Face The State Staff Report
Hundreds of people, including several state lawmakers, turned out to Denver's Paramount theater Monday for the the first day of a week-long rulemaking hearing by the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. While "balance" and "reasonable" were the buzzwords of the day, the debate quickly heated up on how to craft energy policy that would protect both jobs and the environment.
Public testimonyFTS Staff Photo
The eight-person panel, charged with developing rules governing the state's oil and gas industry, came under fire from energy officials who believe that some of the stricter wildlife protections proposed would require the industry to halt drilling for up to 90 days each year, resulting in tens of thousands of lost jobs. Industry representatives pleaded with the commission not to implement new rules that would drive jobs from the state. Already, EnCana Oil and Gas has diverted $500 million into development in other states, including Texas and Wyoming, where new taxes or regulatory uncertainty aren't as much of a threat.
Sen. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass, spoke of the importance of protecting water resources and Colorado’s landscape. Rep. Frank McNulty, R-Highlands Ranch, chided Schwartz’s statements saying, “Magic does not heat our homes in Highlands Ranch in the winter time, [nor does it heat] the mountain chalets of Senator Schwartz’s district.” As the Denver Post reported in the summer of 2007, Aspen’s mountain homes generate the majority of the town’s residential greenhouse gases, even though many of them are only occupied a few weeks each year. Aspen is within Senate District 5, represented by Schwartz.
Some audience members sported stickers reading, “Clean Water. Clean air. Common Sense,” or, “Please don’t rule us out.”
Republicans running for office, such as Rep. Spencer Swalm of Centennial, say they have heard repeated pleas from constituents to lower gas prices. “[Voters] don’t like that we send money to Saudi Arabia for a resource we refuse to develop at home,” he said. As Face The State previously reported, Republicans have been charging that the current administration and Democrat lawmakers are creating hostile policies towards the energy industry while gas prices reached an all-time high of $4 per gallon last week.
Many of those present said they were convinced that COGCC has already made up its mind about the new rules. Last July, Democrat Gov. Bill Ritter appointed five new members to the commission, dramatically altering its makeup. The more liberal additions to the commission included conservationists and industry critics.
Ritter has also come under fire for his appointment of Matt Baker, the former director of the liberal activism group Environment Colorado, to a seat on the Public Utilities Commission. The state PUC regulates the companies providing electric power to Colorado consumers, much of which is produced using natural gas.
“Are you checking off your box to say you had a public hearing?” one man asked the COGCC members, calling the hearing a “dog and pony show.”