COGCC to start hearings on mission change in August

DENVER — The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission will begin discussions this summer about how exactly it will change its mission in response to mandates from Senate Bill 181, last year’s sweeping reforms to the oil and gas industry.

COGCC director Jeff Robbins said the agency is starting to take applications for a five-seat professional commission that will lead the rulemaking by July 1. That commission will then take filings and hold hearings throughout August discussing how the agency’s mission will change.

That professional commission is due to complete those hearings and propose a final rewrite of the mission statements by Sept. 10.

The chance to remake the guiding principles of the state’s top oil and gas regulator will likely be contentious, as environmental groups and clean energy proponents will aim for the COGCC to focus more on health and environmental impact.

“The current COVID crisis brings the importance of putting health and safety first into sharp relief,” said Conservation Colorado executive director Kelly Nordini in a prepared statement. “We applaud the COGCC for taking this critical, science-based step to protect public health by addressing enforcement and compliance standards and putting a plan in motion to advance the Mission Change rulemaking later this summer.”

Meanwhile, oil and gas proponents will likely fight to prevent regulatory burden from placing more pressure on an industry hard hit by the economic effects of the coronavirus. Lynn Granger, director of American Petroleum Institute Colorado, said in a statement the energy industry looks forward to the hearings being held in a manner that emphasizes input from all parties.

““These are challenging days for our community, but we stand ready to work collaboratively and in good faith with all parties and stakeholders at the appropriate time,” she said.

Additionally, Robbins said COGCC staff is working on a whitepaper analyzing the environmental effects of orphaned wells as more oil operators face the prospect of reducing output in the face of an energy glut.

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