August 1, 2008--S. Ute land was site of frac fluid spill (Durango Herald)
State regulators knew nothing about the gas-field chemical spill that ended with a Durango nurse's illness because it happened on tribal land. However, the federal Environmental Protection Agency is investigating the April 17 spill by Weatherford, a hydraulic fracturing company working on contract for BP. The spill happened at a BP well south of Bayfield, said BP spokesman Curtis Thomas. The Southern Ute Indian Tribe owns the land, and therefore the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission does not have jurisdiction over activities at the well, said COGCC spokeswoman Tricia Beaver.
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