Conservationists Dismayed With Hickenlooper's Message
DENVER (AP) - Thirteen conservation groups say they're dismayed with an ad in which Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper says the state has had no instances of groundwater contamination associated with drilling and hydraulic fracturing since it overhauled its oil and gas rules in 2008.
The groups say reports from The Denver Post show dozens of industry spills getting into groundwater.
Hickenlooper's spokeswoman Megan Castle says there have been spills associated with equipment failures at the surface of drilling sites that have affected shallow groundwater, but that's a different process from drilling and fracking. She says the ad's larger point is that Colorado worked with both industry officials and environmentalists to adopt tough rules for disclosing chemicals used in fracking.
The Colorado Oil and Gas Association sponsored the ad.
LINK: Hickenlooper Ad
(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
