Area residents packed a too-small meeting room and spilled out into the lobby on Oct. 9 at the Durango meeting of a state oil and gas task force created this summer by Gov. John Hickenlooper.
They came to comment for or against more regulation of oil and gas activities, especially by local governments. They sported red stickers supporting local control or green stickers that read "Oil and gas feeds my family."
La Plata County pioneered local control when it created oil and gas land use regulations in response to the start of coalbed methane development in 1988.
The Bowen-Edwards Company quickly challenged the regs. That ended in a 1992 State Supreme Court ruling rejecting an industry argument that state regulations totally pre-empted any county land use regulations. The county could regulate land use aspects as long as there were no "operational conflicts" with Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission technical regulations.
In the past few years, several northern Front Range towns have restricted oil and gas development as it moves into suburban neighborhoods. That spawned conflicting state ballot issues that were withdrawn in favor of the task force.
La Plata County Commissioner Gwen Lachelt co-chairs the 21 member task force. Other locals on the task force are Bayfield area rancher Jim Fitzgerald and former county (and now Town of Bayfield) attorney Jeff Robbins.
Former State Sen. Jim Isgar urged the task force to consider mineral owners as they think about recommendations to state legislators. He cited HB 1341 passed in 2007 to expand the role and membership of the OGCC, and rules drafted in 2008 to allow more local government involvement in the regulatory process.
His successor, Ellen Roberts, was a state representative in 2007. She cited HB 1252, which she said gave more clout to surface owners dealing with industry through surface use agreements. Like Isgar, she cited the need to consider sub-surface mineral owners too.
She objected to the lack of any state legislators on the task force. "If you think your recommendations will translate into legislation, you need to start early in your conversations with legislators. ... The other challenge is, what problem are you trying to fix? What did we miss with all the new statutes and regulations?... That's what I'll be asking you. We'll need you to make that case."
Main street businesses and jobs depend on these industries, Roberts said.
A woman from the Mancos-Dolores area cited incessant noise from a nearby compressor station and emissions that blow toward her house. "What is that doing to my soil and my health?" she asked. "It's hard to understand when an industry is making so much money that they can't be more pro-active."
Durango area resident Brian Brown said, "I feel the oil and gas industry freedom from regulation ends where my right to clean water and air begins. That should be the metric."
Chris Lopez, a regulatory compliance specialist for DJ Simmons Company in Farmington, cited duplicative regulations, jurisdictional conflicts, and subjectivity by regulatory staff. "Our industry isn't under-regulated," he asserted.
Another Chris Lopez from County Road 225 cited generous industry support for many local non-profit groups.
Several other speakers also commended industry support for non-profits, especially to keep operating through the recession. Volunteers of America director Sarada Leavenworth cited BP as an "exemplary community partner for many years, including the last few when they were our lead private supporter to assist veterans who were homeless or at risk of being homeless."
Jerry Austin, BP's San Juan Basin area manager, said Colorado already has some of the most stringent oil and gas regulations. Company employees are local residents who want to do the right thing, he said. "When it comes time to solve problems, we're going to work together," he said. "We don't need more stringent regulations to make that happen."
A mother of eight-year-old twins came from Fort Collins to talk about industry encroachment into residential neighborhoods. "Please consider what drilling so close to our homes does to our children, our most important resource," she said.
Local rural resident Diane Higgins agreed. "I feel the toxicity of the extractive industry is leaving a legacy for our children and grandchildren... a toxic mess for the taxpayers to clean up." She wants more public disclosure of toxic fracking chemicals being put into the ground by industry.
Durango Chamber Director Jack Llewellyn said, "I live a quarter mile from two Chevron gas wells. They are good neighbors, better than some of our other neighbors. Colorado has some of the toughest regs in the country."
Bayfield area resident Mark Seitz favored more local control to deal with local conditions. He cited an Oct. 9 news article about California aquifers contaminated by fracking waste water.
Allison area resident James Lane, who works for BP, said, "I take pride in doing excellent work.." He cited tax revenue from BP that helped the Los Pinos Fire District become an excellent emergency responder. "All the producers put back into the community," he said.
Yellowjacket Pass resident Kathleen Delzell wore both red and green stickers as a royalty owner and former Chevron employee. "I believe industry can do things safely and environmentally correctly," she said, but she distinguished between large companies and small private operations that are developing in her area.
A Williams Energy employee said they spent more than $100 million on equipment upgrades that greatly reduced emissions. "This was done out of economics, not rules," he said. "Team up with industry and find a way to get them to clean up emissions without breaking them."
San Juan Citizens Alliance Director Dan Olson argued for more local control. "This is an industry that can pay more to protect our communities" with quarterly profits in the billions, he said.
Bayfield area resident Judy Blaisdell said her land is encircled by drilling. "It's not just tree-huggers who understand oil and gas can have an adverse impact," she said. "I don't think it's possible for the state to address issues for each locality... The state should regulate with a broad brush, but the finer details should be managed at the local level."
A doctor from Mancos said she has treated people for documented exposure to industry chemicals. She cited an ER nurse at Mercy Medical Center who almost died several years ago after exposure to chemicals on a gas field worker's boots.
Local rancher Wayne Jefferies complained that new well setback requirements are in effect an unpaid transfer of property rights from the landowner. But he also called industry claims of proprietary information a scam.
Rancher Ralph Klusman said, "As far as bureaucracy, I'd much rather work with the company than the county or the state of Colorado."
Rancher Phyllis Ludwig said, "I can't see where the companies have done any harm. On our ranch, they've done everything we ever asked. Every time I've called, my calls were returned and my problems were solved."
State Rep. Mike McLachlan recognized both the economic benefits of the industry and people's concerns about air, water, and the environment. He urged the task force to "Base decisions on true science, not environmental McCarthyism."
The comment session ended with McLachlan's election opponent, Ignacio rancher J. Paul Brown, and former county commissioner Wally White sitting uneasily at opposite ends of the comment table as well as the political spectrum.
Brown said his family doesn't own mineral rights, but gas drilling has improved the environment on their land; and as part of that, fracking has improved their land. "There are no documented cases of contamination," he asserted. Like Klusman, he said he'd rather deal with the companies than the county or the state.
White said the nurse who almost died is a good friend of his. The chemicals are highly toxic, he said. He also cited an injection well that affected property in the Animas Valley 12 miles away.
"These things happen," White said. "There are problems. I agree, let's rely on good science." Like Seitz, he cited California aquifers destroyed by fracking. He argued for more local control.
At the end of the meeting, around 60 people who had signed up to comment had not been heard. They and anyone else who wanted to comment were directed to e-mail comments to ogtaskforce@state.co.us.
