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My wife and I are returning to the Fort Collins area to retire, we lived FC from 1965-1976(pop. 25000?) and are considering looking for a home in the surrounding communities that will have the FC feel from 40-50 years ago. We have been reading about the all the oil/gas exploration especially in Weld county and wonder if this has affected real estate prices yet. Is there any worry about the municipal water supplies in these communities? or air quality issues?
If the oil and gas exploration affects the real estate prices in those communities it will be in forcing prices higher, those companies are creating thousands of jobs in the area, and most of those jobs pay 6 figures, add that to the fact that they have been fracking for 60 years, and many of those years in the exact areas you are looking at, I don't think most of the population is too worried about it.
If the oil and gas exploration affects the real estate prices in those communities it will be in forcing prices higher, those companies are creating thousands of jobs in the area, and most of those jobs pay 6 figures, add that to the fact that they have been fracking for 60 years, and many of those years in the exact areas you are looking at, I don't think most of the population is too worried about it.
Its true that R&D into fracking has been going on for 60 years. But commercial fracking has only been going on for the last 15 years. The long term effects of it are not known. We do know that it can and does contaminate ground water.
As for the population not being worried about it. Most people just don't care about the fact that we are destroying the planet. As long as they have good a paying job and gas for their SUVs now, they could care less what happens after they are gone.
I see where Fort Collins' population was about exactly 25,000 in 1960. Obviously things have changed, with a current population of some 143,986.
As for fracking, my feeling that most citizens of Colorado have ignored this issue to their likely detriment. This state hardly has an overabundance of water. What with the current ongoing drought many municipalities, including Fort Collins, have instituted water rationing this summer. Thus far that largely translates into restrictions on lawn watering. But since the region is so dependent in a number of ways on the large underlying aquifers, it hardly makes sense to possibly imperil them.
Whether fracking operations will seriously contaminate Colorado groundwater is an open question. That it has to some degree here and elsewhere is fact. Much of that which has occurred comes down to the malfeasance of the oil companies in question and of government—neither of which has demonstrated a great deal of concern for the environment. So one might have suspicions that all may not end up well.
What is more certain than the profits that a few are extracting from this state, to the possible detriment of the entire state, is that any longer term ill effects will be long lasting, and born by society. Not to mention the homeowners directly affected. Or that, later, politicians and others involved will have ready excuses along the lines of, "if only we had known."
Well, they do. Now. Only not greatly concerned to take all necessary steps towards no "accidents."
Anyone thinking of moving to and otherwise investing in this area might wish to consider exactly where exactly. What is the source of one's water, and possibly if contaminated in time? Would their investment in a home be otherwise compromised in various ways: truck traffic, air pollution, etc.? The safer bet might be to move into the foothills and other areas where fracking, due geology, simply will not occur. Although even now the headwaters of rivers issuing from Rocky Mountain National Park are polluted with airborne pollutants, most issuing from the Front Range. Increased fracking operations in northeast Colorado are hardly going to help with that.
As said, most seem to care less about this. One day, they may.
Things going on in Weld County are very scary (oil exploration/exploitation shenanigans, loose guns and flying bullets in Pawnee Grasslands, etc) The neighboring counties - and really the entire state - should be paying much more attention to what's going on there (above and below the radar).
I hear the oil companies are rapping women on every street corner, there are guns fights in the streets over oil rights, feral children are running around half naked stealing everything they can get their hands on, and the place stinks.
Of course what is really going on is that many of these farmers that lost their water rights are suddenly getting checks for up to $150,000 for their oil rights giving them the money to turn their farms back into dry land producers, property values are jumping up 15-20% a year as suddenly an area that was among the hardest hit in the state during this recent recession are now finding jobs making double the money of any job they could find 5 years ago.
