Colorado Rising For Communities

COLORADO RISING FOR COMMUNITIES IS A CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION FORMED TO A) EDUCATE THE PUBLIC AND BUILD AWARENESS ABOUT THE RISKS AND HARMS OF FOSSIL FUEL DEVELOPMENT ON: PUBLIC HEALTH, SAFETY, AND WELFARE; THE ENVIRONMENT; FUTURE GENERATIONS; ECONOMIC IMPACTS; CLIMATE CHANGE; AND QUALITY OF LIFE; B) STUDY POLICY ISSUES AROUND FOSSIL FUEL DEVELOPMENT; C) PROMOTE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, WORK TO CREATE A MORE DIVERSE AND REPRESENTATIVE CLIMATE MOVEMENT, SUPPORT LOCAL COMMUNITY EFFORTS AND HELP STRATEGIZE SOLUTIONS TO PROTECT RESIDENTS FROM THE NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF HEAVY- INDUSTRIAL FOSSIL FUEL EXTRACTION AND PROCESSING VIA EDUCATION, POLICY, COMMUNITY ORGANIZING, AND PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION.

JUSTICE RISING: THE JUSTICE RISINGTM (JR) PROGRAM TO PROMOTE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE SAW A SEAMLESS TRANSITION FROM ONE LEAD ATTORNEY TO ANOTHER SPECIALIZING IN ENVIRONMENTAL AND ENERGY LAW. WE CONTINUED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE COLORADO OIL AND GAS CONSERVATION COMMISSION (COGCC) RULEMAKING PROCEEDINGS, CONTINUED LITIGATION EFFORTS ON THREE SEPARATE LAWSUITS ADDRESSING FORCED POOLING AND NOISE VIOLATIONS, SUPPORTED COMMUNITY EFFORTS TO UPDATE LOCAL OIL AND GAS REGULATIONS, AND INVESTIGATED SEVERAL OPPORTUNITIES TO BRING LEGAL ACTION AGAINST OIL AND GAS OPERATORS UNDER THE CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT. RULEMAKING INCLUDED PREHEARING STATEMENTS, RESPONSE STATEMENTS, REVIEWS, ATTENDANCE AT PROCEEDINGS AND PRESENTATIONS TO ADDRESS FINANCIAL ASSURANCE. IN ADDITION, A BRIEF WAS SUBMITTED IN SUPPORT OF THE WILDEARTH GUARDIANS RULEMAKING PETITION TO ADDRESS CUMULATIVE IMPACTS OF OIL AND GAS OPERATIONS. LITIGATION INCLUDED: (1) ADAMS COUNTY COMMUNITIES FOR DRILLING ACCOUNTABILITY NOW (ACCDAN) ON FORCED POOLING AS A CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES, INCLUDING A NOTICE OF APPEAL L TO THE COURT OF APPEALS, APPEAL OPENING AND REPLY BRIEFS, AND REQUEST FOR ORAL ARGUMENT; (2) WILDGRASS OIL AND GAS COMMITTEE (WOGC), A CASE PICKED FROM PRIOR COUNSEL. IN RESPONSE TO THE DENVER DISTRICT COURT APPEAL, WE SUBMITTED AN OPENING BRIEF AND REPLY, AND PARTICIPATED IN ORAL ARGUMENT; AND (3) CUB CREEK / KATHY KEMPER NOISE PENALTY MATTER WHERE A PETITION FOR REVIEW WAS WRITTEN AND FILED WITH THE COGCC, FOLLOWED BY APPEARANCE WITH HEARING OFFICER. WE HAVE ALSO PROVIDED RESEARCH AND CONSULTATIONS ON POTENTIAL LITIGATION INVOLVING THE LARIMER ALLIANCE (GRASSROOTS ALLY BASED IN LARIMER COUNTY) TO SUPPORT THE STRICTEST POSSIBLE UPDATES TO OIL & GAS REGULATIONS FOR THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS; SAVE THE AURORA RESERVOIR (AURORA / ARAPAHOE COUNTY COMMUNITY GROUP); AND PROVIDED RESEARCH AND CONSULTATIONS ON THE ISSUE OF TRANSPARENCY, REPORTING AND CONSERVATION OF WATER AS USED IN OIL AND GAS OPERATIONS.

