Fort Collins bans fracking

Fort Collins now has an ordinance that bans hydraulic fracturing within its city limits.

The city council in the northern Front Range municipality approved the law Tuesday evening, defying a threat from Gov. John Hickenlooper that the state would sue to prevent local regulation of the oil and gas industry.

Hickenlooper told a Denver TV news reporter last week that litigation in which the state would argue that only the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission can set rules for the industry would likely be pursued against any city that attempts to ban fracking.

The state's principal oil and gas industry trade group, Colorado Oil and Gas Association, may also challenge the ordinance in court.

"COGA is evaluating taking legal action; the State Supreme Court has clearly stated that drilling cannot be banned within a city, county, or municipality," Tisha Schuller, the organization's president and chief executive officer, said. "Because any new wells in Fort Collins would be hydraulically fractured, a ban on hydraulic fracturing is a ban on oil and gas development."

The ordinance extends further than just a fracking prohibition; it forecloses any oil and gas exploration in Fort Collins.

Fort Collins is now the second municipality in Colorado to ban fracking. Longmont did so last November.

Rule Review Bill Clears Senate, Heads to Ritter

The Senate has given final clearance to the new oil and gas development rules issued by the state's Oil and Gas Conservation Commission and the bill formalizing legislative approval is on the way to Gov. Bill Ritter.

HB 1292, which is the vehicle for this year's effort to review and approve all rules issued by state agencies since last year's legislative session, was the subject of a strong effort by Republicans in both chambers of the General Assembly to change the oil and gas rules.

During yesterday's debate in the Senate, after which the rules bill was approved by voice vote, GOP senators offered to triple penalties on some environmental violations in return for a Democratic agreement to weaken certain aspects of the rules, especially those relating to wildlife protection.

"This amendment is an attempt to restore some balances," Senate minority leader Josh Penry, R-Grand Junction, said. "Bill Ritter would get 90 percent of what he wants, plus some things he didn't ask for."

But Democrats argued that debate on the rules bill is limited to consideration of whether the agency followed proper procedure and not a time to discuss substantive changes to the regulations.

They also reiterated a view that stronger regulation of the environmental impacts of oil and gas extraction activities is necessary to protect public health and the quality of life on the Western Slope.

"We have been overwhelmed with an industry that has grown very rapidly," Sen. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass Village, said Tuesday. "I think it's time in our state that we have a chance to catch up."

Oil & Gas Rules Start Senate Review Process Today

The new regulations affecting the state's oil and gas industry will be considered by a legislative committee today as the Senate starts its review of them.

The rules, which were finalized by the Oil & Gas Conservation Commission under a directive of last year's legislature, have already cleared the House.

They are being considered along with a variety of other new rules and regulations issued by state agencies.

Senate Committee Rejects GOP Effort to Block New Oil and Gas Regulations

Republican opponents of the state's new regulations on oil and gas drilling failed Tuesday in an attempt to convince the General Assembly to stop them from going into effect.

SB 4 was rejected by the Senate Local Government and Energy Committee despite pleas from sponsor Greg Brophy, R-Wray, that the measure is needed to prevent energy companies from fleeing Colorado.

OGCC Completes Consideration of New Extraction Rules

The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission has completed its consideration of expansive new rules governing energy extraction activities in the state and will decide whether to adopt them in December.

According to a Rocky Mountain News report,

In the last phase of deliberations Sunday and Monday, the nine-member Oil and Gas Conservation Commission weighed proposed regulations to better handle and store waste products from drilling operations.

Commissioners will consider formal approval of the new rules Dec. 9-11.

The reworked rules are designed to better protect the environment, public health and local communities from the impacts on air, water, wildlife and lifestyle from oil and gas drilling.

Industry officials have heavily criticized the new rules, saying they could add costly delays to new energy development. But state officials say they have made numerous compromises to address operator concerns as part of their effort to balance an energy boom in the state with quality of life.

Rocky Article Lays Out Status of Oil and Gas Rule Changes

The Rocky Mountain News ran a good article today covering a recent hearing on the proposed changes to state regulations governing energy extraction activities before the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.

The proposed rules being considered would double the bond requirement on drillers and strengthen requirements to prevent pollution from extraction activities.