May 03, 2013 09:35 AM UTC

Fracking's "Fair Witness?"

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• by: Colorado Pols

The Boulder Daily Camera's Joe Rubino reports on last night's talk by Gov. John Hickenlooper on "fracking" for oil and gas at the University of Colorado, hosted by Patty Limerick and CU's Center of the American West. Yesterday's presentation by Hickenlooper in this deferential academic setting nonetheless attracted a big crowd, including a few overly rowdy opponents of "fracking" who were reportedly escorted out. All of the questions for Gov. Hickenlooper were submitted in advance and read by Dr. Limerick.

The former geologist talked about his relationship to the oil and gas industry and how he seeks to be impartial in his decision making.

"I am constantly attacked now for being in the pocket of oil and gas, or somehow subservient to their philosophy or their wish," he said. "The Quakers have a term called 'fair witness,' someone who comes in and they don't have an ax to grind … and that is what I try to be."

Hickenlooper said the science on the impacts of fracking is far from settled, and the focus should be on getting "better, more persuasive facts." He said once there is an accepted set of facts about fracking, opponents and proponents will have a baseline for reasonable discussion and compromise.

Like we said, last night's presentation was not a debate. Dr. Limerick wasn't under any obligation to refute what Hickenlooper was saying, and the fact is, Limerick is by all accounts very close to CU's conservative President Bruce Benson. Whether or not the event was meant to be one-sided apologetics is for others to decide.

The context we can provide, unlike the moderator at yesterday's forum, for Gov. Hickenlooper's claim that he tries to be a "fair witness" on oil and gas issues, consists entirely of his own prior statements on the issue. Early last year, Hickenlooper was harshly criticized for a radio ad he recorded for the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, where he falsely claimed "we have not had one instance of groundwater contamination associated with drilling and hydraulic fracturing." In July of last year, Hickenlooper told an audience at the Aspen Institute that "out in the West, there is literally no risk" from fracking. Neither of these inaccurate and sweeping statements can be in any way characterized as "fair."

This past February, Hickenlooper repeated a story he has used locally a number of times about having "drank fracking fluid" to a U.S. Senate committee. After his remarks were covered in national news media and hyped by proponents of "fracking" everywhere, the lowly Durango Herald extracted the clarification from Gov. Hickenlooper that "I don’t think there’s any frack fluid right now that I’m aware of that people are using commercially that you want to drink." You see, Hickenlooper drank an experimental "fracking" fluid that isn't actually used commercially.

These major holes in Hickenlooper's credibility on this issue go basically unreported, but for those who follow the issue, from advocates to residents of affected communities, they are undeniable indicators of bad faith–bad faith that has played out in Hickenlooper's consistent actions to weaken and scuttle oil and gas reforms in the Colorado legislature this session. The latest example, a bill to increase fines on the industry for accidents, as reported by FOX 31's Eli Stokols last night:

On Thursday afternoon, Democratic Sen. Matt Jones failed to put the teeth back into a bill aimed at increasing fines for oil and gas spills — teeth that Hickenlooper’s administration successfully removed last week.

House Bill 1267 increases the maximum daily fine that can be imposed for environmental mishaps to $15,000 a day; but the proposed minimum $5,000 daily fine that was included in the bill that passed the House last month was struck from the bill last week during a hearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee after Hickenlooper’s lobbying team swayed two Democrats on the panel to do so…

When H.B. 1267 passes the Senate on third reading, Hickenlooper will get exactly the bill he wanted: one he can use to say that he’s increasing fines on the oil and gas industry that will not on its own subject the industry to higher fines. [Pols emphasis]

On the whole, this legislative session has proven an enormous, even historic, victory for Democrats, with more of their most prized agenda items set to become law (or in the case of education funding, voted on statewide) than any year we can remember. Gov. Hickenlooper shares in that success, and rightly earns praise from the Democratic base on so many issues he has helped deliver solutions this year. It can't be taken away from him.

But on this issue, Hickenlooper has a problem. And even as the successes mount on other issues, it stands out.