"Impossible to remain silent"

When Laura Amos of Silt, Colo., was diagnosed in 2003 with a rare adrenal condition, she began to suspect that it had something to do with four natural gas wells less than 1000 feet from her home.

After EnCana Corporation drilled the wells in 2001, the family’s tap water resembled fizzy, gray soda pop. Amos says that while fracturing the wells, the company created a connection between her water well and one of the gas wells -- lacing the family's drinking water with methane. Amos later discovered that the company had used the compound 2-butoxyethanol in the hydraulic fracturing. The chemical can be found on California’s list of hazardous substances but was removed from the Environmental Protection Agency’s list of hazardous pollutants in 1994.  

Amos’ story is only one featured in a new documentary about the effects of the oil and gas industry in the Rocky Mountain West. Split Estate premieres this week in New York and Los Angeles, and is the directorial debut of Debra Anderson. The film is narrated by Academy Award-nominated actress Ali MacGraw.

The documentary focuses on Garfield County, Colo. and the San Juan Basin, highlighting stories from Western ranchers, farmers and families, as well as interviewing health experts, industry insiders and policy makers, including Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Sen. John Kerry (D-MA).

“I could not believe that an energy company could come in on land that you own, and drill at will without your permission as close as 150 feet from your front door,” Anderson says. “For those of us living in the path of that industry and its potential to do real destruction to the environment and our health, it is impossible to remain silent."

Split Estate joins the International Documentary Association’s festival DocuWeeks 2009 (through Aug. 20; Split Estate runs from Aug. 7 to Aug. 13), premiering at the IFC Center in New York and the ArcLight Hollywood in Los Angeles. Organizations in New York and LA are using the film's premiere to highlight the effects of drilling in urban areas. 

The documentary will also air on Oct. 17 on Planet Green TV.

“This film is of value to anyone wrestling with rational, sustainable energy policy while preserving the priceless elements of cultural heritage, private enterprise above-ground, and the precious health not only of people but the land itself,” says New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.