An important petition is circulating from CoRising.org to pass a statewide ballot initiative establishing a 2,500-foot buffer zone between fracking operations and water sources, homes, schools and playgrounds.

Currently, there are no setback rules for water sources and drill sites may be next to school playing fields, as long as they’re 1,000 feet from any school building. The requirement for other occupied buildings is 500 feet.

Horizontal drilling may go directly beneath any schools or homes. As for water sources (floodplains, rivers, streams, creeks) operators can seek variances to “reclamation” rules, variances which are often granted.

Fracking puts families and communities at risk for serious health problems and water pollution that cannot be remedied through any kind of filtration. The millions of gallons of water used for each well are stored in tanks or reinjected into the wells, and reinjection has been proven as the cause to man-made earthquakes, while the millions of gallons of water is forever lost for any use.

Though fracking is not yet here in our county, we are surrounded by fracking operations in La Plata County and near Dolores. Why wait to set safer standards statewide? We need 145,000 signatures to get this on the November ballot. To learn more, visit www.CoRising.org.

Betty A. Kolner

Dolores