Boulder, CO is famously one of the most liberal places in America, and is also my home. About half-an-hour from downtown Boulder is another small, largely liberal town, Longmont, CO. Longmont doesn't typically feature in national debates about much of anything, even the attention drawn to the town due to CO's position as a swing state this election cycle was a bit of a surprise. This November changed things.
This November, Longmont passed Ballot Initiative 300, which made the process known as "fracking" illegal within city limits. The measure to put the ban in the city charter no less, passed with 60 percent of the vote. Longmont is not the first town to establish such measures, but its story is certainly remarkable. Over the past few years, the natural gas industry has been paying more attention to similar, citizen-initiated measures, which would piecemeal eliminate the development of new fracking sites. In Longmont , the natural gas industry invested heavily to defeat the measure - I've heard figures that range from between $300,000-$500,000 - in quantities that dwarf fundraising from grassroots advocacy groups.
Criticism of Ballot Initiative 300 has focused on its inability to stand up to the inevitable wave of litigation from the natural gas industry, state, and federal government. The Daily Times Call quoted Governor John D. Hickenlooper in September 2012 saying, "'There's nothing worse than being a governor in a legal battle with one of your own municipalities,' he said. 'But I don't see any alternative.'"
It is unlikely that the initiative will be able to stand up in court; but despite its lack of long-term effectiveness, the initiative has other values. First, the ban is a new, unprecedented example of locally based action overcoming large industrial investment. Second, the ban has started new discussions, and rekindled existing debates over the expansion and development of fracking sites in and around residential areas. Finally, the success of the initiative means that both industry and various levels of government will have to start taking local concerns more seriously.
I believe Longmont's Ballot Initiative 300 is an appropriate response to an environmental issue because it uses existing leverage points to draw attention to environmental concerns, empower local communities, and demonstrate the power of grassroots organizing. Longmont, in passing such a measure, has to some extent gone rogue - instead of waiting for state and federal regulation of fracking, the city has struck out to determine its own future. Regardless of the long term success or failure of the initiative, Longmont's given me hope that even small, seemingly unimportant communities can make a big difference for environmental issues on the national stage.
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