether the local economic benefits are enough to justify the risks. They raised similar concerns a few years ago when the BLM proposed leasing some 30,000 acres for oil and gas development in the area, before deferring the leasing plans following the local outcry.
“There’s no reason to use clean water for dirty energy extraction,” Jere Lowe, who owns a local organic farming supply company, said Tuesday.
Pete Kolbenschlag pointed to the boom-and-bust nature of oil-and-gas development, as evidenced by the current national drilling slowdown due to low prices.
“It’s not exactly a safe basket for our own economic eggs when you look at it,” he said.
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