The Denver Post Editorial Board
March 24, 2016
It sounds fairly innocent: Why shouldn’t oil and gas companies “be treated just like any other industry,” as one state lawmaker insisted recently, when it comes to local land-use regulation?
Well, that might be fine in a world in which every jurisdiction operated in good faith in seeking to protect citizens from the impacts of an industrial process while preserving the ownership rights of private companies. Except that we don’t live in that world.
That image couldn’t be further from the truth.
Since 2010, the state has created some of the most rigorous rules in the country that govern what we do and how we do it. But that constant state of rule-making also has led to a constant state of uncertainty, as every year brings with it a new set of rules and regulations.
Cathy Proctor
Reporter
Denver Business Journal
Eleven separate ballot proposals aimed at Colorado’s oil and gas industry — including increasing setbacks to 4,000 feet and a statewide ban on the use of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking — have been filed with the state’s Legislative Council, the first step to getting on the 2016 ballot.
If approved by voters, the proposed measures would make it extremely difficult for energy companies to find locations to drill new oil and gas wells in Colorado. Some of the proposals, if approved, also could restrict local officials’ abilities to approve new homes and neighborhoods.
We have some exciting news! Last week, Congressional leaders agreed to a compromise on lifting the 40-year old oil export ban. The proposal was added to the country’s appropriations bill, which lifted the ban, among other key spending items.
“Ending the ban on oil exports is a long time coming,” said Peter Moore, chairman of Vital for Colorado. “Our 50,000-member coalition recognizes the significant bipartisan effort from Colorado leaders like Congressmen Ed Perlmutter and Mike Coffman and Senators Cory Gardner and Michael Bennet. Thanks to the technological advances of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, Colorado and our nation have the supply available to turn from a net importer to an energy independent exporter of oil and natural gas.”
As you may remember, Vital for Colorado sent a letter in September along with nearly 100 co-signers representing business associations, elected officials and individuals to Colorado’s federal delegation supporting lifting the oil export ban. After numerous attempts, congressional leaders found compromise in the spending authority legislation.
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Contact:
Rich Coolidge
[email protected]
(720) 420-4255
The U.S. Congress urged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to study the relationship between hydraulic fracturing and drinking water. (more…)
There’s no evidence of water-based contaminants seeping into drinking water wells atop a vast oil and gas field in northeastern Colorado, according to Colorado State University scientists working to protect and inform citizens about the safety of their water. (more…)
Lifting what it describes as an outdated ban on crude oil exports from the United States could bolster energy production and in turn the economy in resource-rich Colorado, according to a coalition of business and economic development leaders in the state. (more…)
When Gov. John Hickenlooper expressed his support for the Jordan Cove Energy Project, he joined the Grand Junction Economic Partnership, Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce, and West Slope Colorado Oil and Gas Association in citing the potential economic benefits of the project to western Colorado. (more…)
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo On Friday congress will vote to overturn the oil export ban originally introduced in 1975. (more…)
Oil and gas supporters have been vocal about working to end the crude oil export ban, so Colorado could start shipping some natural resources.