Xiuhtezcatl Martinez, youth
plaintiff, leads a youth rally on the west steps of the Colorado Capitol
Building on February 20, 2017 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo:
Helen Richardson/ Denver Post)
Common Dreams
By Lauren McCauley
March 24, 2017
Three-judge appeals court panel
ruled that state law requires that human health and environment take precedence
over industry interests
A group of Colorado teenagers scored a
"huge" victory against the state's fracking industry on Thursday when
a three-judge panel ruled that the health of citizens and environment takes
precedence over oil and gas interests.
The decision, handed down by the Colorado Court of
Appeals on Thursday, requires that the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation
Commission (COGCC) consider a petition from six youth plaintiffs, which asks
the board to suspend the issuance of fracking permits "until it can be
done without adversely impacting human health and safety and without impairing
Colorado's atmospheric resource and climate system, water, soil, wildlife, and
other biological resources."
Xiuhtezcatl Martinez, 16-year-old plaintiff and youth
director of the Boulder-based Earth Guardians, declared after the ruling:
"Our movement to fight for the rights of people and our environment is
evolving. From the streets to the courtroom, the voices of the younger
generation will be heard, and the legal system is a tool for our resistance. Small
wins build up to create massive change."
Martinez and his brother Itzcuahtli Roske-Martinez are
joined on the petition by Sonora Brinkley, Aerielle Deering, Trinity Carter,
and Emma Bray, who are all members of the young activist group. Their ages
currently range from 13 to 16.
The COGCC had rejected the petition (pdf) in 2014
after claiming that state law requires the government to strike a
"balance" between fossil fuel development and public health. That
interpretation was upheld by the Denver District Court.
On Thursday, however, the three-judge, all-woman panel
said the Commission "erred" in its interpretation of the Oil and Gas
Conservation Act, finding instead that the law "mandates that the
development of oil and gas in Colorado be regulated subject to the protection
of public health, safety, and welfare, including protection of the environment
and wildlife resources."...
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