One of the major accomplishments of Gov. Bill Ritter’s administration was the rewriting of oil and gas regulations to bring them up to date with modern safety and environmental concerns. The process may have been clumsy at times and threatened to go too far, but the rules it ultimately produced represented a huge step forward and remain among the most advanced in the nation.
Now the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) is seeking input from national experts on whether the rules need tweaking again, just a few years after they were approved. The commission has invited a panel from STRONGER, which stands for State Review of Oil & Natural Gas Environmental Regulations, to compare its rules with the very best from around the country.
The review could not come at a better time, given the ongoing controversy over the energy industry’s use of hydraulic fracturing in drilling.
STRONGER is supported by the EPA and the Department of Energy, as well as the American Petroleum Institute, and relies on experts from government, industry and environmental groups to staff its assessments.
In Colorado, the panel will include not only government and industry officials, but also Louisiana environmental scientist Wilma Subra, whom a British newspaper described as BP president “Tony Hayward’s worst nightmare” after the Deepwater Horizon disaster.
COGCC has already filled out a detailed questionnaire from STRONGER, and spent last Thursday answering questions at a meeting in Denver.
The panel is expected to issue a report within 60 to 90 days.
We’d be surprised if STRONGER identified any grave weaknesses in Colorado’s regulations, which were updated specifically with fracking in mind. Among other things, they require companies to disclose the chemicals used in fracking in case of a medical emergency and to notify state officials in case of a pressure boost during fracking above a specified level.
Still, whatever critique the review panel offers will be worth considering. Will the panelists urge Colorado to require the disclosure of fracking chemicals for every well even in the absence of a medical emergency? This has been one of the most controversial issues surrounding fracking, and has prompted federal legislation backed by Colorado Reps. Diana DeGette and Jared Polis that mandates disclosure.
At the very least, we hope that the review will help dispel myths promoted by fracking’s most vehement opponents to the effect that Colorado regulators are behind the times and have been outwitted and outmaneuvered by energy firms allegedly focused solely on profit.
The evidence of the past few years suggests COGCC takes its responsibilities very seriously — and its invitation to STRONGER only strengthens that conclusion.
