CAR Joins Other Business Groups Urging Regulators to Reject New Rule for Oil and Gas Setbacks
On Monday, Sept. 14, CAR joined other business organizations, including the Colorado Chamber of Commerce and Colorado Farm Bureau, in urging Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and commissioners on the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to not adopt a rule that would require oil and gas wells to be placed at least 2,000 feet away from homes.
The letter’s authors say the current propose ban is similar to Proposition 112, the 2018 ballot measure that would have created a 2,500 foot setback. The measure was defeated by Colorado voters. “That 2,500-foot setback measure would have shut down 94 percent of the developable land in the top five producing counties, according to COGCC analysis,” the letter states.
The letter continues:
“Today’s oil and natural gas development practices are incredibly safe and clean, especially in Colorado, as company efforts and regulations have outpaced others around the globe. This must be part of the discussion, because ensuring the protectiveness of our communities and our environment involves much more than the blunt instrument of a setback. Serving as the gold standard of oil and natural gas development should be a point of pride. Instead, the Colorado oil and natural gas industry would be severely penalized by this setback proposal, perhaps to the point of non-existence.”