Energy Companies Drill for Oil in the Niobrara Formation in Northeastern Colorado

Many Colorado residents protest the oil companies and their new drilling operations at the Niobrara oil shale formation in Weld County, North eastern Colorado on May 30, 2012. This large pumping and storage facility is located right next to a new residential subdivision in Erie, Colorado. Gas and oil companies are using large amounts of water to obtain shale oil and gas in a process called hydraulic fracturing or fracking. UPI/Gary C. Caskey