Oil and Gas Regulations

Colorado is a global leader when it comes to regulating oil and gas operators. But enforcement largely depends on self-reported industry data, which could leave nearby communities vulnerable.

A controversial new fracking project near Erie that was halted by state oil and gas regulators isn’t dead yet.

Colorado oil and gas regulators Tuesday passed sweeping rules to deal with the cumulative impacts of drilling and hailed it as “a big step forward,” but legislators, environmentalists and community groups criticized the regulations for failing to protect vulnerable communities.

The commission recently released a new draft of rules, which omitted proposed protections for disadvantaged communities facing oil and gas drilling. According to Colorado Sun reporter Michael Booth, state regulators removed a requirement that oil and gas companies get approval from residents if they want to drill within 2,000 feet of homes.

The northern Front Range has suffered from high rates of air pollution for decades. Three bills announced Thursday by Democratic state lawmakers would take steps to reverse that trend.

We discuss Gov. Jared Polis’ call for new oil, gas and air pollution regulations. We also touch on proposals to ban rock climbing anchors in wilderness areas.

This new rule aims to limit leaking, flaring and venting of the potent greenhouse gas, while wringing more in royalties from the companies extracting natural gas.

Emerging advances in renewable technologies could help extend the operating life of aging oil wells and help address Colorado’s orphan well problem.

Environmentalists say that some of the largest methane polluters in the state are benefiting from a sleight of hand built into a deeply flawed emissions reporting system. They say those large-scale polluters might not be who you expect, pointing to a little-known natural gas producer called Terra Energy Partners. According to federal greenhouse gas emissions data, this small, privately owned company – headquartered in Texas, but operating exclusively on Colorado’s Western Slope - was the fourth largest source of methane emissions from the oil and gas industry in the entire United States in 2019.

Between new environmental justice legislation and a ban on a statewide cap-and-trade-policy we look at Colorado's goals for reducing carbon emissions, and how they state plans to achieve them.