A home went up in flames in April on Twilight Avenue north of Denver, killing two people. Now, the investigation into what happened is underway, clean-up is ongoing, lawsuits are being filed and people who live in that small community are worried- not only about their safety but about the value of their homes.

COGCC

Map showing recent oil and gas well permits. 1,565 permits have been approved so far this year, 1,043 in Weld County alone.

The explosion was caused by a small pipeline leaking gas into the home, owned by oil and gas giant Anadarko. In this part of Colorado, energy infrastructure like that is everywhere.

“I don’t want to live there anymore. I have two kids,” Aimee Bullers said, through tears, at a recent meeting between residents and lawyers about a potential lawsuit over loss in home values.

The Bullers pulled their kids out of school after the accident and Aimee took them to stay with her parents in Chicago. They became even more worried a few weeks after the home blew up when state officials announced that they’d found another pocket of gas – right behind the Bullers house. That same day, an oil tank explosion killed a worked a few miles away.

Aimee Bullers wants to leave her neighborhood, but doesn’t think her family can afford to move. This part of northern CO is one of the fastest growing metro areas in the country. Home values have gone up 11 percent over the past year alone, and the Bullers don’t think they’d be able to sell their home right now anyway.

“We live on Twilight… there’s a stigma,” Bullers said. “You’re the house that exploded.”

Rick Kuykendall, a Miami-based attorney specializing in environmental litigation, led the meeting. Years ago, he represented Gulf Coast homeowners after the BP oil spill.

Read More

Inside Energy – Leigh Paterson – 06/20/2017