Fears of Toxic Water Well Up: Nancy Lofholm, Denver Post Sunday October 11, 2009

The debate on the impact of oil and gas drilling on drinking water continues. The incident reported in the October 11, 2009 issue of the Denver Post occurred in Logan Mountain, near the city of Grand Junction, Colorado. A resident drank water from a spring "contaminated with a carcinogenic and nervous system-damaging chemical stew known as BTEX--benzene, toluene, ethylbenzine and xylene" (p. B, 1). The symptoms of the toxins included a burning throat, upset stomach, and a feeling of suffocation. The article reported 206 spills in Colorado, causing 48 water contamination cases. Contaminants from leaky oil and gas wells, casings, pits, tanks, and pipelines seep into drinking water wells. The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission regulates oil and gas drilling and fines or shuts down the operations of offenders. The resident, however, accused the commission of leniency toward the energy companies. To quote the victim, Ned Prather, he felt that the companies under the commissioners watch "are getting away with murder" ((p. B, 9) Four companies drill in the vacinity of the incident, Marathon Oil Company, Petroleum Development Corporation, Nonsuch Natural Gas and Williams Production.