Feel free to use this template to address your local government as desired:
Erie Specific Action Needed: See Erie BOT contact info.
Please Contact Our Mayor and Board of Trustees.
We don’t have a fracking problem, we have a democracy problem. Our rights are beneath those of corporations. The state rules preempt our ability to decide what happens in our town.
Erie Rising has an immediate need for letters to our Mayor and Board of Trustees regarding the need for a moratorium on oil and gas drilling in Erie.
We ask that you personalize a letter or email using the following statement: Mining that uses the processes; ‘hydraulic fracturing’, is an unconventional method of extracting minerals which inherently poses probable unconventional adverse environmental and human health impacts. As per COGCC official documentation, adverse impacts to groundwater, surface water, residential homes, agricultural lands exist in great numbers. The excess release of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which have not been scientifically tested locally must be addressed and tested immediately to indicate if potential adverse impacts to our community exist and to better understand any potential adverse impacts to the environment and human health.
For specific reasons of not having adequate scientific literature to prove that mining that uses the methods, hydraulic fracturing is safe, we urge the City of Erie, Colorado on this day; February xx 2012, to impose an immediate moratorium on mining that uses the methods, hydraulic fracturing, within the Erie City limits and all future annexations until the EPA can finalize its scientific report concluding that any adverse or non-adverse affects directly related to hydraulic fracturing exist. We urge our request be admitted, and enacted immediately.
It is important to include your personal concerns regarding this issue that is affecting our town so that your letter will be better received. Below are some tips for writing to elected officials.
General tips for writing a letter to your elected officials:
- Say why you are writing and who you are. List your “credentials” and the city or zip code where you live.
- Identify the issue. In the first paragraph clearly state the issue that your letter addresses.
- Be factual not emotional.
- Focus on your main points, and don’t let your message get lost. Support the issue you are addressing with key statistics, compelling facts, and/or condensed background information.
- The best letters are courteous and concise, to the point, and include specific supporting examples. Keep your letter short — one page is best.
- If you want a response, you must include your name and address, even when using email.
- Request the action you want taken: a vote for or against a bill, or change in general policy, or ask for a reply with his/her position on the issue and how he/she will address the issue.
- Close by thanking your elected official for reading the letter.
Erie Rising 