Dear HCN,
Keep up the battle
against the methane drillers (HCN, 5/27/02: Dear Friends). We in
Las Animas County, Colo., have seen the impact of this industry on
our environment and it is not pleasant. Our mountain water wells
have gone dry, our local county and state roads are falling apart
due to the heavy truck traffic, dust permeates our once-clean air,
our underground water sources are rapidly disappearing, the need
for added compressor stations goes on and on and noise abatement is
a joke, and the wild animals truly are severely
impacted.
The argument put forth by the methane
companies is that the drought is depleting the water. They say they
will recycle the water they pump from the ground for dust
abatement. The water is worthless and mineral-laden. Once these
companies gain a foothold, they will never let go. The newest
wrinkle is the need for gravel pits to supply gravel for the well
sites. This means added traffic and pollution and the destruction
of more once-beautiful land.
Your county
commissioners will be wooed by the dollars brought in by the
methane companies but, in the long run, they will be facing
increased expenditures in road maintenance, land devaluation and
the loss of their own quality of life.
Take a
lesson from those of us who are being overwhelmed by these
land-grabbers: You ain’t seen nothing yet!
E. Sroat
Trinidad,
Colorado
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Take a lesson on methane.
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