Colorado lawmakers have rejected an effort to pre-empt the power of cities and counties to regulate oil and gas drilling.
Members of the Senate Local Government Committee voted 4-1 to defeat the Senate Bill 88, sponsored by Ted Harvey, R-Highlands Ranch. It would have removed the ability of cities and towns to use land-use and zoning regulations to control development in their areas. This would have given the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission unfettered control over regulating the industry.
Energy companies are preparing to tap the vast Niobrara shale formation along Colorado’s heavily-populated Front Range. Governments in Colorado Springs and Longmont have passed moratoriums, while others in Commerce City, Erie and Aurora are considering new local controls.
This has led to an uneasy standoff with the COGCC state regulators who have established comprehensive rules to protect the environment statewide. The state regulators simultaneously are charged with encouraging oil and gas development.