COMMUNITY RISING: OUR COMMUNITY RISING (CR) PROGRAM HOSTED AND PARTICIPATED IN WEBINARS ADDRESSING AIR QUALITY AND SETBACKS, ADMINISTERED A PUBLIC SURVEY ON AQM ISSUES, ATTENDED COMMUNITY MEETINGS AND STATE AGENCY HEARINGS, AND DID EXTENSIVE PLANNING FOR A SERIES OF PROGRAMS THAT WILL DISCUSS HOW FOSSIL-FUEL DRIVEN CLIMATE CHANGE IS JEOPARDIZING OUR OUTDOOR ECONOMY AND LIFESTYLE IN COLORADO. THE FIRST PHASE OF OUR AIR QUALITY MONITORING PROJECT INCLUDED PUBLIC EDUCATION AND OUTREACH THROUGH A 2-PART AIR QUALITY MONITORING (AQM) WEB SERIES AND SURVEY. WEBINARS FEATURED AQM EXPERTS AND ELECTED OFFICIALS WITH EXPERIENCE IMPLEMENTING REAL-TIME AQM TO DISCUSS POOR AIR QUALITY ALONG THE FRONT RANGE, WHY AQM IS NECESSARY, DATA ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES, WHY DATA IS CRITICAL FOR POLICY CHANGE AND HOW PEOPLE CAN ADVOCATE FOR AQM. THE SECOND PHASE INCLUDED A SURVEY TO GATHER INFORMATION ON HOW WELL THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS ABLE TO ACCESS AND UNDERSTAND EXISTING AQM DATA THAT IS CURRENTLY AVAILABLE. WE ALSO BEGAN A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FRACTRACKER TO SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF A COLORADO-SPECIFIC AQM APP, WHICH WILL ALLOW US TO SHARE RESOURCES AND COMPLEMENTARY SKILLS, AND TO DEVELOP A MOBILE APP IN THE MOST COST-EFFECTIVE MANNER THAT WILL ULTIMATELY YIELD A HIGHER QUALITY PRODUCT FOR IMPACTED COMMUNITIES, WHILE PROVIDING YOUNG BIPOC STUDENTS MORE SUPPORT IN THE PROCESS. WE ALSO PARTICIPATED IN COALITION ACTIVITIES AND CONTINUED TO FORGE RELATIONSHIPS WITH PROTECT OUR WINTERS AND PATAGONIA, AND HAVE BEGUN CONVERSATIONS WITH DOZENS OF NEW POTENTIAL PARTNERS, INCLUDING OUTDOOR RECREATION RETAILERS AND OUTFITTERS, COLORADO LOCAL BREWERIES, AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND BIPOC-LED ORGANIZATIONS. WE PARTICIPATED IN WEEKLY COALITION CALLS WITH LARIMER ALLIANCE, DON'T FRACK LOVELAND, SAVE THE AURORA RESERVOIR, NORTHERN COLORADO ANTI-FRACKING COALITION, STOP THE UINTA BASIN RAILWAY, LOWRY CAP COALITION, BI-WEEKLY COLORADO STATEWIDE ANTI-FRACKING COALITION, AND BI-ANNUAL COLORADO COALITION FOR A LIVABLE CLIMATE COALITION MEETINGS.

