Energy-impact awards to plummet, state warns

LOVELAND — A struggling energy economy will mean lower state revenue and grants to communities impacted by oil and gas activity, Gen. Irv Halter, executive director, Colorado Department of Local Affairs, said at the Northern Colorado Energy Summit Thursday.

Halter was keynote speaker at the event, presented by BizWest Media LLC, Coloradans for Responsible Energy Development and Noble Energy. The event occurred at the First National Bank Exhibition Hall at the Ranch complex.

Halter noted that DOLA has dispensed $500 million in direct distribution of grants since 1982, with about $1.3 billion in grants since the late 1970s.

SPONSORED CONTENT

Exploring & expressing grief

Support groups and events, as well as creative therapies and professional counseling, are all ways in which Pathways supports individuals dealing with grief and loss.

The Energy/Mineral Impact Assistance Fund awards are made from severance taxes assessed on energy and mineral production, as well as revenue from oil, gas and mining activity on federal lands. Counties, municipalities, school districts, special districts and state agencies are eligible to receive the funds, which are administered throughout the state.

One project funded was expansion of Weld County Road 49, an almost $100 million dollar project funded 90 percent by Weld County, with another $9 million from DOLA.

But such largesse won’t last, Halter said, noting that the current wave of funding — with perhaps a couple of additional funding cycles — is based on higher oil-and-gas activity before the current energy-sector downturn.

“We’re still riding the wave with the current funds we’re expensing through another year or 18 months,” he said. “We still have big sums of money that are coming to us through that process.”

But Halter said future receipts will be dramatically reduced. “After this round, it will go down a lot, perhaps as much as half,” he said, with receipts going from $30 million to perhaps $15 million.”

That will mean a significant impact for governments relying on the funds for energy-mitigation projects.

“We’re not going to have as much money to help them in the future,” he said.