When Michael Hickey walks around an old oil well site, he’s prepared for the dangers. He wears fire retardant clothing, a hard hat and protective glasses. He fences off hazardous areas to keep others away. In five years of supervising Colorado’s Orphaned Well Program, he said, “we haven’t had an accident yet.” But Colorado’s backlog of wells needing cleanup continues to grow, increasing the challenges and costs for the state.
Here’s who’ll you’ll hear from for this story:
- Colorado Orphaned Well Program Supervisor Michael Hickey, who leads the team responsible for cleaning up abandoned oil and gas wells in Colorado
- Former Colorado lawmaker Michael Foote, who said the state could do more to hold the industry accountable
- A family who filed a lawsuit against an oil and gas company which has since gone bankrupt, leaving an orphaned well behind
Our promise to you: Denver7 Investigates continues to cover the impact that so-called “orphan” oil and gas wells have on the environment, speaking to community members affected by potential hazards to public health and bringing those issues to stakeholders and elected officials to get answers to those concerns. The following is the latest in a series of stories by Denver7’s Angelika Albaladejo .