Niwot and Gunbarrel Push Back Against Fracking

The Lookout Alliance is a group formed to protect Niwot and Gunbarrel from fracking. They’re hosting a Community Forum on Fracking Health Risks & Boulder County Update. Gabrielle Katz is one of the organizers.

“The Lookout Alliance, which is the group that I’m with, we’re a grass roots community group based in Gunbarrel, Heatherwood and Niwot. These are unincorporated areas of Boulder County. What’s happening in our immediate area is that last November about 200 residents in Heatherwood received letters from a company called Extraction Oil & Gas. They were seeking to lease our oil and gas, and so looking into that we realized that this is an early step in a long permitting process that very likely leads to fracking right in our neighborhood.”

Since that November, The Lookout Alliance have had a town hall focused on educating themselves and others on the topic of fracking. They’re actively working to promote advocacy and knowledge in order to put property values and primarily health and safety before anything else.

As part of the effort to educate the community, the Forum will be hosted from 7:00 to 9:00 pm on April 18th, 2019 at Left Hand Grange (195 2nd Ave., Niwot, CO 80544). “It’s gonna be a two part event, the first part will be learning about the health impacts of fracking, and this is gonna be with Dr. David Nolan with Physicians for Social Responsibility. So he’ll really review a lot of the scientific evidence for what’s happening to our air quality and how that affects health outcomes in impacted communities.”

The second half of the event is going to consist of a Presentation from Kim Sanchez, Chief Planner for Boulder County and Local Government Designee. She’s the connection between the local communities and the Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC). Sanchez and David Hughes, Deputy County Attorney will be giving an update on the Boulder County situation.

What: Community Forum on Fracking Health Risks & Boulder County Update

When: April 18th, 2019 7:00 – 9:00 pm

Where: Left Hand Grange, 195 2nd Ave., Niwot, CO 80544