DENVER—Energy workers and companies rallied outside the Colorado Capitol Thursday to ask state officials not to hurt the industry as they revamp oil and gas regulations.
Hundreds of people turned out for the rally, which was sponsored by the Colorado Oil and Gas Association trade group. Some waved signs saying “Don’t rule us out” or wore T-shirts reading “Anadarko in action.”
Anadarko Petroleum Corp. is a major oil and gas producer in northeast Colorado.
The oil and gas trade group sponsored four events Thursday to vent concerns about proposed changes to industry regulations. Organizers said a total of nearly 700 attended events in Grand Junction, Greeley and Trinidad.
Speakers, including Democratic and Republican legislators, said proposals requiring input from state health, environment and wildlife experts into decisions about oil and gas development could drive up costs, entangle companies in bureaucracy and discourage investment in Colorado by an industry that generates billions of dollars for the economy and tens of thousands of jobs.
“We cannot afford to kick the state’s economic leader out of the state,” Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Yuma.
Gardner and 10 other lawmakers sent a letter in January to Gov. Bill Ritter saying the proposed rules are unacceptable and would cripple the industry.
Sen. Chris Romer, D-Denver, told the crowd that he believes the final rules will balance economic and environmental issues because of the industry’s clear importance.
“Quality of life in Colorado starts with good-paying jobs,” Romer said.
Colorado’s record natural gas development has led to conflicts between landowners and gas companies and concerns about Colorado’s wildlife. Two new laws strive to strike a balance, broadening the scope of how the industry is regulated by involving state wildlife, health and environment experts and updating the rules.
Another change is the overhaul of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, the state’s main regulatory body for the industry. Once assailed by critics as too cozy with the industry, the commission has been expanded to include more people outside the industry.
State regulators held five public meetings across the state in January on preliminary revisions. The proposals were hashed out in more than 30 meetings of various interest groups.
Draft rules are expected to be released by the end of March. The oil and gas commission will review those and hold more public hearings.
The governor wants the oil and gas industry to thrive but wants protections for Colorado’s air, water, wildlife and communities, said Evan Dreyer, Ritter’s spokesman. He said the rule-making is still under way and nothing has been finalized.
“The industry’s input was solicited and provided and will be factored in,” Dreyer said.
Deb Frazier, spokeswoman for the Department of Natural Resources, which includes the oil and gas commission, said regulations need to be updated considering that oil and gas development has increased 500 percent in the last 10 years.
Colorado issued a record 6,368 drilling permits last year and currently has 34,000 active wells. Some forecasts put the total number of new wells statewide at 150,000 over the next 30 years, Frazier said.
Bob Elderkin of the Colorado Mule Deer Association helped write proposals that eventually became a bill aimed at minimizing development’s effects on wildlife. He said the proposed option of preparing development plans for large areas would give companies more flexibility and streamline permit approval for individual wells.
“My experience with the oil and gas industry is if you give them a problem to solve, they’ve got some pretty sharp guys who can get out and do it,” said Elderkin, a retired Bureau of Land Management employee who helped oversee oil and gas development on federal land.
But the industry appears to be digging in its heels, Elderkin said.
“Industry has held the trump card on everybody so long, they’re scared to give it up,” he said.
