When tragedy struck in , oil and gas companies, the governor, lawmakers and local governments and communities were quick to react with a “never again” approach.
After an abandoned low-pressure supply line delivering gas from a wellhead to a tank battery leaked gas into a family home that exploded — killing two men — hundreds of wells were shut down temporarily, thousands of unregulated low-pressure gas lines were tested and companies mapped their pipelines from place to place.
It was an impressive response, and we are thankful the industry acted so responsibly.
On Wednesday, .
We love his plan to charge current oil and gas operators some sort of fee to create a fund to cap the state’s 700 to 800 abandoned wells in a timely fashion. Hickenlooper said that fund could also be used to buy methane detectors for concerned homeowners.
But we disagree with Hickenlooper’s assessment that it would be too risky to make public detailed maps of oil and gas transmission, flowline and gathering pipelines. We think this is useful public data that should be available on a statewide basis not only for homeowners and homebuyers to access, but also for researchers and journalists and local jurisdictions to study and analyze.
If it could prevent even one more tragedy it would be worth it.
People have a right to know whether active and inactive pipes are on their property, or their neighbor’s property, so they can be aware of any risks, or double-check with officials that the pipes lie caped and dormant.
Could such publicly available data be used for bad deeds — like stealing natural gas and methane, or sabotage? Yes, it could be. But thatap a risk we take with lots of public data, and we feel the state should err on the side of openness and transparency.
The Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission already has maps for the public wellheads and even the locations of spills and other infractions. Pipeline maps would be a natural extension of that public data service to include the infrastructure in an online map.
Which brings us to the ever-raging question of local control.
The Denver Postap Bruce Finley reported Thursday that Erie, Broomfield, Thornton and Lafayette are each developing map submission rules.
Thorton also passed an ordinance this week requiring wells to be at least 750 feet from occupied buildings and a flowline-removal rule. Broomfield city officials are preparing for a vote this week on an ordinance that requires the city to consider the “health, safety and the environment” a priority.
Dan Haley, the president of the industry’s Colorado Oil and Gas Association, did not look kindly on such measures, telling Finley that Broomfield’s effort “is pure scare tactics, and it will be challenged on some level” by the association, oil and gas regulators or others.
We agree with Haley that the proper place for such regulations is not at the local level.
However, the state needs to listen to concerns coming out of municipalities. If state regulators aren’t responsive to reasonable demands from municipalities in Colorado, this growing conflict along the Front Range will only escalate.
The end result will be voters making their demands at the ballot box, circumventing the negotiation process that happens in the General Assembly, or with traditional rule-making.
We think it’s a reasonable request to make data available regarding pipelines crossing on or near private property, and hope Hickenlooper and regulators reconsider their opposition.
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