Dozens urge ECMC to deny or stay Crestone’s State Blanco West fracking plan over water, health and noise concerns

The Energy and Carbon Management Commission heard more than 40 public comments at a May public-comment hearing on the Crestone State Blanco West oil and gas development plan, with residents, physicians and a state lawmaker urging commissioners to deny or stay the proposal.

The hearing focused on an OGDP that would add one new location planning 18 wells and use a second existing location, according to ECMC staff. Hearings manager Elias Thomas said the plan has passed ECMC’s completeness review and that a separate adjudicatory hearing is scheduled for June 3, 2026.

Why it matters: Speakers said the proposal poses immediate risks to public health and local resources. Many commenters referenced figures in the operator’s plain-language materials and academic studies to argue the project would worsen air quality, increase cancer risk among children, waste scarce water during record low snowpack and generate continuous noise and light near homes and schools.

Residents described proximity to the Aurora Reservoir and local schools. “This site is 3 fourths mile from the Aurora Reservoir,” said Misha Mar, who said her family lives less than a quarter mile from the reservoir and cited the filing’s estimate of roughly 32,000 tons of air pollution during construction and drilling. Several speakers repeated the filing’s hazardous-pollutant and criteria-pollutant figures; one commenter said the application estimates about 1,285 pounds of hazardous air pollutants during construction.

Multiple speakers also raised water-use concerns. Nate Lyon contrasted everyday household needs with the project’s water demand, saying the application lists roughly 411,000,000 gallons of water for the site and called that use “indefensible” during drought. Other commenters cited estimates of nearly 9,800,000 barrels of water in the project’s materials.

Health professionals attending the hearing framed the risks as evidence-based. “Children living within a mile of fracking sites face measurably high risk of birth defects, asthma, and certain childhood cancers,” Representative Naquetta Ricks said, summarizing studies and promising to carry constituent concerns to the state capital. Jenna Bodmer, a pediatric pathologist at Children’s Hospital of Colorado, said she diagnoses childhood cancers and urged commissioners to consider those clinical consequences when they weigh permits.

Speakers also urged the commission to account for cumulative impacts and local permitting. Sandra Dugan of 350 Colorado called for evaluating cumulative impacts across the Lowry Ranch cap and cited SB 19-181, the state law that instructs Colorado oil-and-gas policy to prioritize public health and safety. Others urged more scientific analysis: Bill Kresser asked that applicants or regulators provide air dispersion modeling before new pads are permitted to show whether adding the facility would cause harmful neighborhood pollution given existing sources.

Several commenters accused prior operators of falsifying data and urged stricter enforcement. A resident cited ECMC documentation and outside investigations alleging thousands of falsified remediation reports across multiple sites and said that record raises questions about trusting industry compliance without stronger oversight.

What the commission said: Chair Robbins and ECMC staff limited the night to public comment and did not answer questions; staff said commissioners will consider the testimony before the June adjudicatory hearing where they may approve, deny or stay the application.

Next step: The ECMC’s adjudicatory hearing on the Crestone State Blanco West OGDP is scheduled for June 3, 2026. The commission’s record will include tonight’s oral comments, written comments submitted during the 45-day public-comment period, and the application materials.

Notes: Quotes, figures and claims in this report reflect what speakers said during the public comment hearing; some numbers (for example, thousands of tons of emissions, pounds of hazardous pollutants and large water-volume figures) were reported by multiple speakers citing the operator’s plain-language summary or studies and were described as approximate by those speakers.