Oil and gas companies are spending millions to squash a pair of ballot initiatives this election cycle: a proposal for limiting the location of new oil and gas sites in Colorado, and a plan to charge climate polluters in Washington state.



In both states, the stakes are high. And the battle lines are similar — with the energy industry arguing the proposals would hurt the economy, and environmental groups saying the proposals will protect human health. The fundraising, though, is dramatically lopsided, with way more money on the oil and gas side.

In Colorado, the sixth-largest oil-producing state in the nation, the fight is over some of the strictest so-called setback rules. Ballot initiative 112 proposes that new oil and gas sites in the state be set back 2,500 feet, or about half a mile, from homes, schools, and other occupied buildings. Under the current rules, energy sites must be 500 feet from homes, and 1,000 feet from schools and other buildings.

Protect Colorado, the main opposition group, has raised about $35.6 million, mostly from energy companies, according to its latest filing on Oct. 15. More than a dozen oil and gas companies and trade associations have collectively spent more than $1 million in last-minute donations since then. And Anadarko and Noble Energy, two of the largest oil and gas operators in the state, have each spent nearly $7 million this year on the campaign.

This proposal would limit where new oil and gas infrastructure can go, Jesse Mallory, Colorado director for conservative political group Americans for Prosperity, told BuzzFeed News. As an industry, “if you can’t grow, what are you going to do?”

Meanwhile, Colorado Rising, the main supporter of the initiative, raised nearly $1 million by October 24. This includes a flurry of last-minute donations by mostly individuals and some green groups like 350.org.



“This is really a David versus Goliath, people versus corporation” situation, said Anne Lee Foster of Colorado Rising, and this measure comes after years of Coloradans pushing for more protections against the industry. It was a bitter fight just to get the issue on the ballot, Foster added, where those collecting signatures faced harassment.