Lawmakers call on Ritter to reject new oil and gas rules

Face The State Staff Report

At a Monday press conference, a bi-partisan coalition of Colorado lawmakers called on Gov. Bill Ritter to reject new “job killing” oil and gas rules slated for a vote in the House later this week.

In 2007, the legislature approved a series of bills that required the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to adopt new regulations for oil and gas drilling throughout the state. Critics allege the new regulations promulgated by the commission threaten the private property rights of surface owners and that the environmental protections required are too strict. Rep. Steve King, R-Grand Junction, called the rules "175 pages of job killing bureaucracy."

Industry officials agree. "We do believe the rules at they are written are costing people their jobs," said Nate Strauch, spokesman for the Colorado Oil and Gas Association.

The coalition, which includes Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Yuma, Rep. Wes McKinley, D-Walsh, is calling the new rules “poorly timed” and saying they will hurt an industry that is already suffering. “[The new rules] turn over protection of wildlife to a regulatory agency that doesn’t care about your private property rights,” McKinley said, referring to a rule that requires the oil and gas industry to work with the Division of Wildlife to minimize the impact of drilling on the environment.

Gardner maintains that oil and gas revenues are responsible for 54 percent of the tax base in Yuma County and that with the new rules looming, industry investors are being driven away.

Evan Dreyer, Ritter's spokesman, says the new rules are not to blame and maintains that the nation's current economic woes is the real reason oil and gas is leaving the state. "There are a few main reasons why the oil-and-gas industry is suffering, not the least of which is a global recession that has crippled nearly every industry," Dreyer wrote to Face The State in an e-mail. "The price of natural gas has tanked and oil-and-gas companies are having a terrible time obtaining capital and credit. Another factor in Colorado is that we lack sufficient pipeline capacity to get a fair market price for our gas, and that is a reality even in good economic times."

Legislators and Ritter must approve the new rules before they can be implemented, and Gardner noted that it is not too late to change course, with a House vote slated for Thursday. Gardner pointed to Gov. Bill Richardson, a New Mexico Democrat, who blocked similar legislation in his state.

Gardner also sponsored a bill earlier this session that would have clarified the new rules and softened the requirement that drill operators consult with the DOW prior to undertaking new projects. After two days of testimony, the bill was killed in committee on a party-line vote, with insiders telling Face The State it was largely due to pressure from Ritter's office.

House Minority Leader Mike May, R-Parker, said he doesn’t want to turn this into a partisan issue, but admitted that Ritter’s support is needed to delay the regulations from being implemented. “This is the governor’s show,” he said. “It’s his commission. It’s his folks.”

But Ritter shows no signs of backing down. "This has been a two-year effort," Dreyer wrote. "We're very close to the finish line."