Giving a frack: citizens group revisits ban for 2016 ballot

The ban is back. Recently, a Boulder-based citizens group called Coloradans Resisting Extreme Energy Development, or CREED, announced it submitted a host of measures for the November 2016 ballot aimed at fracking operations in the Centennial State.

Top among those is an outright ban on fracking.

“If the state will not adequately protect Coloradans and communities, then we, the people of Colorado, must do it, and that requires a change to Colorado law,” said Tricia Olson, CREED’s executive director.

Along with the possible ban, 10 other measures seek to increase the distance between drilling sites and homes or schools and give more control to local governments when it comes to drilling operations. The next step for CREED is to acquire the almost 100,000 signatures needed from registered voters to get the measures on this year’s ballot.

It’s not the first time they tried to bring a fracking ban to Colorado voters.

Last year, the group stepped back after negotiations with Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and Rep. Jared Polis, D-Boulder, resulted in the creation of an oil and gas commission.

The group, which included La Plata County Commissioner Gwen Lachelt, failed to come to a consensus on some of the most important issues to CREED, like local control and increased setbacks. So, this year, CREED is coming back to the voters.

– Tracy Chamberlin