In the aftermath of the vote on fracking setbacks Proposition 112, Coloradans might think, certainly hope, that the oil and gas industry’s campaign of scare tactics and misinformation would be over. Sadly, it’s not. It has merely shifted to focus on influencing the incoming legislature and Polis administration against trying to do anything substantive to protect our neighborhoods from the toxic threats of fracking. 

This is best evidenced by guest editorials appearing around the state penned by operatives from groups like Vital for Colorado, an industry front created by oil lobbyists and others with industry ties. The main talking point of these operatives, or “Research Fellows” as Vital professes to call them, is that the people spoke clearly and loudly in defeating 112, so no legislator or public official should attempt any constructive change to the business-as-usual lineup of inadequate setbacks, rubber-stamped permits, and hamstrung and gagged local governments.

But let’s take a closer look at the campaign and vote on 112.

The oil and gas industry spent approximately $45 million to flip about a quarter of those whom initial polling indicated supported the concept of 2,500-foot setbacks. Proponents would have needed to change the minds of only about 10 percent of those who voted against 112 to have received majority support for the proposition. If you take into account those who support the notion of increased setbacks, but who might have been uncomfortable with provisions concerning waterways and vulnerable areas, it’s reasonable to conclude that the opposition to Colorado’s fracked oil and gas industry is solid and substantial, while much of the industry’s support is tenuous and shallow.

In short, the vote was not so much a vote against stronger fracking regulations, as it was a reflection of the sorry state of our campaign finance rules and the media’s political issue advertising policies. 

So what should be the takeaway going forward into the next legislative session? 

Grassroots citizen groups and environmental organizations are urging Gov-elect Polis and Democratic representatives to take strong action to protect families, schools, and communities from the ongoing, unrestricted onslaught of neighborhood fracking. Along with reforming the Colorado Oil and Gas Commission (COGCC), both its personnel and its mission, the emphasis is on establishing setback distances based on the best available independent science and research, and not based on industry expediencies or arbitrary compromises, in order to reasonably ensure safety for our health and environment, and safety from fires, explosions, evacuation zones, etc. These setback distances should also comply with the Precautionary Principle which asserts, according to the National Institutes of Health, “that the burden of proof for potentially harmful actions by industry or government rests on the assurance of safety and that when there are threats of serious damage, scientific uncertainty must be resolved in favor of prevention.”

No, oil and gas industry, there was no mandate for the continued free ride of toxic neighborhood fracking. You need only look at the recent response to the plans of a fracking operator to frack in the town of Superior and underneath Rocky Flats. Town Board meetings held with short notice were packed to overflowing, and spoke with one voice from citizens, town trustees, and the mayor. That voice said “No.”

The oil and gas industry loves pre-emption. It is at the heart of its Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Act, which effectively gave sole authority to the frack-fostering COGCC to place toxic operations next to our homes and schools, pre-empting both local control and basic state constitutional provisions. Now the industry wants to pre-empt efforts by various communities, citizens, and grassroots organizations to push for real, essential, corrective action in the state legislature. 

Will its revisionist reframing of the election results work with our new state government? It’s too soon to tell. But grassroots organizations are working hard to ensure that neighborhood fracking is recognized for the threat it is, that fracking is sufficiently regulated and restricted from our neighborhoods, homes, and schools to fully protect Coloradans and their families, and that we move forward toward an environmentally and economically-sustainable clean energy future as quickly and as deliberately as possible.

Harv Teitelbaum heads the Beyond Oil and Gas Campaign for the Sierra Club’s Colorado Chapter.