COGCC gives initial approval to first round of new regs, including 2000-foot setbacks

DENVER — The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission voted to affirm in principle the first round of new rules and regulations around the state’s energy industry Monday, including the 2,000-foot setback minimum between new wells and human-occupied spaces that has deeply angered industry groups.

The vote is an initial approval from the Commission’s revamp of the 200 through 600 Series of rules governing oil and natural gas production as required by Senate Bill 181, meaning that the substance of the rules cannot change except for legal and technical fixes in the language. The governing body and its newly minted five-person professional board are set to consider changing rules on noise control, waste management and wildlife protections through October.

A final vote to approve the new rules is expected in early November and would take effect on Jan. 1.

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In a call with reporters Monday morning, COGCC chairman Jeff Robbins said the majority of the rules were revamped with support from regulators, industry and environmental groups, such as expanding who has standing to speak to the Commission on approving or denying new wells and including cumulative health-impact estimates from state health officials.

However, the energy industry remains angry with state regulators over the 2,000-foot setback, which they claim would leave them unable to drill new wells in much of the state’s available land. It also points to 2018, where voters defeated a proposed 1,000-foot setback at the ballot with an 11-point margin.

Robbins disagreed with the notion that the 2,000-foot setback would spell the end of new drilling in Colorado, saying there are four ways to get a variance and build closer to human settlements, including getting consent from the property owners near the proposed well.

“We believe we followed the mandate of the sponsorship to (Senate Bill 181), as well as Gov. (Jared) Polis, that Senate Bill 19-181 should not constitute a ban on oil and gas development, nor should it constitute a free approval of all permits that are currently pending,” he said.

In a statement, American Petroleum Institute Colorado executive director Lynn Granger said there is “no scientific basis” for the 2,000-foot setback rule, which she said would have serious unintended consequences for the industry. She also said the rule doesn’t take into account other agency regulations, such as a rule enacted by state health officials last week that requires emissions monitoring in well sites under construction.

“The process of rewriting an entire industry’s rulebook is arduous enough as is, so it is vital that one agency’s regulations not confuse or contradict another’s,” she said.

A study commissioned by the Colorado Department of Health and Environment last year found that in a small number of cases, humans were being exposed to noxious chemicals released during oil and gas operations from as far as 2,000 feet away.