Dear Editor:

I have been following the public discussion on the topic of the proposed gas drilling leases in the North Fork with great interest. Issues that come up repeatedly mainly have to do with the following points: 1) Opening gas fields in our area would or wouldn't be good for the economy; 2) Drilling can or can't be conducted safely without impact on the environment, drinking water and irrigation sources; 3) We should or shouldn't encourage and support it because it's for the good of the country (and by extension all of us).

I would like to contribute some thoughts on these topics.

First, as the effect on the economy...

While there is certainly no doubt that drilling activity creates jobs, the local effect may not be as positive as the total numbers suggest. For instance, in five Pennsylvania counties with high drilling activity, total direct and indirect employment was found to increase by 1,350 jobs since 2007. Well, that sounds pretty good, doesn't it. Except for the fact that "most of the jobs go to workers from out-of-state." [Center for Economic and Policy Research, Jan. 8, 2012].

The same thing was found to be true of drilling activity in Mesa and Garfield counties. Although since the slump of 2008, drilling activities have increased again upvalley from Grand Junction, "... many of the recent job openings were filled by workers from outside Colorado, says Gilbert Lujan, supervisor of the Mesa County Workforce Center." [Daily Sentinel, May 18, 2011]

I don't doubt that drilling here will bring some additional money into the county — even those out-of-state workers have to eat and sleep and buy gas. It just may not be quite as grand as some seem to think. And these jobs are not permanent. Anyone ever heard of boom 'n bust?

Second, how about the suggested safety of these operations? According to an article in the Aspen Business Journal, May 30, 2011, "Oil and gas companies operating in Garfield, Rio Blanco and Mesa counties in northwest Colorado have reported nearly 1,000 spills that released about 5.6 million gallons of wastewater, oil, and other fluids and chemicals from 2001 to 2010." In Garfield County alone there were 535 spills totalling 3.5 million gallons of which two million gallons were not recovered and remain in the environment. The only conclusion we can reach is that, whether drilling CAN be done safely or not, the record is that it is not. There will be spills. That's only one environmental impact, but enough to fill space here with.

Third, regarding the benefit to the nation of energy exploration, I don't disagree with the need for the energy. We all use it and need it.

I have never been very approving of NIMBYism, so it's rather surprising to find myself practicing it. But facing the potential of gas drilling in my backyard (really — potentially 50 yards from my house) has rather sharply rearranged my thinking. Probably the sacrifice that bothers me the most is the loss of property value. I'm approaching retirement and could reasonably anticipate that at some future date I would want to sell and move to a better location for retirement. Since the value of my home represents a sizable chunk of my retirement kitty, this could really hurt my retirement standard of living.

There's nothing unique or special about my situation. Residents in other gas field areas have sought compensation for loss of value and got nothing. Is that fair? Maybe we should institute a National Energy Fund which would compensate property owners for real losses incurred due to energy extraction. I don't know what the answer is, but it's clear that this is an area in which relatively few people give up a little to a lot for the good of the many. I'd like to see that addressed in a more equitable way.

Randy Campbell

Paonia