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American Red Cross of Mile High Area

444 N. Sherman St.

Denver, CO 80203

redcross.org/colorado

Media Contact: Catie Ballenger

(970) 261-6282 | caitlin.ballenger@redcross.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

With Tick Activity Higher This Summer, Red Cross Offers Tips to Avoid Bites

Mild winter across the region helped more ticks survive, but simple steps can greatly reduce risks

DENVER, Colo. (June 23, 2026) — A warm winter means more ticks, and more ticks increases the risk of a tick bite, along with associated illnesses like Colorado tick fever. The American Red Cross of Colorado is reminding Coloradans to be alert and take safety precautions when outdoors to prevent against tick bites.

According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, the number of ticks in the wild this year is higher than normal due to a record-warm winter. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also reported in April that weekly rates of emergency room visits for tick bites in the U.S. were the highest for that time of year since 2017.

“While ticks in Colorado do not carry the bacteria that causes Lyme disease, a tick bite can still make you sick,” said Andrea Miller, regional chief executive officer of the Red Cross of Colorado and Wyoming. “Bites can cause Colorado tick fever, which causes flu-like symptoms, or other illnesses. A few simple steps, like avoiding tall grass and wearing long-sleeved shirt and pants when going into wildland areas, can help greatly reduce the risk of a tick bite.”

To prevent against tick bites, follow these tips:

The post With Tick Activity Higher This Summer, Red Cross Offers Tips to Avoid Bites appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Plan seeks to add new natural-gas-fired plants and pave a pathway for nuclear energy. Many Coloradans aren’t sold on the benefits. 

Xcel Energy’s plan to transition away from coal-fired power plants to more renewable energy met resistance from residents and elected officials who say it does not go far enough to help Colorado meet its greenhouse gas reduction goals and could harm communities already reeling from the impacts of pollution. 

The plan, formally known as Xcel’s Just Transition Solicitation, has been under development since 2022. It includes plans to retire three coal-fired power plants in Pueblo, Hayden, and Craig. The plant in Pueblo will retire no later than 2031, while the plants in Hayden and Craig will retire in 2028. Xcel said the retirements will help the company reach its goal of reducing emissions by 80% by 2030. 

During a public hearing about the plan on April 28, approximately 60 Coloradans spoke against the plan. Some argued that it would make it more difficult for municipalities to meet their own greenhouse gas reduction goals by replacing the coal-fired plants with gas-fired power plants. Others worried about Xcel’s plans to include other energy sources like carbon capture, nuclear, or hydrogen mixed with natural gas, and their potential financial impacts.

The state Public Utilities Commission is expected to make a final decision about the plan in August 2025. 

Emily Baer, a member of the town council in Erie, told PUC that Xcel’s plan could hinder the state’s goals of achieving 100% clean electricity generation by 2040. She said it could also hinder Erie’s efforts to meet its aggressive energy plan, which calls for at least 25% of commercial power to come from renewable sources and have electric cars make up at least 30% of vehicles registered in town. 

Baer said Xcel should focus on creating new wind and solar plants, rather than building new gas-fired plants. 

“In addition to the negative health impacts, gas plants are expensive to build. Wind and solar plants are not,” she said. 

Colorado’s aggressive climate action goals and its push to become a leading state in electric vehicle adoption are two factors influencing Xcel’s Just Transition plan. The state wants to be 100% net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and has passed new laws that increase building performance standards and energy efficiency requirements. Overall, the utility provider estimates the state will need about 14 gigawatts of new generation and storage capacity to meet these goals. 

However, meeting these goals has been a source of significant political headaches. For instance, building owners in Denver have pushed back against the city’s stringent building performance goals, also known as Energize Denver, which set energy-saving targets for buildings that are 25,000 sq. ft. and larger. 

In early April, Denver’s Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency adopted new rules to add some flexibility to those goals, like extending the deadline for compliance from 2028 to 2032 and adding ways for owners of financially distressed buildings to delay compliance. 

Gov. Jared Polis has also faced political roadblocks in his attempts to accelerate Colorado’s transition away from energy sources like fossil fuels and coal. Polis’ office developed draft legislation that would have required state utility providers like Xcel, Black Hills Energy, and Holy Cross to eliminate climate-warming emissions before the 2040 deadline. 

However, CPR reported the legislation wasn’t introduced during the 2025 legislative session because it faced significant pushback from business groups, utilities, and labor unions. 

