Colorado faces oil boom "death sentence" for soil, eyes microbe fix

[n2doc]

By Bruce Finley

Colorado's intensifying oil and gas boom is taking a toll on soil — 200 gallons spilled per day seeping into once-fertile ground — that experts say could be ruinous.

The state's approach has been to try to compel companies to excavate and haul the worst muck to landfills.

But with support from state regulators, oil companies increasingly are proposing to clean contaminated soil on site using mixing machinery and microbes. This may be cheaper for the industry — and could save and restore soil.

But it is not proven.

"I'm comfortable with it. It is another example of innovation and opportunity by the oil and gas and service industries," Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission director Matt Lepore said. "The whole point is that it is safe, that the harm to the environment has been minimized."

At least 716,982 gallons (45 percent) of the petroleum chemicals spilled during the past decade have stayed in the ground after initial cleanup — contaminating soil, sometimes spreading into groundwater, a Denver Post analysis of COGCC data found.
more

http://www.denverpost.com/environment/ci_25692049/colorado-faces-oil-boom-death-sentence-soil-eyes

[gtar100]

1. "Minimize" the damage to the environment.

Why does that sound so hollow coming from someone in the oil industry?