A recent court decision in Colorado highlights what may be just the beginning of a new set of hurdles for energy companies.
A family in Colorado filed suit after a hydraulic fracturing system was installed on their neighbor’s property. The family claims that, since the system was installed, their property value has decreased, their water has been contaminated, and they’ve incurred skin rashes and headaches. Recently, Colorado’s Court of Appeals overturned a dismissal by a lower court, allowing the family’s case to move forward in the litigation process. You can read the full opinion here.
Although the ruling establishes no binding precedent outside of Colorado, given how widespread hydraulic fracturing has become across the country, it will be something that plaintiffs’ attorneys will keep an eye on in the event that they are handed similar issues.
Hydraulic Fracturing, (or “fracking” as many outside the industry call it) is a controversial process that has opened up new resources of energy (see here for additional explanation on how it works), but critics claim that water is often contaminated and other resources are damaged as a result of this procedure. Obviously, this is of particular interest to those of us living in West Virginia where discovery of the Marcellus Shale has led to exponential increase in hydraulic fracturing within the state and many concerned about some unintended consequences that could implicate a business and human rights discussion. In particular it seems to me that more and more, plaintiffs are turning to the court system to find remedies for violations of things that implicate work that businesses do in a community.
Whether the allegations have explicit claims if human rights abuses (as in the case of Kiobel, discussed here) or simply provide the undercurrent for a human rights discussion, more and more the U.S. court system seems to be finding space for bringing us issues that have long been associated with an international human rights framework. (For one international perspective, see the written statement on hydraulic fracturing submitted by UNANIMA to the UN General Assembly, available here).