“I’m hopeful we can find a pathway forward,” Andy Miller, climate and clean energy policy director for the Natural Resources Defense Council, told CPR News. “Especially facing federal headwinds against renewables and emissions reductions, it’s important for Colorado to continue being a leader in this space.”

Some elected officials who support Colorado’s clean energy transition were also concerned about the plan’s financial impact on their communities. Chris Nichols, the mayor of Craig, said his community and nearby Moffat could face a 15% decline in tax collections once Xcel’s power plant closes. Overall, Nichols estimated that Craig and Moffat could lose roughly $28 million in tax collections from the power plant’s closure. He asked PUC to ensure Xcel’s Just Transition plan includes a community assistance agreement to recoup that income over the next 10 years. 

Routt County is pursuing a similar agreement with Xcel to recoup $89 million over a 10-year period from the closure of the Hayden Plant. Xcel previously offered to pay $16 million, the Yampa Valley Bugle reported.

Nina Waters, a Summit County Commissioner, also expressed concerns about the financial impacts of Xcel’s transition plan. She argued that investing in new gas-fired power plants would undermine her county’s climate goals and threaten its snowpack, which she said is a primary driver of the county’s economy. 

“Snow is arriving later and melting earlier,” Waters said. “Wildfire seasons are lasting longer. These changes threaten not only our natural resources but the economic security of thousands of families in Summit County and beyond.” 

Local residents from across the Front Range also spoke against the nuclear power provisions in Xcel’s plan. Xcel proposed creating small nuclear power reactors in place of the retired power plants to help generate the additional electricity Colorado needs. 

Nuclear power has become a point of contention between utility providers, lawmakers, and local residents in Colorado over the last several years. Some argue that adding nuclear power could diversify the state’s energy portfolio and help reduce costs for homeowners. Others argue that environmental risks from creating nuclear waste storage facilities outweigh the potential financial impacts. 

Jeri Fry, co-founder of Colorado Citizens Against Toxic Waste, told Wyoming Public Radio that nuclear energy is a constant threat to her community in Cañon City, where about 5.8 million tons of radioactive waste are buried behind a berm. The waste came from the Cotter uranium mine, which operated from 1958 to 1979. There are hundreds of homes within a two-mile radius of the site as well. 

“These things have half lives that are centuries, millennia long,” Fry told Wyoming Public Radio. “And so a community that is not given full disclosure and full information about what they’re signing on to, could just get a horrible commitment.”

Julian Guevara, an organizer with Mi Familia Vota, expressed concerns about working-class families in cities like Pueblo bearing the brunt of the environmental impacts resulting from nuclear power. He asked PUC to instead consider supporting more reliable and safer renewable energy alternatives like wind and solar. 

“The future of Pueblo’s energy economy should not be built on unproven, high-risk nuclear technology that could saddle working families with sky-high energy costs and long-term radioactive waste concerns,” Guevara said. 

The post Colorado Asks PUC to Reject Xcel’s Just Transition Plan  appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

There’s something about the words “rules-making process” that almost instinctively causes the vast majority of people’s eyes to glaze over. However, within the glaze of boredom for many, comes real power with significant consequences for our daily lives. 

The Colorado environmental movement knows this and has the paper cuts to prove it. 

Last October, the Colorado Energy & Carbon Management Commission (ECMC) adopted new rules that included “robust protections” for disproportionately impacted (DI) communities living with the cumulative impacts of oil and gas operations. It was clear that after the 18-month public process, the State of Colorado was calling the new rules a win.

The ECMC Chair, Jeff Robbins, claimed, “These rules represent the most protective standards for oil and gas development in our state’s history and require new measures to avoid, minimize, and mitigate adverse impacts on disproportionately impacted communities.” 

It was also clear that the Colorado environmental movement didn’t feel the same way, and their reaction to the new rules had a theme. 

Citizens for a Healthy Community: “Polis Administration Gives Oil And Gas Industry Roadmap For Expanding Neighborhood Drilling In Disproportionately Impacted Communities.”

Colorado Sierra Club Director Margaret Annexstein: “Gov. Polis ECMC has once again failed Coloradans and legislative mandates meant to protect us from severe pollution.” 

Conservation Colorado: “New Rules Help Address Oil And Gas Pollution, Fall Short Of Adequately Protecting Colorado Communities.”

The difference in tone wasn’t just noticeable, it was damning, and it raised some serious questions.

