With an increase in oil and gas operations throughout the state of Colorado, the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission has added 19 new full-time employees to help oversee activities, said Wendy Schultz, financial manager for the COGCC.Eleven of the new employees have been added to the inspection staff, bringing the total to 27 inspectors and one inspection manager, Schultz said. ìDuring the 2013 legislative session, we asked for an additional five full-time employees, three of whom wouldíve been inspectors,î she said. ìThe legislators gave us an additional 14 on top of that five and we made 11 of them inspectors. People just wanted more presence in the field.ìThe money for these positions came from the Oil and Gas Conservation and Environmental Response Fund. On a quarterly basis, the oil and gas operators pay us a levy on their production.îThe money from fines assessed to operators for regulatory infractions also goes into this fund, Schultz said.The current levy is 0.7 mills, although the COGCC has the authority to raise that rate to as high as 1.7 mills, Schultz said. The production rate and the forecasted oil and gas commodity price donít indicate that a rate raise will be necessary right away, she said.The quarterly levy payments support the majority of the COGCCís operations, Schultz said. ìWe are totally funded by the industry,î she said. ìNone of our general funds comes from taxes. As the industry grows, the regulations will grow and regulatory needs will grow. When they drill more wells that means more production, which increases our cash flow.î