TRUTH RISING AND PUBLIC EDUCATION: THE TRUTH RISING PROGRAM ("TR") EXPANDED TO INCLUDE A DIRECT MAIL MARKETING (EDDM) PROJECT, AND A WEBCAST TO SHARE DIVERSE PERSPECTIVES ON THE IMPACTS OF OIL AND GAS OPERATIONS THROUGHOUT COLORADO. PARTNERING WITH PHYSICIANS FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY COLORADO AND UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS, THE FIRST PHASE STARTED IN LOVELAND, CO WITH MAILER AND A LANDING PAGE WHERE RESIDENTS COULD LEARN MORE. THE MAILERS FOCUSED ON HEALTH IMPACTS, USING SPECIFIC DEMOGRAPHICS (EG: ELDERLY, EXPECTANT MOTHERS, CHILDREN, ETC.) THAT PEOPLE MAY RESONATE WITH MORE RATHER THAN A GENERIC LIST OF IMPACTS. THE LANDING PAGE INCLUDED IMPORTANT LINKS TO MEDICAL RESEARCH AND SCIENTIFIC STUDIES, INCLUDING THE MOST RECENT EDITION OF THE COMPENDIUM OF SCIENTIFIC, MEDICAL, AND MEDIA FINDINGS DEMONSTRATING RISKS AND HARMS OF FRACKING AND ASSOCIATED GAS AND OIL INFRASTRUCTURE PUBLISHED ON APRIL 28, 2022. THE INITIAL MAILERS WERE SENT TO 4,084 HOUSEHOLDS, WITH OVER 150 NEW VISITORS TO THE LANDING PAGE, WITH VISITORS SPENDING AN AVERAGE OF 3 MINUTES OR MORE ON THE SITE, WHEREAS THE INDUSTRY BENCHMARK IS ROUGHLY 52 SECONDS. WE CONTRACTED WITH A DIGITAL CONTENT COORDINATOR TO CREATE A COMMUNITY- CENTERED AND PEOPLE-FOCUSED WEBCAST THAT WOULD HIGHLIGHT A DIVERSE CROSS- SECTION OF VOICES THAT HAVE BEEN IMPACTED BY FOSSIL FUEL OPERATIONS ACROSS COLORADO. SO FAR, WEBCAST INTERVIEWS, VIDEO AND PHOTO CONTENT HAS ALREADY BEEN CAPTURED FOR SEVERAL STORIES, INCLUDING A RESIDENT OF LONGMONT WHO HAS BEEN SUFFERING FROM EXCESSIVE NOISE CAUSED BY NEARBY DRILLING; A LEBANESE REFUGEE WHO NEARLY LOST HIS OWN REGENERATIVE FARM TO THE MARSHALL FIRE, AND A MOTHER AND RANCH OWNER IN GRANBY, CO WHO IS CONCERNED ABOUT THE PENDING UINTA BASIN RAILWAY THAT WILL CARRY WAXY CRUDE ALONG THE COLORADO RIVER. WE HOSTED A PRESS CONFERENCE IN COLLABORATION WITH PHYSICIANS FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY TO ANNOUNCE THE PUBLICATION OF THE 8TH EDITION OF THE COMPENDIUM OF SCIENTIFIC, MEDICAL, AND MEDIA FINDINGS DEMONSTRATING RISKS AND HARMS OF FRACKING AND ASSOCIATED GAS AND OIL INFRASTRUCTURE WITH SANDRA STEINGRABER AS KEY FEATURED SPEAKER; PARTICIPATED IN A WEBINAR HOSTED BY HALT THE HARM TO COMPARE AND CONTRAST LESSONS LEARNED WHILE FIGHTING TO INCREASED OIL AND GAS SETBACKS; AND PARTICIPATED IN A WEBINAR WITH THE CLIMATE REALITY PROJECT AND 350 COLORADO TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC ABOUT A PROPOSAL FOR OVER 460 NEW FRACKING WELLS IN A SINGLE COLORADO COUNTY.

COLORADO RISING FOR COMMUNITIES ENGAGED IN TWO ADDITIONAL PROGRAMS: CLIMATE REDI, AN OUTREACH AND COALITION PROGRAM DESIGNED TO INCREASE AWARENESS AND ADDRESS ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, INCLUDING PLANNING A CLIMATE YOUTH LEADERSHIP SUMMIT AND A GLOBAL VIDEO AT 20,533 AND POLICY AND ISSUES RESEARCH AT 1,410.