Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities


** Colorado oil companies secretly pump chemicals into the ground
------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, May 21, 2025
Source: BLM Colorado, Flickr ([link removed])

Colorado oil and gas companies have pumped at least 30 million pounds of undisclosed chemicals ([link removed]) into the ground over the past 18 months without making legally required disclosures. This is despite Colorado's first-in-the-nation rules ([link removed]) that require oil and gas operators and their suppliers to list all chemicals used in drilling and extraction (while also banning any use of PFAS “forever chemicals” ([link removed]'s%20about%20to%20change%20in,1%2C%202024.) at oil and gas sites).

The findings are part of a report ([link removed]) released Tuesday by Physicians for Social Responsibility, Physicians for Social Responsibility Colorado, FracTracker Alliance, and the Colorado Sierra Club. According to the analysis, since the transparency law took effect in July 2023, operators have fracked 1,114 sites across the state, but as of May 1st, chemical disclosures have not been filed for 675 of them ([link removed]) – more than 60% of the total. Chevron, the world’s third-biggest fossil-fuel company ([link removed]) , is by far the most serious offender, operating about 375 (more than half) of the non-compliant wells.

“We thought that the Colorado law was going to break through the culture of secrecy that surrounds the use of potentially toxic chemicals in oil and gas production,” said ([link removed]) Dusty Horwitt, an attorney and researcher who was lead author on the analysis, which is based on public disclosures. “But the lack of compliance has left the secrecy in place, putting people’s health at risk.”

House Rules Committee debates budget reconciliation bill through the night

The House Rules Committee convened ([link removed]) just after 1am this morning to consider hundreds of amendments to the budget reconciliation bill. The House leadership didn’t have the manager's amendment—the catch-all for the changes being negotiated by House Speaker Mike Johnson behind closed doors—when the committee members entered the middle-of-the-night meeting, and still did not it have it many hours later as they continued negotiating details ([link removed]) well into the morning. It is unclear at this point if the proposal to sell hundreds of thousands of acres of public lands ([link removed]) that was offered as an amendment by Reps. Mark Amodei and Celeste Maloy is still included. The bipartisan backlash
([link removed]) to the public land sales proposal has been growing since the amendment was offered. A final vote is expected around mid-morning or later, depending on the timing of the manager’s amendment.


** Quick hits
------------------------------------------------------------

Trump's big oily bill

HEATED ([link removed])

House appropriators warn Secretary Burgum about proposed Interior budget cuts

E&E News ([link removed])

Colorado oil companies secretly pump chemicals into the ground

The Guardian ([link removed])

Ban on chasing, striking wildlife with snowmobiles rejected again by legislative committee

WyoFile ([link removed])

Feds propose ESA protections for Nevada fish near planned lithium mine

Las Vegas Review-Journal ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])

Essay: This land is their land—Trump is selling out the U.S.'s beloved wilderness

The Guardian ([link removed])

Tariff turmoil presents a difficult run for Colorado river rafting companies

Colorado Public Radio ([link removed])

Oregon lawmakers propose leveraging federal Job Corps to train more firefighters

Rogue Valley Times ([link removed])


** Quote of the day
------------------------------------------------------------

” Unique to this country, public lands are every American’s birthright, national treasure and greatest wealth. Selling our shared public estate is an idea the Herald’s editorial board fiercely opposes, as should all Americans and members of Congress.”

—Durango Herald Editorial Board ([link removed])


** Picture This
------------------------------------------------------------

@usinterior ([link removed])
The views at @blackcanyonnps ([link removed]) in Colorado are nothing short of jaw-dropping. With sheer cliffs, towering spires and a roaring river slicing through some of the oldest rock in North America, Black Canyon lives up to its name: dramatic, dark and unforgettable.

Photo by NPS

============================================================
** Website ([link removed])
** Instagram ([link removed])
** Facebook ([link removed])
** TikTok ([link removed])
** Medium ([link removed])
Copyright © 2025 Center for Western Priorities, All rights reserved.
You've signed up to receive Look West updates.

Center for Western Priorities
1999 Broadway
Suite 520
Denver, CO 80202
USA
** View this on the web ([link removed])

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])