Colorado’s oil and gas producers have asked a federal district judge to throw out new rules adopted by the state water quality control commission governing stormwater runoff from small well sites.
Attorneys for the Colorado Oil and Gas Association and Colorado Petroleum Association filed a lawsuit June 10 against the Colorado water-quality control commission, alleging it violated state laws when it adopted the stormwater rules in April.
Those rules require oil and gas operations that disturb between 1 and 5 acres to apply for a discharge permit by June 30.
That deadline is about a year earlier than one U.S. Environmental Protection Agency intends to impose on the nation’s oil and gas operators.
Ken Wonstolen, attorney for the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, said the commission acted prematurely and should have waited for EPA to complete studies assessing the impact of requiring permits.
Chris Wiant, chairman of the state water-quality control commission, said he was disappointed by the lawsuit but still supports the stormwater rules.
When the commission adopted the new rules in April, it did so against the advice of the Colorado Water Quality Control Division, which urged commissioners to wait until the federal rules were final.
Some commission members, however, felt that oil and gas operators failed to prove that their activities didn’t harm water quality and that they needed to act swiftly to protect the state’s streams from the flurry of new oil and gas construction activity.
While the commission’s decision was criticized by industry groups, several environmental groups and West Slope counties applauded the move.
Staff writer Kim McGuire can be reached at 303-820-1240 or kmcguire@denverpost.com.
