The governor’s oil and gas task force on Monday began to home in on recommendations for dealing with concerns about drilling in Colorado with most agreement, at least initially, on bolstering state oversight.
The group, however, struggled over the key issue of creating a larger role for local government in oversight.
“The role of local government is the central issue,” said task force member Jon Goldin-Dubois, president of the environmental group Western Resource Advocates.
The 57 recommendations proposed by its members ranging from disclosure of drilling chemicals to more local control of operations.
The group is slated to continue its deliberations Tuesday. It has until Feb. 27 to deliver a recommendation to Gov. John Hickenlooper.
Hickenlooper convened the task force in August as
part of to remove initiatives from the November ballot backed by U.S. Rep. Jared Polis.
The measures would have bolstered local control of drilling and required rigs be at least 2,000 feet from homes — four times the current state standard.
Recommendations to the governor must have a two-thirds vote of the panel.
In a straw vote by the commission Monday, the proposals that garnered enough support focused on increasing state oversight of oil and gas operations.
These included adding inspectors to the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission and increasing air quality monitoring by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
A recommendation that the CDPHE also do a study on health impacts also received strong support.
A proposal by panel member Matt Sura, an attorney who represents landowners and municipalities in negotiations, sought increased setbacks for operations depending of the number of wells and tanks.
It was rejected by 57 percent of the task force on the straw vote.
But task force member Will Toor, a former mayor of Boulder, said the impact of large multi-well, multiple-tank facilities is a major concern of neighborhoods.
The task force is setting time Tuesday to focus on the issues of local control and large well and tank pads.
“It is clear local government needs more of a role,” said Bernie Buescher, a task force member and former Colorado secretary of state.
Mark Jaffe: 303-954-1912, mjaffe@denverpost.com or twitter.com/bymarkjaffe
