Despite widespread Democrat victories this November, election night was bittersweet for Gov. Bill Ritter as he was forced to watch voters soundly reject Amendment 58, his proposal to impose $321 million in new taxes on Colorado's energy producers.
SwartoutSpecial to FTS
The amendment's defeat should be - and is - cause for celebration on the part of Colorado's energy sector. But on the heels of the victory comes a new challenge for the industry in the form of sweeping changes to the state's oil and gas production rules.
Next month, the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission will enter the final phase of a rulemaking process seeking to overhaul a labarynth of regulations governing drilling on public and private lands. It won't be pretty for those who supports continued domestic energy production, but a field day for anti-energy crusaders.
The proposed rules are themselves a matter for deeper analysis, but a recent personnel change by the Colorado Oil and Gas Association may indiciate just how seriously the industry group plans to address the upcoming hearings.
COGA recently announced the hiring of John Swartout, effective Dec. 1, as the group's new government affairs man. Swartout is wrapping up a term as executive director of Great Outdoors Colorado, a state grant-making agency funded by lottery revenues. He knows land use policy, and a stint in the Owens administration means he's no stranger to the political side of state government. What's more, his experience at GOCO overseeing environmentally-minded grants could help him to address the more radical environmental lobby in what are surely to be tense negotiations this winter.
This year's string of often heated hearings and meetings began with a reorganization of the commission initiated by the Ritter administration, which supports the proposed new rules. According to industry representatives who spoke with Face The State, the new rules will likely give more power to the state Department of Public Health and Environment and the Division of Wildlife in the permitting process, with energy producers now fearful that CDPHE and DOW will stall permit applications on a host of subjective criteria. Proponents of the new rules, meanwhile, argue for a stronger state role in ensuring environmental protections.
A beefed-up staff at COGA HQ isn't indicative of a policy change so much as a retrenching of effort against the Ritter administration's energy policies. Swartout has his work cut out for him if he's to improve the state's draft rules, but his appointment is indicative of an industry motivated to take on the fight head on.
Ritter Rules Runaround!!
On December 10th, 2008 Nathan Ortiz says:
The Ritter rules on oil and gas are supposed to be voted on in their final form this week. That the legislature is supposed to have the final say on any rulemaking is common knowledge. However, the Ritter administration and the COGCC are pushing what is now called "interim rules." This process is meant to implement the new regulations before the legislature is able to review and finalize the rules. The idea behind this? Once the rules are in place changing them will be harder for the General Assembly. Colorado law requires all rule makings have legislative oversight and this runaround is just one more example of the circus this oil and gas rulemaking process has been.