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Lawmakers ask Ritter to delay energy reform

April M. Washington And Alan Gathright, Rocky Mountain News

Published March 21, 2007 at midnight

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Three Democrats joined Republican lawmakers Tuesday in asking Gov. Bill Ritter to delay energy reform legislation, saying that it could affect oil and gas industry production and the livelihood of 70,000 workers and their families.

The lawmakers expressed concern about a spate of energy reform bills, including regulations to prevent health and environmental damage.

"With severance tax dollars playing such an important role in local communities, it is short-sighted to hurt the industry that is filling local and state coffers," the 14 Republican and Democrat lawmakers warned in a Tuesday letter to Ritter. "Stop the madness," said Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Yuma. "We need thoughtful deliberations before we pluck the goose that laid the golden egg."

Ritter issued a statement saying his "administration has made every effort to listen to the concerns of the energy and resource-development industry . . . We look forward to continuing this productive dialogue as the legislative process moves forward."

But he said the state must balance the major oil and gas drilling boom "with the concerns the people of this state have expressed surrounding impacts to our water, air and land." He cited 1,500 impact complaints filed with the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission in the past five years.

Ritter is backing House Bill 1341, which would expand the energy commission's board to include the executive director of public health and environment or the director's designee while reducing the number of board members with industry background to three from five.

Concerned lawmakers were piggybacking on a similar letter the Colorado Oil and Gas Association sent last week to Ritter complaining about "sweeping" and contradictory reform bills that could harm industry operations.

COGA President Ted Brown urged Ritter to summon energy stakeholders for a summit to craft a comprehensive blueprint for state energy policy.

"It's clear that this is just a blatant stall tactic by the industry to thwart reasonable reforms that communities and citizens across Colorado have been calling for for years," said Elise Jones, executive director of the Colorado Environmental Coalition.

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