Oil and gas wells are safe

Re: “Parents, educators at Greeley school petition Polis to shut down nearby fracking wells,” June 23 news story

This story was misleading. First, there’s no such thing as a “fracking well.” That’s the nomenclature of keep-it-in-the-ground activists, and it’s meant to scare people. Its use in a news article immediately calls the credibility of the story into question. Thankfully, the error was removed online shortly after it appeared. Wells are hydraulically fractured, but it’s just one step of a multi-step process to produce oil and natural gas.

No hydraulic fracturing is taking place at the well site in the story. That process safely took place nearly a year ago.

Second, the story elevates commentary by an anti-oil and gas group, while minimizing a report from experts at our state health department — a report that shows no cause for alarm. After months of measurements and monitoring, state health officials were clear: “VOC levels were below those known to result in either short-term or long-term non-cancer health impacts, including harmful effects on blood cells and the immune system.”

When science and the data confirm safety, that should be an important part of the story. Journalists should discern between credible reports and those published with an agenda. Ours is an industry of engineers and scientists that are committed to producing the cleanest molecules of energy in the world. We’re guided by data and measurements, with the goal of producing a product we all use every day. Activist groups are guided by scoring political points that spur fundraising. Those activists consistently ignore the science of air monitoring. The Denver Post should not.

Dan Haley, Denver Editor’s note: Haley is president and CEO of the Colorado Oil & Gas Association.