Tag: Garden Gulch

In early 2008, two separate releases of hundreds of thousands of gallons of chemically laced hydraulic fracturing fluid and other natural gas drilling fluids spilled into Garden Gulch on the Roan Plateau north of Parachute, forming a spectacular frozen icefall of contaminated water. Nearly three and a half years later, the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) has finally struck a deal with the two companies responsible for the spills and will likely levy fines at a hearing next week.

Despite a record fine of $390,000 levied last month against Oxy USA, the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) has a backlog of unresolved water and soil contamination cases resulting from natural gas drilling in northwest Colorado, a Colorado Independent investigation reveals.