DENVER—Gov. Bill Ritter made his final appointment Friday to the state oil and gas commission, naming an industry veteran to fill out the newly expanded panel.
Mark Cutright of Aurora has a degree petroleum engineering and has worked in the industry for more than 25 years. He is the sixth person named to the revamped Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.
This year, the Legislature expanded the commission to nine members from seven and required that more members come from outside the industry.
Ritter and legislators have said they wanted to address concerns that the panel was weighted in industry’s favor. The old rules required that five of seven members have an industry background. Now only three members must have experience in the industry.
The directors of the state Natural Resources and Public Health and Environment departments were added to the commission.
Industry representatives have said it’s important to have people with expertise in the business on the commission. They expressed concern that the changes could restrict production, affecting jobs and the flow of severance taxes to the state.
Other new panel members are Garfield County Commissioner Tresi Houpt of Glenwood Springs; Michael Dowling of Denver, founder and principal of Western Ranchland Investors and a founder the Colorado Conservation Trust; Richard Alward of Grand Junction, an environmental consultant; Joshua Epel of Greenwood Village, assistant general counsel for DCP Midstream; and Thomas Compton of Hesperus, a rancher who served on the state roadless task force.
The appointments must still be confirmed by the state Senate when the Legislature reconvenes next year but they will be able to serve on the commission until then, Ritter spokesman Evan Dreyer said. If approved, they will serve for four years.
The commission is scheduled to meet Monday and Tuesday in Denver.
