Gov. John Hickenlooper on Tuesday issued an executive order outlining land-use subjects that he wants his new task force to address — from how far oil and gas drilling rigs can be from homes to floodplain restrictions.
The goal of is to develop recommendations that can be translated into legislation and regulations.
At the core of the conflict is where different people can own the surface and the minerals below it.
“The conflict between subsurface owners and surface owners — it is in everybody in the state’s interest to find a compromise,” Hickenlooper said. “This is one of the most important issues I’ve ever worked on.”
There are 600,000 mineral-interest owners in Colorado, according to the National Association of Royalty Owners.
Among the items Hickenlooper is asking the panel to review is whether regulations should be adjusted to distinguish among urban, suburban and rural areas.
The task force will also look at the question of how far drilling rigs should be set back from occupied structures.
The panel is that removed from the November ballot two oil and gas local control initiatives, backed by U.S Rep. Jared Polis, D-Boulder.
One ballot measure would have amended the state constitution to mandate a 2,000-foot setback from homes. The state’s current requirement is 500 feet.
Hickenlooper, who called the initiatives bad policy, said there was “a communal sigh of relief when we negotiated this commission.”
Among the other issues outlined in the executive order are air quality, noise abatement, floodplain restrictions and traffic impacts.
A goal, the executive order said, will be “fostering a climate that encourages responsible oil and gas development.”
The property-rights clash has been heightened by a drilling boom on the Front Range sparked by developments in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and horizontal drilling.
This has enabled oil and gas companies to develop the Niobrara shale, which extends from Denver into Wyoming.
“This is trying to get at a lot of the emotion around fracking,” Hickenlooper said. “It isn’t about fracking. It is about oil and gas exploration being too close to where people live.”
The task force, which will hold public meetings around the state, will make recommendations for legislative changes.
“As oil and gas drilling, including fracking, continues to expand across the state, the need to address the health and safety concerns of citizens has also expanded,” Jon Goldin-Dubois,a task force member and president of the environmental group Wester Resource Advocates, said in a statement.
Hickenlooper said implementation of the group’s recommendations would be
“To try and get that done, we’ve set a high bar,” Hickenlooper said. “We are going to need a two-thirds majority out of this to make a recommendation of any sort.”
The task force has 19 local and environmental representatives, industry representatives and distinguished Coloradans. It is led by La Plata County Commissioner Gwen Lachelt and XTO Energy president Randy Cleveland.
“The more perspectives you get on the table, the higher the probability you will get to compromise,” Hickenlooper said.
