Colorado fracking opponents plan drive to put ban on ballot

Activists say they’ll try to put a measure on the 2016 ballot to ban hydraulic fracturing in Colorado.

Coloradans Against Fracking announced the campaign Tuesday, just as a task force was trying to finish up recommendations that were supposed to help settle disputes over oil and gas.

The panel could begin voting on its final recommendations Tuesday. Its final report is due to Gov. John Hickenlooper on Friday.

The panel has been wrestling with how much power local governments should have to regulate drilling, how to protect the rights of surface owners when someone else owns the minerals underground, and what health and safety restrictions should be imposed.

The task force isn’t considering a fracking ban. Coloradans Against Fracking says the panel hasn’t paid enough attention to potential health problems.