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Weld County Commissioners Approve Explosives Bunkers

Perf.com

Weld County Commissioners unanimously approved the construction of two bunkers that will have the capacity to store up to 7,000 pounds of explosives used in the hydraulic fracturing process

Commissioner Bill Garcia says representatives from the Weld County Planning Commission, Department of Public Works, the Department of Environmental Health and Geodynamics (the company building the bunkers) spoke at the hearing Wednesday.

“It was fairly straightforward. We heard from them, we asked questions about the safety of the facility, the security systems that will be in place, drainage and flood mitigation issues. And it passed on a 5-0 vote and no one came to oppose it.”

The bunkers will be constructed west of Nunn. Area residents had earlier raised concern that the explosive filled bunkers could be unsafe and possibly contaminate farmland if the area was flooded.

While the practice of using explosives in the fracking process is relatively unknown, it is actually used quite often to perforate oil and gas well casings.

For a quick explainer on the explosives used in the fracturing process, click here.

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