100 signatures reached
To: Blackstone Metro District Board Members
Reject Leasing Blackstone Common Area Mineral Rights
*** Sign ONLY if you live in this district ***
We want the Metro District Board to reject any mineral rights leases to our common areas. We are in a time of drought and our reservoirs are projected to be below 50 percent capacity by April 2023. Now, in our greatest need for water, Civitas asking us to lease our mineral rights so they can build fracking pads near our reservoir. Each Pad contains approximately 18 fracking wells and the closest pad will be 1400 feet away from our reservoir. Each well can use 580,000 barrels of water for well. The entire CAP will use ~95,120,000 barrels or ~3,995,039,945 gallons. We request that the board reject signing away our common area mineral rights for the additional reasons below.
Fracking releases Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and Nox which when combined produce ozone.
The health effects of VOCs, as defined by the EPA, are:
- Eye, nose, and throat irritation
- Headaches, loss of coordination, and nausea
- Damage to the liver, kidney, and central nervous system
- Some organics can cause cancer in animals, and some are suspected or known to cause cancer in humans.
The health effects and environmental of Nox are:
- irritation of airways in the respiratory
- aggravate respiratory diseases like asthma
- NO2 and other NOx interact with water, oxygen, and other chemicals in the atmosphere to form acid rain
- Creates hazy air, which is difficult to see through
EPA on Nox - https://www.epa.gov/no2-pollution/basic-information-about-no2
EPA on Voc - https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/volatile-organic-compounds-impact-indoor-air-quality
We want the Metro District Board to reject any mineral rights leases to our common areas. We are in a time of drought and our reservoirs are projected to be below 50 percent capacity by April 2023. Now, in our greatest need for water, Civitas asking us to lease our mineral rights so they can build fracking pads near our reservoir. Each Pad contains approximately 18 fracking wells and the closest pad will be 1400 feet away from our reservoir. Each well can use 580,000 barrels of water for well. The entire CAP will use ~95,120,000 barrels or ~3,995,039,945 gallons. We request that the board reject signing away our common area mineral rights for the additional reasons below.
Fracking releases Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and Nox which when combined produce ozone.
The health effects of VOCs, as defined by the EPA, are:
- Eye, nose, and throat irritation
- Headaches, loss of coordination, and nausea
- Damage to the liver, kidney, and central nervous system
- Some organics can cause cancer in animals, and some are suspected or known to cause cancer in humans.
The health effects and environmental of Nox are:
- irritation of airways in the respiratory
- aggravate respiratory diseases like asthma
- NO2 and other NOx interact with water, oxygen, and other chemicals in the atmosphere to form acid rain
- Creates hazy air, which is difficult to see through
EPA on Nox - https://www.epa.gov/no2-pollution/basic-information-about-no2
EPA on Voc - https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/volatile-organic-compounds-impact-indoor-air-quality
Why is this important?
We are in a drought. The human and environmental impacts are being downplayed using tactics similar to the tobacco industry. We are concerned for our health, our reservoir, and our community. We will not be the next Hinkley, Dimock, or Flint. We want clean water. We want clean air.