Colorado Governor Strikes Key Deal Over Fracking
Colorado's Democratic governor forged a deal to stop dueling proposals on oil and gas drilling Monday, avoiding a messy ballot fight that had his party concerned about political consequences in November.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Polis joined Gov. John Hickenlooper at the state Capitol to detail an agreement that calls for a task force to deal with concerns about energy development. In exchange, groups agreed to drop four initiatives that support or oppose hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, a technique that blasts a mix of water, sand or gravel, and chemicals into underground rock formations to release trapped oil and gas.
Polis has financially backed two of the measures that sought limits on drilling, including increasing the distance between homes and rigs from 500 feet to 2,000 feet. The governor and energy industry warned that the drilling restrictions would seriously hurt Colorado's economy.
Polis' involvement in the initiatives also raised concern in his party that taking the issue to voters would negatively impact Democrats in November by increasing fundraising for Republicans who generally support oil and gas development and possibly boosting GOP turnout.
Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/colorado-governor-aims-strike-deal-fracking-24837457