Thankfully, Yellow Scene had the opportunity to discuss these new rules with two people who were involved in the process. Ean Thomas Tafoya, who is the National Vice President of State Programs at GreenLatinos, and the Director of GreenLatinos Colorado. As well as Patricia Garica-Nelson, who is the Colorado Fossil Fuel Just Transition Advocate at GreenLatinos Colorado. 

Yellow Scene: In the letter regarding Cumulative Impact & Enhanced Systems & Practices signed by 23 state lawmakers on August 21st to the Department of Natural Resources and the Energy and Carbon Management Commission – these lawmakers claimed that the draft rules at that time significantly deviated from the intent of the laws passed (BH 24-1346, SB24-229, and HB24-1338). 

Do you agree with the statement that the rules in effect today deviated significantly from the intent of the laws?

Patricia Garica-Nelson: “Yeah, initially in the June draft, there would have been a hard 2000-foot setback, no exceptions. The agency did pull that back, and so there are more off-ramps for operators to get around that setback. So I feel like that one of the biggest issues that we left unresolved was that proximity approach that was something that we had really pushed for. We had tried to get, you know, a bigger setback, at least 2500 feet, but we were unsuccessful.

“I do want to mention, when it comes to notification, we were able to include notifications for community members within 4000 feet of a new site within Disproportionately Impacted Communities (DIC). I feel like it is positive that we are requiring more; we’re requiring more engagement with communities further and further away from sites. So that’s really positive. We also included operators also have to include more information about how their site will cumulatively impact or how that would add to the already existing cumulative impacts to communities. 

“But unfortunately, that wouldn’t be any criteria used for a denial of a permit. So at least now, I feel like we’re putting more safeguards for communities, not the ones that we wanted ultimately, but we’re slowly getting more protections into these roles.”

YS: Do you believe that these rules effectively protect communities of color low in communities and the residents who live in counties with significant oil and gas activities, such as Weld and Adams County? 

Ean Thomas Tafoya: “Are these rules more protective than the rules that existed before? Yes, are they the gold standard yet? No. And I will also say we have to wait for them to take effect for us to know how effective they are being. We’re only now doing interviews for the community liaisons. We do not know what the long-term effect will be with the commissioners’ decisions. And then, if you couple in the fact that we’re also headed to a new governor, and how and what the structure and tone of the commission will be, is probably the biggest hurdle.”

YS: ECMC chair Jeff Robbins, in a statement, claimed that these rules represent the most protective standards for oil and gas development in our state’s history and require new measures to avoid, minimize, and mitigate adverse impacts on disproportionately impacted communities. 

Do you believe that to be a true statement, considering the Chevron Corporation said it supported the ECMC “staff’s thoughtful revisions”?

Ean Thomas Tafoya: “100% these are the most protective rules that have ever existed at ECMC. But we, as environmental justice leaders, didn’t get everything we wanted. For example, the hard setback to protect communities.”

Patricia Garcia-Nelson:” Though these aren’t all the protections we were able to get in some protections, like the notification. A lot of the time, people don’t know what’s happening until it’s already been approved or it’s already getting built. So we feel that definitely there are more opportunities. More engagement for community members, and that was also part of the Environmental Justice Act 1266, that people in Colorado have a right to breathe clean air, drink clean water, but also have input in decision making or for the environment around them.”

YS: Citizens for a Healthy Community claimed that the Polis administration, through these rules, has given the oil and gas industry a quote: ‘road map’ for expanding neighborhood drilling in disproportionately impacted communities.

Is that how you see it? Do these rules allow for expanded drilling in neighborhoods?

Ean Thomas Tafoya: “I mean, they were operating under [previous] rules that allowed them to expand. These rules won’t preclude them from expanding, but the rules and the changes we got put more opportunity for the community to use their voice. And we at GreenLatinos feel like that is the strongest and first step because so many times we’ve been called into environmental justice situations, and leadership has said, ‘Well, nobody’s told us.’

“I can tell you time and time again that the process feels too much like the train’s already moving analogy, that it’s much more difficult. So, if communities are being informed about risk. And it’s not just this bill that is making a difference, right? 

“We’ve passed other legislation that actually can make a bad actor get their license taken away. You’re seeing that happen. We’ve passed; I’m trying to think we’ve had legislation that requires the disclosure of what’s in fracking fluid. I think this right-to-know concept is going to allow communities to make the decision for themselves about what is protective and not protective.”

Patricia Garica-Nelson: “Also, last year, we worked on a bill that would expand the powers that the air pollution control division has when it comes to holding people accountable. And so they expanded their powers to be able to take operators to court for their bad acting.”

