Colorado Oil and Gas Task Force Issues Nine Recommendations
After five months of discussions, Colorado's Oil and Gas Task Force has issued nine recommendations to ease tensions surrounding oil and gas operations. Seven recommendations were unanimous, while two passed with a two-thirds majority.
The task force's suggestions include hiring more state well inspectors, enhancing information sharing, reducing truck traffic, assisting companies with regulations, and establishing state review authority for large-scale projects. Economists support local regulatory control for local impacts but acknowledge potential challenges in technical expertise and cost.
In the past, local governments in Colorado have attempted to gain more control over oil and gas facility siting through the Oil and Gas Committee but failed to secure the necessary two-thirds majority. The task force, created by Governor John Hickenlooper to defuse a contentious ballot issue, did not directly address this main concern, with several proposals failing to meet the two-thirds vote threshold.
The task force's recommendations, while addressing several important aspects, did not resolve the primary issue of local government control over oil and gas siting. Supporters of local authority are now considering ballot initiatives to grant such powers or ban 'fracking' in the state. The distribution of revenue from oil and gas development, often not tied to local impacts, remains a separate issue.
