There has been an abundance of rhetoric lately surrounding Colorado’s natural gas and oil industry. While most elected officials are quick to acknowledge the important role our industry — the state’s largest economic contributor — plays in the “new energy economy,” the actions of several state agencies surrounding a rewrite of the Colorado Oil and Gas Commission’s (COGCC) rules send a different message.
Since the commission released its pre-draft rules in January, it and other state agencies have heard repeatedly that continuing to move forward in the direction set forth in that document could have dire consequences to our industry and communities throughout the state.
They have heard — and we hope they have listened.
They have heard from hundreds of Coloradans who participated in public meetings and submitted letters and comments. Local government officials, farmers, ranchers and business leaders have spoken passionately about the importance of our industry to the health of their communities, as well as about the dangers of over-regulation.
Regulators have also heard from our industry’s technical and geological experts, through thousands of hours of input during technical working groups. The state received volumes of real scientific data and facts on which any amendments to existing rules should obviously be based.
Specifically, the state has heard about numerous issues in the current draft rules that must be addressed to maintain a healthy oil and natural gas industry in the state. Among them:
What does all of that mean? If adopted in their current form, the proposed rules would undoubtedly result in less tax revenue to local and state governments, increased costs to state government, unquantifiable delays and, most important, less production of the clean, locally produced natural gas Coloradans rely on as a key part of their affordable energy supply.
All of this comes at a time when several independent economists report that one of the primary drivers keeping Colorado from following the country into a recession is the natural gas and oil industry, our good-paying jobs with great health-care benefits, and our substantial economic impact.
The state has heard — and we hope that the rules scheduled to be released today reflect that they have listened.
Meg Collins is president of the Oil and Gas Association.
