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| credit: Denver Post |
To say Colorado's floods are "biblical" in scope is an understatement because
[photo]these floodwaters
from hell are also toxic. Colorado has been on the forefront of the massive increase in domestic oil and gas drilling that is fracking America and driving nuclear power plants out of business. The Denver-Julesburg basin is concentrated with wells, storage tanks and pipelines that floodwaters, rushing downhill from mountain slopes denuded by wildfires, treat with little respect. Late Wednesday
reports came in that more than 5,000 gallons of crude oil spilled from two tank batteries into the swollen South Platte River. Weld County officials said at least one pipeline is broken and leaking into the South Platte. Two more are compromised by sagging in saturated soils. Nearly 1900 oil and gas wells are shut-in. Many well sites are unreachable from the ground and are entirely underwater. Crews are attempting to monitor the installations from boats and from above as well as rely on remote pressure sensors. Beside the toxic oil and gas, well sites also contain contaminated waste water and toxic drilling supplies. But environmental regulation is so underfunded in Colorado that there are only 18 inspectors to check operations. Once again a government is
shirking its responsibilities for public health and safety onto an industry notorious for
irresponsible environmental behavior.
