{"id":1310329,"date":"2019-05-15T15:56:28","date_gmt":"2019-05-15T21:56:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/?p=978337"},"modified":"2019-05-15T15:56:28","modified_gmt":"2019-05-15T21:56:28","slug":"colorado-activists-call-for-pause-in-new-oil-gas-drilling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/local-news\/colorado-activists-call-for-pause-in-new-oil-gas-drilling\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado activists call for pause in new oil, gas drilling"},"content":{"rendered":"
Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission staff members held a meeting Wednesday, May 15, 2019, in Denver to hear public comment on the first rule changes under a new law that makes protecting the public and the environment the top priorities of regulators. Environmentalists and community activists asked the commission to stop issuing drilling permits until the new rules are complete. They also urged tougher rules and demanded a bigger role for the public. Industry representatives asked a few questions or declined to speak.<\/strong>
AP Photo\/Dan Elliott<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

DENVER (AP) \u2014 Environmentalists and community activists asked Colorado regulators on Wednesday to stop issuing new oil and gas drilling permits until they rewrite the rules under a new law that makes public safety and the environment the state\u2019s top priorities.<\/p>\n

Just a month after the law took effect, some activists told the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission it should be further along in revising the regulations.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t say to do it next year, it says to do it now,\u201d said Phil Doe, a member of Be The Change.<\/p>\n

Industry representatives asked a few questions or declined to speak at Wednesday\u2019s meeting. Afterward, Dan Haley, president of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, accused the activists of using theatrics to bog down the commission.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe rulemaking process is the time for thoughtful, technical deliberations, not over-the-top rhetoric and intimidation tactics,\u201d he said in an email.<\/p>\n

The session was one of the oil and gas commission\u2019s early steps toward implementing the new law, which mandated a major change in the agency\u2019s focus from encouraging production to protecting the public, the environment and wildlife.<\/p>\n

The law reflects increasing fears about public safety as the booming Wattenberg oil and gas field overlaps with fast-growing communities north and east of Denver. In addition to the emphasis on safety, it gives local governments new powers over the location of drilling and changes the makeup of the commission to add expertise on safety and the environment.<\/p>\n

Commission Director Jeff Robbins called Wednesday\u2019s meeting to hear public comment on the first set of changes, which deal mostly with administrative procedures, not drilling. The commission is expected to take up more substantive rules later this year.<\/p>\n

Activists called for faster and more sweeping action, saying that oil and gas drilling pollutes the air and water, worsens climate change and puts residents at risk from fires and explosions.<\/p>\n

Micah Parkin of the environmental group 350 Colorado accused the commission of pressing ahead with business as usual when it should be reviewing all its rules to make sure they protect the public and the environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe call for a halt on all permitting,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Joe Salazar, a former Democratic state representative and now director of the advocacy group Colorado Rising, said even the procedural rules were more lenient with the industry than the law requires.<\/p>\n

Others demanded a bigger role for the public in rulemaking and in decisions on individual drilling permits. They said the commission is too strict about who has legal standing to object to projects, sometimes shutting out people who live next door to drilling sites.<\/p>\n

Some said they had to skip work to attend commission meetings, while industry representatives are paid to be there.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe public isn\u2019t heard,\u201d Kristi Douglas said. \u201cIt\u2019s time that we are heard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robbins said the agency staff will analyze the comments, along with others submitted in writing, before the administrative rules are set.<\/p>\n

The commission\u2019s first formal hearing since the law was passed is Monday, but it was not yet clear whether members would start the rulemaking process.<\/p>\n

via:: Post Independent<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission staff members held a meeting Wednesday, May 15, 2019, in Denver to hear public comment on the first rule changes under a new law that makes protecting the public and the environment the top priorities of regulators. Environmentalists and community activists asked the commission to stop issuing drilling permits […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1310329","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-17 12:04:02","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1310329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1310329"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1310329\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1310329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1310329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1310329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}