Go to the mobile version of this Web site.

Login | Contact Us | Site Map | Paid archives | Electronic edition | Subscription Questions | Extras

Home › Business › Energy

Energy rules review concluding

Final vote soon on state proposal for development

By Todd Hartman, Rocky Mountain News

Published December 10, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

Text size  

More Energy

More stories »

State oil and gas commissioners began their last look Tuesday at sweeping new rules to guide energy development in Colorado, preparing a massive slate of regulations that supporters say could be a model for other Western states.

Commissioners are expected to take a final vote on the rules today or Thursday, wrapping up work that began in mid-2007, in the midst of a drilling boom unseen in the state's volatile history of fossil fuel development.

"It's a very positive step for the state," said Dave Neslin, acting director of the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. "These rules protect our environment and wildlife and public health in a way (that also) facilitates development of our oil and gas resources."

But a major state industry group, the Colorado Oil & Gas Association, warned that the regulations are coming at the wrong time - amid a recession - and will pile on an industry already sharply cutting back in the state.

"Given the economy, is this really the right move? Do you really want to kill jobs?" said COGA spokesman John Swartout.

COGA has complained about the rulemaking, criticizing specific proposals and fretting that state regulators were taking on too much, too fast when a more careful approach was needed.

Swartout said the final version of the rules still put too much power in the hands of the Division of Wildlife, the commission director and other parties that he believes will have an easier time challenging drilling and creating a greater industry burden.

But Neslin said the final version of the rules was shaped significantly by industry input. He said other groups, including landowners, mineral rights owners and environmentalists, have also provided important suggestions.

In one set of rules, involving how industry must handle its chemical inventories and provide information about trade secrets in an emergency, the state incorporated about 80 percent of what energy companies sought, Neslin said.

Environmentalists, though still critical of some aspects of the rules, called them "balanced and fair" and said their overall impact marks progress.

"They will help protect what makes Colorado Colorado - namely our clean air, clean water and abundant wildlife habitat," said Elise Jones, executive director of the Colorado Environmental Coalition.

Monday, commissioners gave final review to numerous provisions about permitting and setbacks, among others.

Final hearings continue today.

hartmant@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5048

Comments

  • December 10, 2008

    11:57 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    ekim writes:

    This is a job killer plain and simple.

    It is having a significant impact on the invesmtnet plans of oil and gas companies in our state and will result in a lower level of investment ove the next ten to twenty years.

    Less investment means less jobs STATEWIDE over the long term. If people on the front range don't think that these rules affect the front range economy they are wrong. Oil and Gas companies occupy a huge chunk of office space in downtown Denver and they will relocate great paying white collar jobs in Denver to cities closer to the new fields in Texas along with the elimination of jobs in the drilling areas of our state.

    This is serious business. Governor Ritter better wake up and think about the impact that his political policies are having on our economy. He has lead this complete redraft of the rule book and he will be responsible for the results.