YS: As you know, we have a new administration in the White House, and they have selected the CEO of fracking company Liberty Energy [Chris Wright] to be their pick for Energy Secretary. 

Do you have any thoughts or concerns about both Colorado Senators supporting Trump’s pick for energy secretary and the impact it could have on Colorado and the nation?

Ean Thomas Tafoya: “Yes, we are incredibly disappointed. We are disappointed to see our senators break not only for the Energy Secretary but also the Department of Interior Secretary. And I think, in particular, seeing the video of that CEO accosting the community youth, particularly with the sunrise movement, who are concerned about the actions that are being taken and the science that’s being ignored.”

The post The Dirty, Messy Work of Cleaning Up After Oil & Gas in Colorado appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Sparse communication between the oil company, Town of Erie, and residents has caused confusion and frustration, though remediation is entering final stages.

On the morning of Thursday, April 11, 2024, Sara Amodio evacuated her home.

Amodio has a chronic and rare lung condition that she receives regular treatment for, but nearby work to clean up an oil well that was discovered to be leaking in November 2023 has worsened her condition to the point that her doctors don’t want her anywhere in Erie when the site is actively being worked on.

“Once they start digging up and doing more of this remediation, I can’t be in Erie, I have to go be with my family in Kansas City,” Amodio said. “I can’t be here while they’re digging this up, it’s that serious.”

Remediating the leak

Sara Amodio stands in front of the remediation site on April 11. Photo by Natalie Kerr.

Civitas Resources, a Colorado-based energy producer began to plug and abandon oil and gas well 1-24 in the Country Fields/Country Meadows neighborhood in September 2023, discovering the leak during the decommissioning process. Remediation began on April 11, but neighbors are concerned about the potential health and environmental impacts of the leak and heavy machinery stirring up contaminated soil near the residential area.

The leak has been referred to as a “historic” spill, often in contexts that misconstrue “historic” with “unprecedented,” said Gabi Rae, communications director for the Town of Erie. Historic only means that the leak began at an unknown date in the past. The Town will be discontinuing the use of that term to avoid future confusion.

As of a March 6, 2024 notice from the Town of Erie, lab testing shows no evidence of groundwater contamination from the well leak, and the contaminated soil has been removed from the site. Even though the leak is no longer active, additional excavation is necessary to remediate the site, and once additional testing confirms all contaminants are removed, the site will need to be leveled and re-vegetated.

Original contamination testing found drilling fluid, crude oil, crude oil water byproduct, and condensate — a chemical byproduct of drilling. Several organic volatile compounds in the contamination were above state regulatory levels, including benzene, one of the components of ozone, ethylbenzene, xylene, naphthalene, trimethylbenzene, and total volatile petroleum hydrocarbons.

These waste products of petroleum drilling are often referred to as BTEX compounds, and they are potentially carcinogenic, with benzene being a known carcinogen, and can lead to cancer, neurological impairment, and blood diseases, according to the Federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

Amodio noticed difficulty breathing in February, which aligns with when the workover rig was mobilized at the site and the soil was being disturbed by machinery. She is concerned by the fact that Civitas doesn’t know when the leak began or how long these chemicals might have been leaching into the surrounding wetland area.

She is additionally concerned that she sees residents walking their dogs and children biking to school close to the site, without any signs or fencing to warn people about the contamination.

“They have said that, ‘yes, there’s still contaminated soil there, yes, they still need to do the remediation, and they have work to do,’” Amodio said. “But there are no signs, there is no fencing. People have been back there with their dogs, kids have been playing back there because they’re curious about what’s going on.”

Based on state-regulated lab testing of soil and water samples, the contamination is not a threat to anyone nearby, nor to any water sources at this point, Rae said. The Town of Erie is not aware of any health risks that existed prior to the cleanup, particularly because the town was not made aware of contamination at the site until months after Civitas and state agencies identified it.

The remediation of well 1-24 began on April 11 after the leak was discovered by Civitas in September 2023. Photo by Natalie Kerr.

Who’s job is it anyway?

Civitas, as a private company, is only required to communicate well-related information to the state and can choose to communicate with the town if it wants. This has contributed to a number of problems for both the town government and the residents.

“This is such a weird space, when a private company that is primarily regulated by the state can basically decide how much they communicate with us or the public — that really is something that they get to decide,” Rae said. “We didn’t know about the work, the leak, or the contamination until long after it was first found.”

In particular, the Town of Erie noticed non-permitted activity at the site in January 2024, which raised red flags. The town issued a stop work order and required Civitas to get a stormwater impact permit, which was granted on March 27, 2024.

