The El Paso County Planning Commission extended the comment period on a draft of the county’s proposed oil and gas industry regulation and procedures to Nov. 28. The public also has a right to a hearing.Environmental concerns surround the potential for oil drilling within the county. There are three new applications in the works for drilling wells in the county.Mike Hrebenar, development services department director, addressed the commission at the Nov. 15 meeting.”The draft was sent to 80 to 85 agencies with a 14-day comment time frame, which was extended,” Hrebenar said.Adoption of the regulation and procedures is scheduled for late January. Anyone who desires a public hearing should contact the commissioners.To view the draft, go to http://adm.elpasoco.com/Development%20Services/Pages/default.aspx and click the link entitled “DRAFT – Land Development Code Amendment – Oil and Gas Operations.” Send comments to dsdcomments@elpasoco.com by Nov. 28.
