The suspension of oil and gas operations officially ended Jan. 31, the same day the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners approved county-wide oil and gas operations regulations.The approved regulations are a ìdramatically reducedî version of what the planning commission recommended, said Amy Lathen, BOCC chairwoman. The regulations have been limited to transportation analysis and mitigation; an emergency response plan; and noxious weed control and mitigation.The board also included a section on water quality assessment, monitoring and mitigation that will mirror what the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission regulations suggest, but don’t require. The local regulations also follow the COGCC’s timeline for water sampling.The BOCC included the appointment of a local government designee to act as an intermediary between the COGCC and the board. ìWe are in the process of adding two full-time government liaisons to work with local governments on the LGD (local government designee) process,î said Dave Neslin, COGCC director. ìWe want to make sure the LGDs receive appropriate training, understand all of their opportunities under our rules; and, when local governments are participating, we want to ensure we’re giving them prompt and individualized attention.îAdditionally, the board approved entering into an intergovernmental agreement with the attorney general’s office and the COGCC. The IGA is aimed at preventing inconsistent regulations throughout the various jurisdictions in the state, while still addressing areas of local concern.The meeting ran long as citizens and representatives of the oil and gas industry commented about the proposed regulations.Of the 25 comments, 14 were in favor of more local regulations. Four of the six comments against added local regulations were from industry representatives or companies providing contract services to the industry.The comments ranged from expressing anger that the BOCC couldn’t prevent fracking in the county to imploring the commission to avoid adding layers of complications to the COGCC’s regulations.Resident Jeff Cahill said, ìWe’ve been shopping for property and found one in the Cascade and Crystola area. Our property here is now in question because of these oil and gas issues. We lost the property up there because we couldn’t meet a bid offer since our house isn’t worth what it was. I implore you to regulate as much as possible.îìWe strongly believe that almost all of the items that are of county concern are properly covered and governed by existing regulations of the COGCC,î said Mary Sharon Balakas, director of Land for Ultra Resources.ìEach locality has its own interests and concerns,î Neslin said. ìIf each memorializes those concerns in their own regulations, then, as Gov. Hickenlooper has cautioned, we will end up with a patchwork quilt of requirements that do not serve the public and needlessly obstruct the responsible development of our energy resources.îThe regulations were approved by a 3-2 vote, with commissioners Darryl Glenn and Peggy Littleton opposed. ìI won’t support this motion,î Glenn said. ìThis is a matter of statewide concern. I liked our original approach where we took out those areas that were questionable.îìThis motion allows us to move forward using our Land Development Code,î said Commissioner Sallie Clark. ìIt works well with the COGCC and it takes into consideration our transportation issues. The benefits have been balanced with what the community needs and what the industry needs.îìI think this motion is extremely reasonable as we work through the review of all these other issues that are very elaborate and complex,î Lathen said.
