Colorado Operators Increase Chemical Disclosures After Public Pressure, but Major Gaps Remain

Statewide Disclosure Failures Prompt Public Outcry

The Colorado oil and gas transparency law (HB22-1348), which was passed in 2022 and took effect in July 2023, was enacted to give the public clear access to information about chemicals used underground in oil and gas development—both during drilling and fracking—while also banning the use of toxic PFAS substances. The law was intended to replace a legacy of secrecy with a system of accountability and health protection for communities near extraction sites.

Yet nearly two years later, a May 2025 analysis by Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR), PSR – Colorado, Colorado Sierra Club, and FracTracker Alliance revealed widespread noncompliance. Of the 1,114 wells required to report under the law, only 39% had any publicly available chemical disclosures. The systemic failure to implement the law as intended has left many communities without the critical information they need to understand potential chemical exposures.

View the interactive map developed by FracTracker that identifies all 1,114 wells subject to the 2022 chemical disclosure law as of May 1, 2025.

Millions of Pounds of Undisclosed Fracking Chemicals, Millions of Dollars in Potential Fines

According to the report titled “Oil and Gas Chemicals Still Secret in Colorado,” as of May 2025, 675 of 1,114 wells required to report chemical use had no disclosures on file with the Colorado Energy & Carbon Management Commission (ECMC), representing an estimated 30 million pounds of undisclosed fracking chemicals used across hundreds of wells in Colorado. Based on a conservative penalty of $200 per violation per day, the analysis found that non-compliant companies could already owe more than $37 million in fines.

“This law was supposed to break through the culture of secrecy which has surrounded the use of potentially toxic chemicals in oil and gas production,” the report’s author, PSR consultant Dusty Horwitt, said. “But lack of compliance has left the secrecy in place and Coloradans’ health at risk.”

Despite the scale of noncompliance, the report spurred a measurable increase in fracking chemical disclosures. In the weeks following its release, the Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission (ECMC) received more than 600 new well disclosures, nearly doubling the total submitted in the prior 17 months between December  2023, when the law required public chemical disclosures to begin, and May 2025. 

By July 2025, over 90% of wells had submitted at least some disclosures related to fracking chemicals, indicating a strong industry response to public scrutiny and advocacy. However, major gaps still remain in the disclosure data.

Critical Gaps in Colorado Oil and Gas Chemical Transparency

The most significant gap in Colorado’s chemical disclosure framework is the apparent lack of reporting on chemicals used during the drilling phase—before fracking even begins—despite disclosure of all chemicals used underground in oil and gas wells being a key requirement under the state’s 2022 transparency law. While fracking chemical disclosures have improved in response to public scrutiny and advocacy, reporting on drilling chemicals appears to be virtually nonexistent as of July 2025.

This omission may carry profound consequences for residents living near oil and gas sites. Drilling chemicals are among the first substances introduced into the environment during well development and may include toxic additives  including lubricants that could migrate into air, soil, and water. The first stage of drilling typically passes through groundwater before any protective steel casing or cement is inserted into the well to prevent migration of drilling chemicals into the groundwater. Therefore, if chemicals are used during the first stage of drilling, they are likely to pollute underground aquifers. Without access to drilling chemical data, communities are left unaware of what substances they may have been exposed to, potentially for months or years at a time.

The absence of full chemical reporting also prevents public health officials from identifying exposure pathways, conducting adequate risk assessments, or issuing targeted health advisories. For families living near these sites, this omission creates a dangerous information vacuum that undermines not only emergency response, but also long-term medical care and environmental remediation efforts.

As PSR Colorado board chair Elizabeth Gillepsie, MD, MPH pointed out to The Guardian, not knowing what kinds of chemicals are being used makes it tough for medical professionals like herself to treat patients who live near these wells, who face higher incidences of leukemia, birth abnormalities and other serious health outcomes linked to fracking-related exposures. Communities on the frontlines of oil and gas development, many of whom are already burdened by cumulative environmental and social stressors, deserve timely, accurate, and complete information about the chemicals used in their neighborhoods. Without it, transparency laws fail the very people they were intended to protect.

These data points are not just theoretical; they have serious implications for public health and safety. One recent incident in Weld County offers a sobering illustration of what’s at stake when disclosure fails.

Drilling operation in Colorado. (FracTracker Alliance, 2010)

Case Study: Weld County Elementary School Incident

In early April 2025, a Chevron-operated well on the Bishop well pad near Galeton, Weld County, experienced a blowout that sprayed oil, gas, water, and chemicals for nearly five days. Approximately 20,000 barrels of produced water—wastewater that comes back up to the surface after a well is drilled and fracked—and 5,000 barrels of oil and condensate were released into the environment.

The fluid and vapor plume traveled up to two miles, affecting multiple homes, creeks, and, most notably, causing the temporary closure of Galeton Elementary School for much of April, where students and staff were evacuated as a protective measure. According to Emily Fischer, a professor of atmospheric science at Colorado State University, air monitoring during the event detected benzene levels around 35 ppb up to a mile away, which is four to 10 times above typical health safety thresholds, and also revealed toxic volatile organic compounds including hexane, toluene, and xylene.

The incident triggered a large emergency response with over 300 personnel mobilized, and launched an ongoing remediation plan covering a seven‑square‑mile area, divided into 300 cleanup parcels, with earthworks and sampling operations expected to last years, potentially until 2030. Chevron has since faced an ECMC enforcement action, including a notice of alleged violation citing six rule breaches, and is responsible for the ongoing cleanup and monitoring efforts.

Next Steps for Colorado Fracking Chemical Disclosure

Without full compliance, Colorado’s transparency law falls short of protecting the communities it was designed to serve, leaving residents without the knowledge they need to make informed choices about their health and safety.

“It is time to get serious about implementation and put the protection of Coloradans and their environment over industry interests,” said Ramesh Bhatt, Ph.D., Chair, Colorado Sierra Club Conservation Committee.

Moving forward, FracTracker Alliance and its partners will continue using data, mapping, and public education to spotlight implementation gaps, especially around drilling chemicals, and advocate for stronger enforcement.

Take Action

• Governor Polis: Enforce Colorado’s Chemical Disclosure Law and Protect Communities!
• Join Halt the Harm Network and join the Colorado Secret Chemicals campaign space

Learn More

• The disclosure status dashboard, a free tool developed by Open-FF, continues to track progress in real time for journalists, researchers, and community members working to hold the oil and gas industry accountable.
• View the interactive map developed by FracTracker that identifies all 1,114 wells originally subject to the 2022 chemical disclosure law as of May 1, 2025.