Colorado

Just a few months ago, Colorado’s voters overwhelmingly defeated Proposition 112, an extreme measure that would have essentially ended energy development and production throughout the state. But energy opponents are still trying to significantly impede a thriving industry that supports hundreds of thousands of Colorado jobs and contributes billions to the state’s economy.

Now Colorado Senate Bill (S.B.) 181, another extreme piece of legislation that would dramatically impact Colorado’s natural gas and oil industry, is on the fast track to becoming law without the benefit of a thorough stakeholder input process.

What’s the latest?

Late Friday, March 8, the Colorado Senate Appropriations Committee voted 6-4 to move S.B. 181 to the floor for debate, only one week after the bill was unveiled. This approval comes after two other legislative committees rushed through the bill—Senate Finance and Transportation and Energy. The bill passed the state Senate on Wednesday, March 13 and now heads to the House for a vote.   

“There’s a reason they dumped this bill late on a Friday with no stakeholder process, no conversation, no dialogue. It looks like a backdoor attempt to override the will of the voters. The industry is ready to have a conversation and strengthen our rules, but this bill is extreme. Let’s do this the Colorado way — stop playing this out through the media and get people of good faith in the room and work toward a balanced approach.”

- Dan Haley, president and CEO of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association

Details about S.B. 181

• This new bill would give unfettered control to local governments to regulate the industry, including creating larger setbacks or altogether banning natural gas and oil development within their jurisdictions. Local restrictions, fees and prohibitions could be implemented just by claiming “nuisance-type effects” or citing discredited studies on health and safety.
• Under this measure, a political appointee could have unprecedented, unilateral control to stop natural gas and oil development across the state.
• Claiming to put health and safety first, the bill would establish that technical feasibility and cost-effectiveness could no longer be considered in regulatory and permitting decisions.
• The bill would also reduce engineering and geology experts from the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, the nine-member panel that makes natural gas and oil regulatory decisions in Colorado.

Why S.B. 181 is bad for Colorado

Even though Colorado’s regulations are some of the strictest in the nation, anti-energy activists are trying to use the guise of “health and safety” to bring a halt to Colorado’s energy production. If they succeed, the impact on jobs, families and businesses across the state will be devastating.

Measures within S.B. 181 will slow down or block energy development and will:

• Drastically reduce the billions of dollars the energy industry contributes to Colorado’s economy.
• Shut down energy tax revenues that support public schools and local community services.
• Put over 230,000 Colorado jobs at risk, threatening the livelihoods of thousands of Colorado families.

Here’s what others are saying about the bill:

Press Release: CPC and COGA Joint Statement on Senate Bill 19-181's Passage Through The Colorado State Senate

Ken Salazar: This oil and gas bill risks Colorado’s economy and America’s energy independence

Talk Radio 630: Interview with Dan Haley of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association

Editorial: Slow Your Roll, Democrats

Opinion: ‘Slow the train down’ on fast-track oil and gas legislation

Over the past decade, America has undergone a major energy revolution, achieving a rapid transition from an era of energy scarcity to an era of energy abundance. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, natural gas and oil currently meet about two-thirds of America’s energy needs and will continue to play leading roles in our energy mix for many years to come. As of 2015, the industry supported 10.3 million U.S. jobs and represented 7.6 percent of the U.S. economy.1

Colorado has been a focus of energy development for more than a century, and hydraulic fracturing has been safely used to access oil and natural gas resources there for decades. Residents enjoy strong employment and revenue gains tied to the natural gas and oil industry. Industry activity here boosts manufacturing, logistics, banking and construction, among dozens of other economic sectors.

Click here to download.

ConocoPhillips practices ongoing collaboration with local, state and federal regulatory authorities to continually improve our safety and environmental performance. The type of natural gas and oil development activity being pursued dictates which regulatory authorities have jurisdiction. Development activity on non-federal land is primarily regulated by the state, while activity on federally owned land is primarily managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the U.S. Forest Service.

Across the United States, each state exercises regulatory authority over oil and gas operations within its borders. Colorado already has some of the nation’s most comprehensive and stringent oil and gas regulations covering every aspect of operations, including site selection, permitting, down-hole activities, hydraulic fracturing and site reclamation.

The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) is the state agency with primary responsibility for establishing standards and enforcing regulations for oil and natural gas exploration and production. COGCC equips its staffs of qualified geologists, hydrologists and petroleum engineers with the resources and infrastructure to facilitate regulation, monitoring and enforcement. The state also has robust, well-researched and well-resourced systems and processes in place for setting rules. Additionally, several other state agencies play key roles in regulating the industry’s in-state activities, including the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), which regulates air emissions.

Protecting Air Quality
ConocoPhillips is committed to reducing emissions from our activities and following all applicable regulations. Since 2000, we have instituted a variety of programs to achieve emissions reductions, including installing new automated flare-monitoring alarms. Over the past five years, such steps have significantly reduced or prevented emissions of methane from our facilities in Colorado. Read more about ConocoPhillips environmental standards.

Conserving Water
Water is integral to our operations, and an essential natural resource for communities, ecosystems and economic development. Throughout our operations we strive to wisely manage water resources to the extent possible. For example, when we do source freshwater in Colorado, we target deeper water sources that are not used by local farmers and communities. We explore innovative ways to economically reduce freshwater use or recycle water. In 2014, we invested $3 million to establish the ConocoPhillips Center for a Sustainable WE²ST (Water-Energy Education, Science and Technology) at Colorado School of Mines. The center focuses on research and education that promote joint sustainability of unconventional energy production and water resources. We conduct baseline groundwater sampling to assure we have no impact on drinking water aquifers.

Philanthropic Giving
ConocoPhillips has had a longstanding commitment to Colorado. Since 2013, the company has given $4.1 million to support 136 organizations in the state. Of this amount, approximately $1.1 million funded local community initiatives to improve education, health, safety and natural resources. The remainder of the donation established the ConocoPhillips Center for a Sustainable WE²ST (Water-Energy Education, Science and Technology) at Colorado School of Mines.