Did anyone else receive a similar response from Hickenlooper? Dear Cosima: Thank you for contacting us, expressing your concerns and sharing the report related to oil and gas-related issues in Pennsylvania. Protection of people, neighborhoods and the environment is a top priority and we welcome this ongoing exchange of ideas and information. We share your concern for the need to address the environmental and safety impacts from oil and gas development. For six years, the legislative and executive branches through the Colorado General Assembly and the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC), as well the Governor’s Office, have continually updated, expanded and toughened regulations and oversight of the oil and gas industry. Colorado’s leadership in this area has been held up nationally as a model, and we continue to work with all stakeholders to ensure this important industry – one that develops products that drive our economy and that we all depend on in our daily lives – functions in a matter that shows the highest regard for public health and safety. We think it is important to provide a synopsis of activities Colorado has undertaken recently to address the kind of concerns Coloradans have raised. In short, we have been very active in developing the robust standards that operators must meet in order to secure drilling and other permits, especially near communities. It’s necessary to keep in mind, too, that these new, enhanced safeguards are built atop a strong foundation of existing rules to protect air, water and landscapes. First, this year, the COGCC adopted rules for setbacks, mitigation of impacts, notice and groundwater monitoring. While our setback rule is sometimes described as simply the distance an operation must be from a building, the rule is predominantly about reducing impacts near buildings, as well as notice to, and engagement with, nearby residents. Importantly, the rule also extended the required distance between occupied structures and oil and gas activities and requires a 1,000-foot buffer for any oil and gas development near high population buildings, such as schools and hospitals. Our mitigation requirements near homes, schools, hospitals and other occupied structures now include requirements to lower air emissions; keep all drilling fluids and water drawn up from wells in contained systems to reduce the potential for water pollution, hazards and odors; provide steel -rimmed berms around tanks and separators to contain potential spills; and reduce noise, dust, and light to lessen nuisance impacts. We require operators to give notice to nearby residents before they apply for permits, and operators must meet with anyone who asks, be it through a kitchen table discussion or a town hall meeting. Our groundwater monitoring rule was the first in the country to require post-drilling sampling of water sources near drilling sites to detect possible releases and enhances existing requirements to protect aquifers by ensuring wells are properly cased, cemented and tested for integrity. Second, in 2011, COGCC adopted the strongest rule in the country for the disclosure of hydraulic fracturing fluids and a number of states, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), have since followed Colorado’s lead. Third, in 2008, we revised the composition of COGCC to include a broad range of Coloradans so that many interests and perspectives could be included and we also adopted a comprehensive suite of new regulations, deliberated over an 18-month period, to ensure protections for Colorado’s communities, wildlife and environment. Fourth, as a further safeguard for communities, COGCC in 2012 hired two new Local Government Liaisons whose full-time employment involves local government outreach. Among their responsibilities, they are crisscrossing the state offering training sessions for local government representatives and explaining how local communities can shape development before oil and gas operations commence. Importantly, there are a number of tools available to local governments to influence operations. They can enter into a Memoranda of Understanding with COGCC, as has been done in Gunnison County and the City of Greeley. They can enter into Operator Agreements directly with companies that may include heightened requirements that reach beyond state regulations, and COGCC will incorporate those into Conditions of Approval in state-issued drilling permits. Several communities have utilized this tool with great success, including the Town of Erie, Fort Collins and Arapahoe County. Fifth, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) continues to address air emissions from oil and gas facilities. The agency has toughened requirements repeatedly throughout the past decade, and is focused now on further safeguards. Colorado is the first state to implement EPA’s new rules that require no-bleed devices, as well as leak detection and repair at lower thresholds. CDPHE is currently developing new regulations to propose for consideration by the Air Quality Control Commission. These rules center on increasing the capture of fugitive emissions from tanks and enhancing inspection and maintenance requirements targeting leaks. At the same time, we agree that more research is useful, and CDPHE is leading an effort to study the dispersion and migration of air pollutants emitted from natural gas operations along the Front Range. We have committed $1.3 million toward this effort in fiscal year 2013-14. CDPHE is also involved in a similar study in Garfield County. In addition, CDPHE and COGCC are preparing a fleet of infrared cameras for inspectors to utilize to gather information and to inform operators of fugitive emissions not visible by the naked eye. This information could be used to identify poorly performing equipment that may need to be repaired or replaced or areas where greater operational oversight is warranted. Eventually, infrared cameras may be used to assist in future enforcement actions and we have committed approximately $1 million toward this effort. Finally, the National Science Foundation is deploying $12.5 million through the University of Colorado to engage in a 5-year, broad ranging study to assess a host of impacts, including those on air quality. We would be happy to consider other studies as we feel might be needed. Even though we have taken these steps, we believe that our work is not over. As the industry grows and we see changing development patterns and new technologies, so too must our regulatory framework evolve. We have tripled COGCC staff since 2004 to track with the increase in well permits and are continually looking for ways to make oil and gas development safer, cleaner, and more consistent with Coloradans’ values. We must tackle bad behavior in the industry through stiffer penalties, and in May, through an Executive Order, COGCC was directed to review and amend its penalty structure to hold the oil and gas industry to the highest operating standards in the nation for the protection of public health, safety, and the environment. That said, there is only so much leeway COGCC has absent new legislation that lifts the ceiling on penalties and, like last legislative session, our administration will be solidly behind such a bill in the 2014 legislative session. We continue to believe that strong and continually adaptive regulations combined with collaborative approaches between industry, regulators and communities, can provide the conditions for the industry to operate safely, strengthen our state and local economies, provide jobs, enhance energy security through development our domestic resources and provide the heat, electricity and consumer products we all depend upon. We’ll continue to work closely with communities and their citizens to address concerns. Thank you again for sharing your views with us. Sincerely, Office of Governor John W. Hickenlooper
Posted on: Mon, 07 Oct 2013 22:27:21 +0000
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