Anti-fracking group backs off ballot talk

(Photo: CPR/Grace Hood)

An activist group is backing off its earlier announcement that it would to try to get a statewide fracking ban on the Colorado ballot.

Karen Dike of Coloradans Against Fracking said Thursday the group will try to persuade Gov. John Hickenlooper to impose a ban on the practice, but it isn't actively working on a ballot issue.

Dike had said Tuesday the group planned to start a ballot campaign. She now says Coloradans Against Fracking isn't ruling out a ballot issue if Hickenlooper fails to act.

In an interview broadcast Thursday, Hickenlooper told Colorado Matters the state couldn't justify a ban because there was insufficient evidence that fracking is harmful.

Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, involves pumping pressurized water, sand and chemicals underground to break up rock formations and release oil and gas.