Fact is people can spout off about the concerns about fracking, but little has ever been shown to affect the public outside of the very rare accidents. The thing I find funny though is that people keep buying into these movies that are supposedly telling the truth, such as the recent one from Matt Damon, but look into who is bankrolling these movies and it is eye opening. The money can be traced directly to OPEC. Think about that for a minute, OPEC has plenty of incentive to keep the US dependent on foreign energy. Of course there are risks involved, just like there is a risk to the enviroment every time someone drives their car full of oil and gas into the mountains with the ability to crash their car into the rivers that bring our drinking water, but how much risk is up for debate at this point, as there are scientist hired by both sides that seem to have the ability to prove both sides of the argument whenever they need.
Here is a fact that people should know about Colorado, the biggest industry in Colorado, the industry that produces the most tax income, and personal income, happens to be natural resource extraction. In other words oil and gas, as well as mining are easily the biggest drivers of the Colorado economy. In fact that industry accounts for close to 20% of the total economy of the State of Colorado. So for those quick to jump to conclusions about what the oil and gas industry is about, realize that without it, Mortgage lenders like me, Realtors, car dealerships, construction companies, restaurants, gas stations, bars, retail stores, as well as your real estate values, the roads and state services so many depend on, all take major cuts, if not totally go away if we run them off.
so if that makes you not want to live in Colorado, I can understand, but if you think that it has to go away because you do not find the risks acceptable, then you should understand the unintended consequences running them off with bring. You should also understand that you are probably better off leaving yourself, as many of us do understand what they bring, and what it means to us all, and are willing to back them when they are doing the best they can to protect the environment while also providing much needed resources to the country and income to the state.
Although some might want them to "go away", most citizens and residents are concerned with the placement and location of these industries and their operations. There is a reasonable balance that can be reached if people are trying to work together. It doesn't help though when oil & gas companies want to strong-arm and bully their way into communities and towns (like with fracking) just because they have connections with high-powered politicians and agencies. Businesses and communities need to have a level playing field, not certain industries ruling over and above the interests of communities because they access to power.
The oil & gas industry also seems to suffer from a "profit over public safety" approach and mentality. Just look at the many cases of abuses over the years (mostly involving pollution), in many areas of the country and beyond. Until they decide to make a big shift away that, they will continue to face much understandable public skepticism. Instead of fixing the problem, their solution seems to be to gain more power and control, especially influence and intimidation on "leaders" and state and local representatives.
Last edited by Sunderpig2; 04-19-2013 at 12:12 PM..
I'm no expert, but my husband has been working in the oil/gas/fracking industry for thirty years and is currently a "fracking" consultant. So if anyone has serious questions and would like to hear from an expert on the subject, I'd be happy to pass the questions along to my husband.
Meanwhile all I can tell you is that we live in Northeast Texas, near the Haynseville Shale. Fracking has been going on literally in our backyards, adjacent to our schoolyards, restaurants, farms, etc for decades, and we're just fine. No increased cancers, no ill effects that can be traced to fracking AT ALL.
The industry is HIGHLY regulated by state and federal agencies. My husband oversees what is known in the industry as "a location." A gas well and the work area around it. He's responsible for the complete operation - the set up, the "frack," and then plugging the well and returning the site to it's former condition. He deals with the EPA and state environmental agencies on a daily basis, and has never ONCE had an infraction on one of his locations. The safety standards are almost unbelievably high.
You think these guys working on these locations want them to be otherwise? They're the ones right on top of the well, so to speak. I want my husband home safe and sound at the end of a job. He wants the same thing.
Although some might want them to "go away", most citizens and residents are concerned with the placement and location of these industries and their operations. There is a reasonable balance that can be reached if people are trying to work together. It doesn't help though when oil & gas companies want to strong-arm and bully their way into communities and towns (like with fracking) just because they have connections with high-powered politicians and agencies. Businesses and communities need to have a level playing field, not businesses ruling over and above the interests of communities.
