DENVER—State regulators headed toward the final stretch of work on new oil and gas rules as they prepared to grapple with ways to protect the state’s wildlife and manage drilling waste pits amid Colorado’s natural gas boom.
Those were among the issues on the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission’s agenda Monday and Tuesday. The panel has given preliminary approval to dozens of new regulations since August and is expected to take final votes in October on the state’s most comprehensive rewrite of rules for the industry since drilling rates started breaking records.
Small groups will report back after trying to unravel disagreements on a few topics, such as reclamation, overlap of local and state regulations and the size of buffers between houses and wells.
Also still hanging is the standoff between the state and Colorado office of the Bureau of Land Management on whether the state rules would apply to federal land. The BLM says “no.” The commission says “yes,” citing states’ rights to oversee wildlife, air and water quality. Both sides say they’ll keep talking.
Then the Legislature, which directed the commission to update the rules, will have its say. Two laws passed last year mandated that more consideration be given to the environment, wildlife and public health and safety when approving oil and gas development.
“We’re way overdue making sure we have these protections,” said Elise Jones, director of the Colorado Environmental Coalition. “I think it’s the responsibility of the state to provide protection for drinking water, air, wildlife on a par with the record-breaking development.”
Colorado issued 6,368 drilling permits last year and is on pace to exceed that this year. In 2000, the total was 1,366.
Industry representatives say the regulations written by commission staffers go beyond what the Legislature intended. They say the commission is trying to do too much too quickly and have asked several times throughout the process, which began in January, that new rules be considered in stages over time.
The Colorado Oil and Gas Association, a trade group, has asked the commission to postpone action on regulations for pits that store drilling fluids and waste.
“Like everything else in these rules, it’s extremely complicated and needs to have careful thought and consideration,” said Meg Collins, the association’s president, referring to the pits.
Collins said New Mexico regulators spent more than a year just on new pit regulations. She said Colorado’s process would have been smoother if the state had involved the industry from the beginning, worked through issues and released draft rules before—not after—work sessions on specific subjects.
The oil and gas commission staff unveiled preliminary proposals in January during five public meetings across the state. Representatives from the oil and gas industry, environmental groups, local governments and state agencies attended dozens of work sessions in February and draft rules were released in March.
“While differences in some areas have been narrowed and discussions seem to be ongoing,” Collins said, “this is still a massive amount of information that needs to be digested and processed by the commissioners, and in a fairly quick timeframe.”
State officials insist the process has been deliberate and inclusive. Dave Neslin, acting director of the oil and gas commission, said the industry has had significant input into the recommendations’.
Staffers met with energy company representatives, environmentalists and others during the summer to try to resolve conflicts. Gov. Bill Ritter intervened, asking his staff to attend meetings when the debate intensified after a series of ads by the Colorado Oil and Gas Association and the Colorado Petroleum Association denouncing the “job-killing rules.”
For their part, environmental and community activists argue the commission has gone out of its way to respond to the industry’s concerns. They point to the staff’s recommendation to drop seasonal drilling restrictions of up to 90 days to protect crucial wildlife winter habitat and shield wildlife during birthing, nesting and mating seasons.
The staff said the restrictions were always viewed as a last resort if companies wouldn’t consult with state wildlife experts or submit comprehensive drilling plans that include ways to minimize impacts on wildlife.
“While I think we’ve given up more, industry has given up some,” said Duke Cox, a western Colorado businessman and member of Western Colorado Congress, a conservation group.
Cox said there has been great progress after years of lobbying for tougher oil and gas regulations.
“In the course of the process, people in the oil and gas industry are finding out that other stakeholders have some legitimate concerns,” Cox said, “and other stakeholders are finding out that the industry has legitimate concerns.”
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