Erie Residents Propose New Gas & Oil Drilling Delay

ERIE, Colo. (CBS4) - There's a proposal in the works for imposing a 120-day moratorium on new oil and gas drilling in Erie.

Despite a packed house at a meeting to discuss fracking that some considered was too close to schools, no definite plan of action was taken Tuesday night.

The fracking will take place near Red Hawk Elementary and Erie Elementary schools.

"I'm concerned because the air conditions might affect my asthma," a young student said at the meeting.

"Over the last 8 years our family has experienced a laundry list of health issues ranging from life-threatening allergies, to asthma, to cancer," a woman said.

Some people are worried about their health because of the potential for contamination from fracking, which uses high-pressure injections to break the oil and gas out of rock.

The town board will direct its workers to deal with future drilling on a well-by-well basis.

Encana, the company doing the drilling, says there is no evidence that fracking poses any health risk and they've been drilling in Erie since 2006.

"We take their concerns very seriously," Wendy Wiedenbeck with Encana said. "There aren't any cases where water has been impacted by our fracking operations."

Many Erie residents disagree and want third party testing to be done.