The oil & gas industry also seems to suffer from a "profit over public safety" approach and mentality. Just look at the many cases of abuses (mostly involving pollution) over the years, in many areas of the country and beyond. Until they decide to make a big shift away that, they will continue to face much understandable public skepticism. Instead of fixing the problem, their solution seems to be to gain more power and control, especially influence and intimidation on "leaders" and state and local representatives.
do you understand some of the regulations these guys face when drilling a well, or even fracking a well? I was meeting a driller last week on the drill site to get some paperwork signed, a young guy from one of the crews happened to leak anti freeze from the bottom of his pickup, literally for the next 2 hours I had to stay on the site while the spot was cleaned up by a hazmat crew and an inspector could get to the site to verify that no other contamination had spread to the surrounding area or people.
sure there are accidents, but these companies are extremely careful, I have a friend who worked for a Fracturing crew for 2 years, there was a minor spill of less then 1/8 of a ounce of chemicals on the job site, with a full clean up overseen by the EPA, and the cost covered by the company hired to do the fracturing. For what amounted to a minor spill that company was forced to pay a fine of over $100,000 and the costs of clean up, and even still ended up having to close their yards in Colorado and lay off over 150 guys, due to drilling companies refusing to hire this company after 1 guy spilled 1/8th of an ounce of a chemical that can be found naturally in the environment.
so you can believe the hype that the government and businesses are being bullied, or you can spend some time researching and talking to people in the industry so that you realize that the companies are under extremely strict regulations and even still somehow manage to make money and have a huge effect on local and state economies, not to mention the federal economic benefits. No other industry that I have ever heard of is vilified for things that happened decades ago, is trashed for having a profit margin of 2-3%, and faces huge regulations, yet continue to do business when they have other options that can produce as much if not more income, and the governments really will let them do as they please.
Fact is much like Walmart, certain companies and industries are constantly attacked, and the oil companies are a prime target these days. You want to talk about bullies, look into companies like advanced energy and woodward governor in Fort Collins, and the money they have been able to raise through tax credits and such just through threats to the local government. When is the last time you heard of an oil company getting any kind of benefits from local governments for creating higher paying jobs and considerably more tax revenue?
I'm no expert, but my husband has been working in the oil/gas/fracking industry for thirty years and is currently a "fracking" consultant. So if anyone has serious questions and would like to hear from an expert on the subject, I'd be happy to pass the questions along to my husband.
Meanwhile all I can tell you is that we live in Northeast Texas, near the Haynseville Shale. Fracking has been going on literally in our backyards, adjacent to our schoolyards, restaurants, farms, etc for decades, and we're just fine. No increased cancers, no ill effects that can be traced to fracking AT ALL.
The industry is HIGHLY regulated by state and federal agencies. My husband oversees what is known in the industry as "a location." A gas well and the work area around it. He's responsible for the complete operation - the set up, the "frack," and then plugging the well and returning the site to it's former condition. He deals with the EPA and state environmental agencies on a daily basis, and has never ONCE had an infraction on one of his locations. The safety standards are almost unbelievably high.
You think these guys working on these locations want them to be otherwise? They're the ones right on top of the well, so to speak. I want my husband home safe and sound at the end of a job. He wants the same thing.
Agreed with all this, having been raised in an area where the oil and gas industry has always been prevalent, I know of men that had major accidents, guys who have died or were severely injured, I went to school with some kids that had their father die in a drilling accident when they drilled into the combustible gases causing an explosion on top of the rig and killed all three men that were on the rig. I have personal friends from high school that are missing parts of their fingers and toes due to minor accidents. Everybody around these guys know that safety at the sites is always a major concern, they know a mistake can kill them.
They also live in the communities, their wives and kids live in the communities, their mothers often live in the area. People have this vision of oil and gas companies as these huge multi-national organizations, and the fact is there are more small and mid size companies that drill and frack the wells then there are multi-national companies, these guys learned the business by growing up around it. They know what happens when mistakes happen, they have daily safety meetings, they have constant inspections, if anybody is not paying attention or is making mistakes they are ran off the site so fast you would not believe it. They know that if the groundwater gets contaminated then it affects them and their kids as well as it does mine. personally I am less worried about the oil field guys contaminating our water then I am worried about eating fruit and vegetables from Mexico where they can and do use any and every chemical they can get their hands on, or the pharmaceuticals that these doctors are prescribing to every that will take them with no regards to the side effects.
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Possibly more than imagined
