Conservation groups are asking the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to create a rule requiring new oil and gas wells to be drilled at least 1,000 feet from a home and 1,500 feet from a school or hospital.
The current required setback is 350 feet in developed areas and 150 feet in the rest of the state. The request for a rule-making came from Western Resource Advocates, the Western Colorado Congress and the San Juan Citizens Alliance.
“Residential setbacks are a top concern for the hundreds of thousands of Colorado families worried that they might wake up to find a well being drilled near their home,” a letter by the groups said.
The oil and gas commission has created a stakeholder group on the setback issue.
“The group, which includes conservationists, homebuilders, residents, regulators, industry and local governments, has met seven times,” Todd Hartman, a Department of Natural Resources spokesman, said in an e-mail. “It will continue to meet through the summer. We look forward to reviewing this letter as part of that process.”
