ADAMS COUNTY, Colo. — A family discovered there are cancer-causing chemicals in their well water, yet they continue to fight state regulators who say nearby oil and gas activity is not to blame — including the abandoned oil well on the family’s property.
Several years afterward, they learned of the abandoned oil well from the 1970s somewhere on their property.
Gary Ohlson said no one told him about the oil well beforehand.
Still, the commission concluded in a letter to the family that "there is no evidence that the occurrence of benzene in your water well is due to oil & gas activity in your area or on your property."
The independent hydrogeologist acknowledged the same fact and petitioned the oil and gas commission last week — concluding that "past investigations by COGCC have been too limited and therefore unsuccessful" in ruling out oil and gas activity.
In an email to Denver7 Investigates, a spokesperson said, in part, "We respect the judgment of the COGCC and we will continue to work closely and cooperatively with them going forward."
Their frustrations ring especially true given that the commission told Denver7 Investigates that it "does not have plans to take further action" because it could never pinpoint "any potential sources of hydrocarbon contamination."
All told, COGCC said even if it had determined that oil and gas was a contributing factor in the contamination, it would have recommended that the Ohlson family install a water treatment system, which the family already had done long before the contamination came to light.
As such, the commission says the water tested in the family’s home is free of benzene.
However, the well water the family uses to irrigate their land and feed their farm animals is untreated — and may still contain benzene among other cancer-causing chemicals.