A plan to create new state rules that include local-government input on the siting of large-scale oil and gas facilities in developed communities garnered wide support from the governor’s oil and gas task force Tuesday.
There remained sharp divisions on other proposals including ones bolstering local controls of drilling and giving the industry a freer hand in siting facilities to reduce conflicts.
The task force, created by Gov. John Hickenlooper in September, is trying to to find ways to resolve land-use conflicts between the oil and gas industry and suburban communities. The task force was part of a compromise to keep two citizen-backed initiatives off the November ballot that would have bolstered local control over drilling.
The 21-member task force must deliver its recommendations to the governor by Friday. The Tuesday meeting in Denver is its last chance to review the 53 proposals members have made and finalize its recommendations.
A final vote may be held late Tuesday or by teleconference later this week — a decision has not yet be made. A recommendation needs a two-thirds majority vote to be including the the final report to the governor.
One the proposals, developed by task-force member Bernie Buescher, a past Colorado secretary of state, drew strong support from members of the panel representing both industry and community groups. In a straw poll at the last task-force meeting, the proposal received unanimous support.
The focus of the proposal is large-scale operations — drilling pads with as many as 30 wells that leave large industrial tank operations — in urban an suburban areas.
Buescher’s measure proposes that the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, which regulates drilling in the state, craft new rules defining large-scale oil and gas operations and give the commission’s director the power to regulate facility locations with the aim of limiting impacts.
The proposal would also set up a system under which an operator would have to offer to meet with a representatives of local government and the oil and gas commission before selecting a drill site.
If a local government and operator cannot come to agreement on the location of a facility, the two parties could enter into mediation. If that fails, the operator would submit its application for the disputed site to the state and the issue would be heard by the full oil and gas commission.
“This is a huge step forward in brings the parties together early,” said Dan Kelly, a Noble Energy Inc. vice president and task-force member.
Community-oriented task force members also voiced support — with some reservations.
“On balance this is a recommendation worth supporting,” said Will Toor, former mayor of Boulder and a task force member, “but it doesn’t go far enough.”
Toor said he was concerned that local governments would not have enough tools under the proposals to protect citizens.
Jeff Robbins, a Durango-based attorney who represents local governments in oil and gas issues, said the Buescher proposals fail to get at “the core issue,” which he said was to “clarify and enhance authority” over drilling.
A proposal by Robbins to amend state rules to acknowledge that local land use regulations can be stricter than state oil and gas commission regulations sparked sharp debate.
This would simply clarify the existing ability of local governments to enact more stringent requirements — as long as they don’t create operation conflicts with state rules, Robbins said.
The proposal drew strong support from community-oriented task force members.
“It is really essential we pass this,” said task-force member Matt Sura, an attorney who represents communities and landowners in dealings with the industry.
Jon Goldin-Dubois, president of Western Resource Advocates and a task- force member, said “this is at the heart” of the task force’s mandate.
Industry members remained opposed.
“If you take this to the end of the line we see this as a local veto,” said Brad Holly, an Anadarko Petroleum Corp. vice president and task force member.
The Robbins proposal received 14 votes in the straw poll. If it receives the same number in the final vote it would be among the recommendations to the governor.
An industry-backed proposal that received unanimous approval in the straw poll, however, was the subject of criticism Tuesday.
The proposal by task force members Scott Woodall, CEO of the Bill Barrett Corp. and Russ George, former speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives, would provide greater flexibility in siting drilling pads.
The aim is to give operators greater leeway in locating facilities with an eye toward reducing conflicts, according to the proposal.
But Rebecca Kourlis, a former Colorado Supreme Court justice and task-force member, said in the effort to stay away from homes the approach may “unintentionally inviting sacrifice zones” in agricultural and undeveloped areas.
Bruce Rau, representing the Colorado Home Builders Association on the task force, also expressed concerns about the impact proposal, as did Sura, the attorney representing local governments.
Mark Jaffe: 303-954-1912, mjaffe@denverpost.com or twitter.com/bymarkjaffe
