The battle lines are drawn and the forces – from high-priced lawyers to homeowners cheek and jowl with drilling rigs – arrayed for marathon hearings, starting Monday, aimed at reorienting Colorado’s oil and gas commission from promoting development to protecting public health and the environment. Through a set of proposed rules, the operation of the […]
COGCC
Posted inBusiness, Energy, Environment, Health, News, Politics and Government
Garfield County is spending big to challenge Colorado’s new oil and gas regulations
Garfield County has emerged as a leading voice in challenging elements of new and proposed state oil and gas regulations and is putting its money — $1.5 million — where its mouth is. The county has organized the Western and Rural Local Government Coalition, which represents 23 counties and municipalities on the West Slope and […]
Posted inBusiness, COVID, Energy, News, Politics and Government
Colorado increases tax on oil and gas operators to fund a $3.4 million shortfall in regulators’ budget
The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission on Tuesday raised the tax it levies on oil and gas production in the state to fill a $3.4 million hole created by declining commodity prices – with the support of both industry and environmental groups. The support on the part of industry was the product of the […]
Posted inEnergy, News, Politics and Government
Republicans are using the 2017 Firestone home explosion to attack Hickenlooper. A survivor demands they stop.
A survivor of the deadly 2017 home explosion in Firestone caused by a leak from a nearby oil and gas well is calling on the National Republican Senatorial Committee to immediately take down an ad that uses the blast to attack former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper. Erin Martinez, whose husband, Mark, and brother, Joey, were […]
Posted inBusiness, Coloradans, Energy, Environment, Health, News, Politics and Government
Here’s who Gov. Polis just named to sit on the new, full-time panel regulating Colorado oil and gas
The full-time oil and gas commission that will handle the development of some of the most controversial regulations mandated by the legislature in 2019, was announced Monday by Gov. Jared Polis. The five-member commission, which takes over July 1, will replace the nine-member, volunteer body that has been working for the last year on regulations […]
Posted inBusiness, Energy, Environment, Health, News, Politics and Government
Every oil and gas well in Colorado must be pressure tested annually under new rules passed by regulators
Colorado regulators Wednesday adopted new rules to guard the integrity of oil and gas wells and protect groundwater resources — rules industry and environmental groups both called the most comprehensive in the country. The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission adopted the rules unanimously after a day-long hearing conducted on the Internet conference service Zoom, […]
Posted inBusiness, COVID, Energy, Environment, News, Politics and Government
Environmentalists worry Colorado will see a surge of abandoned oil and gas wells as industry tanks
As the oil market craters and the economy is throttled by the novel coronavirus pandemic, environmental and grassroots groups are worrying about a potential surge in abandoned oil and gas wells, but state regulators maintain that the risk appears to be limited. The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission held a meeting Monday to review […]
Posted inBusiness, COVID, Energy, Environment, Health, News
Colorado oil and gas regulators punt major rule changes until after their paid replacements are hired
Colorado’s Oil and Gas Conservation Commission voted Wednesday to push its massive overhaul of the state’s drilling regulations to the late summer while oil and gas activity in the state is plummeting. The culprit for both the rulemaking delay and eroding oil and gas activity is the same: the novel coronavirus pandemic that has shut […]
Posted inBusiness, Energy, News, Politics and Government
“This penalty sends a message”: Colorado driller will pay $18.25 million for deadly 2017 Firestone home blast
The Colorado Oil and Gas Commission on Monday unanimously approved an $18.25 million fine against a subsidiary of the Occidental Petroleum Co. blamed for the deadly explosion of a home in Firestone on April 17, 2017. The money will be used to improve oversight and enforcement in the state’s oil fields. The fine – the […]
Posted inEnergy, News, Politics and Government
Colorado announces $18.25 million fine against driller in fatal 2017 Firestone home explosion
Colorado oil and gas regulators on Thursday announced they are seeking an $18.25 million fine against a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum for its role in a 2017 home explosion in Firestone that killed two men. Kerr McGee, the Occidental subsidiary, can appeal the fine in a Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission hearing process. But […]