Amodio herself has been dedicated to getting more information from the town and Civitas. She and members of the Canyon Creek Homeowners Association presented about the leak at a town council meeting, and afterward Amodio received her first communication from Civitas after weeks of unanswered outreach.

Even so, Civitas was not forthright in information, such as when work would be happening at the site, which Amodio needed in advance to plan her evacuation.

Civitas also wrote to her via email that machinery would only enter the site via the Erie Parkway. However, on April 10, 2024, workers were using an access point about 25 feet from her home off of Simmons St.

“I just learned that the excavator couldn’t navigate through the northern entrance and needed to use the south end,” wrote Rich Coolidge, public affairs manager at Civitas. “The other vehicles did and will continue to use the north entrance and exit, but, once the work is complete, we’ll need to remove the excavator back through the south entrance.”

Amodio worries about the machinery tracking contaminated dirt through the neighborhood.

Civitas did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

The oil and gas operations are held to state regulations and overseen by the Energy and Carbon Management Commission, the state’s oil and gas regulation agency, and Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment for health and safety regulations. Because most of the oil and gas developments in Erie are located on private property owned by private oil and gas companies, the town has little control over enforcing its own requirements on companies like Civitas.

A truck carries contaminated soil from the well pad to an offsite location on April 11, 2024. Photo by Natalie Kerr.

This is part of the reason the town did not post signage indicating a contaminated site, because the land is under Civitas’ jurisdiction, and at this point because the contamination has been cleaned, the only relevant signage is to warn residents about heavy machinery activity, which is posted near the site, Rae said.

But Amodio and her neighbors are frustrated by the finger-pointing between Civitas, the town, and the HOA, who all claim that things like signage are another entity’s job, which has only meant that less gets done overall.

“Who’s responsible for signage? Who’s responsible for keeping people out of that site? Who’s responsible for letting the neighborhood know?” Amodio asked.

Amodio spoke to neighbors as recently as mid-March who had no idea there was a leak at the oil well, she said. The sluggish pace and sporadic nature of information about the oil well frustrated her, and she decided to compile it all in one place.

She has been operating an updates page since she first found out about the spill with a timeline of events, compiled announcements from the town, and posted contact information for people in Town government and at Civitas who can be called or emailed for further information.

She hopes this kind of resource gives people more clarity about what’s happening at the site.

“It’s been put out very piecemeal, and then people start panicking about that, because then they think, ‘Well, what more is there?’” Amodio said.

The Town of Erie encourages all residents to fact-check information from non-official sources, including Facebook groups, with information from the Town of Erie website, ECMC, and CDPHE.

“There’s not any information that we’re deciding to withhold for any reason, as soon as we get information about any of this, we’re providing it to our public,” Rae said. “This is something that we have to do, there’s not a legal requirement for us to share any of this, but we know it’s the right thing to do.”

A sign for well 1-24 near a wetland area in Erie. The well was discovered to be leaking in September 2023. Photo by Natalie Kerr.

Final phases begin.

The Town of Erie expects post-excavation lab testing to commence around April 21, 2024. If soil passes state testing regulations, final cleanup will begin in May 2024, including placing more water barriers, removing excess material, adding topsoil, and planting seeds and vegetation to match the local environment. If it fails testing, more remediation will be required.

Neighbors are worried that this won’t be the last time something like this happens in Erie because other oil wells might be getting old and at risk of similar malfunction, Amodio said.

What is Erie’s plan moving forward with these oil and gas wells that are getting old?” Amodio questioned. “Because granted, this is all post facto for us, and we’re now dealing with the aftermath of it, but I have to imagine that there are other wells out there that would be impacting the population of Erie.”

The Environmental Services Director David Frank is in regular contact with the State and with oil and gas developers during different stages of their development, or plugging and abandoning to make contact, do walk-throughs, and gather as much information as possible about the state of the wells, Rae said.

The entire process has been incredibly disruptive and difficult for Amodio, who has had to switch chemotherapy treatments for her illness and go on medication that costs $20,000 per monthly injection since work at the oil well began.

Amodio wrote about her experience and concerns in a letter to the Town of Erie Board of Trustees and is meeting with them on April 23, 2024, to discuss the situation further.

“Erie has been my home since 2004, and it breaks my heart that my town is making me sick,” Amodio wrote.

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The post Erie Oil Well Leak Poses Health, Environmental Concerns for Residents appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.