Polis: COGCC “failed” many
The lawmaker says communities aren’t protected from the impacts of drilling.
The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission has “failed” to protect homeowners and communities fromthe impacts of drilling, U. S. Rep. Jared Polis said late Tuesday, leaving the door open to throwing his support behind another citizen- initiated ballot measure this fall.
“I think that setbacks and giving communities a legitimate say on what kind of industrial activity is appropriate in backyards and schoolyards are reasonable solutions that ought to be considered,” Polis said in a statement. “I’m hopeful that all stakeholders can coalesce around a thoughtful plan.”
A citizens group in December submitted 11 potential ballot questions, including a statewide ban, for review by the Colorado secretary of state’s office.
“My position has always been that a statewide ban is not the answer and that there are many other policy solutions that deserve consideration since the Oil and Gas Commission failed to recommend any meaningful protections for homeowners or communities,” Polis wrote.
The leader of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, who has leveled his own criticism of the new COGCC rules approved Monday, on Wednesday called Polis’ characterization “unfair.”
“To say that communities are not protected is not a fair statement,” COGA CEO Dan Haley said. “Local governments have a strong voice in this process, and the task force recommendations were about giving them an even greater role in oil and gas development.”
Representatives on both sides of the fracking debate have expressed disappointment about the final COGC Crules from moments after theywere approved in a marathon, day- long hearing.
The two new rules, which were nearly a year and a half in the making, give local governments a say in the siting of large drilling operations in urban areas before operators apply for a state permit and provide nearby residents with more stringent protections regarding noise, emissions, fire control and more.
Commissioners defined “large” as eight new wells or 4,000 barrels of new or existing storage, not including water.
Many local control advocates, though, had hoped for amuch lower threshold — 2,000 barrels of storage including water. They also wanted duration limits for drilling, overall size caps and equal safeguards for less dense neighborhoods.
As approved, the local consultation process only applies within urban mitigation areas, defined by state law as areas where oil and
gas operations are within 1,000 feet of 22 or more homes or a large facility such as a school or hospital.
Industry groups, on the other hand, have argued some provisions in the rules overstep the mandate from the governor’s task force, which in 2015 recommended creating a process inwhich operatorsmust consult with local government prior to selecting a site for large oil and gas facilities.
Among the problem areas, Haley said, are a requirement that adjacent local goverments be notified of proposed oil and gas development, and that oil and gas companies register with counties.
Haley said COGA will oppose any anti- oil and gas ballot measures “with everything we have.”
“The task force itself was a success. We think the rulemaking process went beyond what was recommended by the task force— which is disappointing to us— but I knowwe are ready and willing towork with local communities and work with operators to make sure those rules are enforced,” Haley said.
Polis was a central figure in the compromise that led to the commission’s rulemaking.
In 2014, the Boulder congressman dropped two ballot measures after Gov. John Hickenlooper brokered a deal between the industry and local control advocates aimed at staving off a costly election fight.
Those measureswould have required drilling rigs to be set back 2,000 feet from homes and bolstered local control by adding an environmental bill of rights to the state constitution.
The industry also pulled two initiatives of their own, which would have withheld state oil and gas revenue from communities banning drilling and required a fiscal impact note for all initiatives.
In exchange, Hickenlooper created a task force to provide recommendations “to minimize land- use conflicts that can occurwhen siting oil and gas facilities near homes, schools, businesses and recreational facilities.” Two of those recommendations were then sent to COGCC to be crafted into the detailed rules approvedMonday.
Not waiting for COGCC to finish its work on the new rules, though, Boulder County- based ColoradansResisting Extreme Energy Development in December submitted 11 potential ballot measures to limit or ban fracking and increase local control.
Eight of the 11 are variations of proposals formandatory setbacks. All are scheduled for hearings on the ballot language Feb. 3, according to the secretary of state’s website.
In announcing the initiatives, CREEDleaders criticized the task force andCOGCC, arguing “anymeaningful recommendations by the task force were either discarded or ignored.”
Karen Crummy, spokeswoman for ProtectingColorado’s Environment, Economy and Energy Independence, a group that supports energy development, said they are “keeping all our options open.”
“Radical measures like thesewould devastateColorado’s economy, strip away private property rights and allow the government to take private property without compensating owners,” she said.