DENVER—Colorado lawmakers killed a bill Tuesday that would have barred state regulators from issuing new rules to protect wildlife from oil and gas drilling if the rules would curtail production from existing wells.
The new regulations have been drawn up and are scheduled to go into effect April 1 if the Legislature gives final approval.
They are intended to cover only new wells, but state Rep. Wes McKinley, D-Walsh, argued that regulators could apply them retroactively to existing wells, or to new wells that are drilled at existing well sites.
McKinley said either step could limit oil and gas production and hurt the state’s economy when it is already suffering.
Supporters of the new regulations argued that existing wells wouldn’t be covered by the new rules, so a law exempting them isn’t necessary.
The new rules were drawn up under the Colorado Habitat Stewardship Act of 2007, a law intended to protect wildlife feeding, breeding, habitation and migration.
McKinley said it’s impossible to control wildlife and their habitat.
“Wildlife is actually a moving target,” he said.
Suzanne O’Neill of the Colorado Wildlife Fund told lawmakers the new rules offer only minimal protection for wildlife and don’t apply to wells already in production.
Ivan Jones of the Colorado Bowhunters Association said Wyoming wildlife habitat has been harmed by oil and gas production. With 20 energy companies currently active in Colorado, the state needs new rules to protect wildlife, Jones said.
Earlier this month, dozens of former state and federal wildlife managers urged legislators to approve the new oil and gas rules.
Habitat Stewardship Act was part of a package of laws passed in 2007 requiring regulators to give more weight to wildlife, public health and air and water quality when issuing permits for new wells.
