Colorado’s energy boom could “crowd out” other industries in Rifle and hurt the city’s efforts to diversify, according to a new report.
For Rifle and western Colorado, intensive energy development “presents greater public service and cost challenges than traditional growth in urbanizing areas,” states the report commissioned by the Associated Governments of Northwest Colorado, a regional group representing Mesa, Garfield, Rio Blanco, Routt and Moffat counties.
There are roughly 100 drilling rigs active in the counties around Rifle, putting the city of about 10,000 residents at the center of the natural-gas boom.
“Although the natural gas industry has created a wealth of new employment opportunities, it also competes with some of the traditional businesses for labor and materials and raises the cost of doing business in Rifle,” the report states. “Increasingly, Rifle is reliant on a single industry and subject to any economic fluctuations that affect those businesses.”
Specifically, the report suggests that the boom could stifle Rifle’s tourism and agriculture industries and make the city less attractive to retirees.
Colorado Petroleum Association president Stan Dempsey said the growth of the $23 billion industry has been positive for many communities in Colorado.
“Any time you have big investment in any particular area, it does change the economy,” Dempsey said. “But we welcome a dialogue with folks who may be concerned about these issues.
“We support the idea that Colorado and local economies diversify their economy.”
Rifle Mayor Keith Lambert said in a written release that the report, conducted by Denver-based BBC Research & Consulting, highlights some warning signs.
“If we become a one-industry town, we risk a repeat of Black Sunday,” Lambert said, referring to May 2, 1982, when Exxon shut down its multibillion-dollar Colony oil-shale project near Parachute and left thousands of western Colorado residents unemployed.
Andy Vuong: 303-954-1209 or avuong@denverpost.com
