In December, the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission unanimously approved new requirements for spills, creating stricter thresholds and time frames for reporting them.The old regulations established a reporting threshold of at least 20 barrels for both inside and outside secondary containment areas. The new regulations create a threshold of five barrels inside the containment areas and one barrel outside of them, said Nancy Prince, COGCC local government liaison. In each instance, the reporting time frame is no more than 24 hours. Previously, the time frame was up to 10 days from the date of the spill, she said.The new regulations refer to oil spills as well as exploration and production waste spills.ìThis particular rule-making is based on a legislative action taken in August, and the main reason was to make some consolidations and to provide clear direction to the operators and the local government,î Prince said. ìThe expectation always was that operators would deal with it (a spill) immediately, but this helps the public with their comfort level that we do have the best interest of the public health in mind.î
