Today, the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) unanimously approved a series of new rules to update its mission and protect public health and safety and wildlife from oil and gas development. Notable victories include:

• A new 2,000-foot setback from Coloradans’ homes and schools;
• Increased protections for Disproportionately Impacted Communities;
• Comprehensive protections for Colorado’s wildlife and habitat;
• A ban on routine venting and flaring;
• Expanded protections for water supplies, including greater testing and reporting requirements; and,
• Robust Cumulative Impacts and Alternative Location Analysis requirements.

The COGCC only needs to finalize updates to its financial assurance and reclamation rules, which is anticipated in the spring of 2021.

In response to today’s historic outcome, conservation leaders released the following statements:

“Western Coloradans thank the COGCC Commissioners, staff, and Governor Polis for delivering precedent setting rules to protect our public health, safety, and our environment. These rules have been decades in the making and finally give people as much voice as industry in the permitting process. Impacted residents from across the Western Slope will benefit from these added protections and we look forward to making them a reality in the years ahead.”  

• Emily Hornback, Executive Director, Western Colorado Alliance

“As Coloradans living with the impacts from oil and gas in our lives everyday, we thank the COGCC for hearing us and acting to protect us. The mandate of SB 181 is to ensure the COGCC protects the health, safety, and well-being of Coloradans first in oil and gas permitting decisions and we thank the Commissioners for honoring that mandate. Residents of Battlement Mesa expect any future development in Garfield County to be held to these same standards.”

• Leslie Robinson, Chair, Grand Valley Citizens’ Alliance

“Colorado is once again a national leader in protecting public health and safety thanks to today’s new oil and gas rules. Thank you to Governor Polis, the Department of Natural Resources and the COGCC for making the vision of putting public health and safety ahead of oil and gas industry profits into concrete policy.” 

• Kelly Nordini, Executive Director of Conservation Colorado

“On behalf of Coloradans living with the impacts of oil and gas and those facing the possibility of these large oil and gas sites in their communities, LOGIC is grateful for for the tireless work of this professional commission, it’s staff, and the previous volunteer members, in crafting rules that prioritize the health and safety of Coloradans across the state first. We also thank Governor Polis for his peerless leadership in all these groundbreaking rules, especially the new 2,000-foot setback between oil and gas operations and homes and schools. It is a new day for impacted Coloradans, where they have a voice in the impacts and risks that they face. We look forward to our continued work with the Commission and staff of the COGCC in implementing these rules, and building on this foundation in the future to make Colorado a safer and healthier place for everyone.”

• Sara Loflin, Executive Director, League of Oil and Gas Impacted Coloradans (LOGIC)