Whitewater drilling proposal draws 300+ comments - Western Colorado Alliance for Community Action

Participants in the flight were (left to right): Colette Bordelon, KREX; Emily Hornback, WCC; Kristin Winn, WCC and Citizens for Clean Air; Sister Ann Brost from Whitewater; Gary Harmon and Gretel Daugherty, GJ Daily Sentinel; Cassidee Shull, Colorado Association for Viticulture and Enology; Karaline Ann, KKCO; and Jerry Nelson from Citizens for Clean Air.

After a flurry of activity, the public comment period for a proposal to drill 108 oil wells in the Grand Junction watershed outside of Whitewater came to a close on August 28.

WCC members and allies conducted a series of meetings with local government staff, spoke at public hearings, wrote a series of letters-to-the-editor, and submitted over 300 comments to the Bureau of Land Management.

EcoFlight, a non-profit based out of Aspen, partnered with WCC to host an over-flight of the proposed Whitewater drilling area in August. Click here to see more photos from that event.

Now, we await the BLM’s final decision on the project.

If the Final Environmental Assessment does not significantly change the proposal to better protect our air and water resources, WCC and our partners are prepared to challenge the decision (yet again).

About the author

Emily Hornback

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.