Concerns on oil-gas rules cited

By Todd Hartman, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Thursday, April 3, 2008

An oil and gas trade association that has broadly condemned new draft rules issued by the state to guide Colorado's energy development offered specific concerns Wednesday.

The Colorado Oil & Gas Association has criticized the rules even as some others in industry, as well as industry backers, have said the draft rules are a significant improvement over initial proposals offered by regulators last November.

Among COGA's complaints:

* The proposed regulations include wildlife protections that would keep gas workers out of wildlife areas for up to three months and require expensive and lengthy wildlife surveys.

* The new rules include paperwork that allows for "open-ended" requests for information and could allow the state health department and wildlife division to seek "any additional data" before approving a permit to drill.

* Operators would see the "virtual elimination" of pits to hold contaminated water, causing "abandonment" of some northeastern Colorado wells.

The three pages of complaints by COGA emerge as industry lawyers read through 160 pages of draft rules. And they offer a preview of what industry will argue in the months leading up to a public hearing on the draft rules this summer. Final rules are slated to take effect Nov. 1.

"We look forward to continuing our participation constructively as the more formal rulemaking process begins," the COGA statement said.

Dave Neslin, the acting director of the state's Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, which produced the draft rules, said, "It's unfortunate COGA has misconstrued a number of provisions."

He said COGA, in citing fears that wells will be shut down for up to three months in wildlife zones, is "ignoring three options available to those companies" to avoid restrictions, including reducing the density of drill pads.

hartmant@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5048