- An Alliance For Community Action
- (970) 256-7650
- info@WesternColoradoAlliance.org
Protect school kids – not just school buildings – from fracking
Protect school kids – not just school buildings – from fracking
Ask your legislators to support House Bill 1256!
Exciting news: a bill that we and our allies have been eagerly awaiting has finally dropped in the State Legislature!
House Bill 1256 closes a glaring loophole in state regulations where schoolchildren are unnecessarily exposed to the impacts of oil and gas drilling and fracking.
The bill is a no-brainer, but believe it or not, it’s going to take serious public pressure to pass it. Please use our action page to tell key House committee members to support HB 1256!
And one more thing… please share this post using the social media links at the bottom of this page. Ask your friends to contact their legislators, too!
HB 1256, introduced by Rep. Mike Foote (D-Longmont), does one simple thing: makes sure our kids are equally protected from oil and gas development near schools, whether they’re inside the school building or outside on school grounds.
Bizarrely, current regulations don’t provide the same protections to kids when they’re playing outside. The regulations say that the minimum distance for new oil and gas facilities is 1,000 ft. from schools, but in practice this means that the measurement starts from the building itself and not the property line. Sports fields, outdoor areas and even modular classrooms aren’t covered.
This bill would:
- Clarify that for public and private schools and childcare centers, the property line (rather than the building) is the measuring point for new oil and gas facilities.
- Protect areas where children play.
- Increase consistency and treat the oil and gas industry like other industries that require setbacks.
- Better protect kids from pollutants from oil and gas facilities that are harmful to the health of children.
- Provide more protection from accidents.
- Help minimize the negative impacts of drilling. The majority of residential complaints about noise, odor, and dust come from within 1,000 ft. of an oil or natural gas facility.
Failure to close this loophole puts our schoolchildren at risk of the health and safety dangers associated with close proximity to oil and gas operations, including air pollution and the risk of blowouts.
HB 1256 would clarify that when it comes to oil and gas setbacks from schools, the setback applies not just to the school building, but to the school property line.This means that children outside the building get full protection from industrial drilling as defined under Colorado law.
It’s a small change that will have little impact on the industry, but a big impact on our kids.
Emily stepped up as our staff director in 2017, but originally joined our team as a community organizer in 2013. Born and raised on the Western Slope, Emily graduated from Colorado State University and then had the privilege of learning from and working alongside organizers in Central and South America as well as Appalachian coal country. They returned to their home state to protect the land they love and work with fellow Coloradans for a healthy, just and self-reliant future for our rural communities. Emily enjoys organizing, exploring the Colorado Plateau, country music and punk concerts with equal passion.