Colorado Media Calls Out Misdirection from Polis Administration and Activists On CDPHE’s Latest Health Assessment
This week the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment released a long-delayed report analyzing potential health impacts of oil and natural gas operations. CDPHE’s latest report builds on research that the agency has been conducting since 2015 and provides further insight into its 2017 assessment that found “low risk of harmful health effects.”
The Polis Administration, “Keep It In The Ground” activists and even the Denver Post were quick to position the report as a means to prompt a new round of regulatory actions:
CLARIFICATION: Senate Democratic leader Steve Fenberg called on COGCC to stop issuing permits within 2,000 feet until rules are done. This is not legislation, it is regulation. His bill calls for study. My apologies.#copolitics #cogov #coleg https://t.co/h8hVVwjmqm
— John Frank ☀️ (@ByJohnFrank) October 17, 2019
This misdirection was quickly dismissed by the bulk of Colorado’s media, because at the end of the day, while new data is always welcome, there honestly isn’t much new in the report. As a summary of the report explains:
“The study is not based on actual health impacts people have reported from oil and gas operations or on measured concentrations in the air surrounding the well pad.”
In fact, out of 5,000 samples, CDPHE “has not measured concentrations above what we expect would cause short- or long-term health impacts.”
Read the full post on EIDHealth.org.
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