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RESPONSIBLE OIL AND GAS DEVELOPMENT
The Colorado Oil and Gas Commission (COGCC) has completed a historic rulemaking to amend its rules for permitting oil and gas locations in Colorado. This rulemaking was required by Colorado Senate Bill 19-181, which among other major reforms expanded the agency’s mission to safeguard wildlife and its habitat against potential adverse impacts of oil and gas development. SB 181 builds on wildlife legislation passed in 2007 and provided a once-in-a-decade opportunity to ensure stronger protections for wildlife and wildlife habitat, including cold-water fisheries, streams and riparian zones across Colorado.
The COGCC process for changes to its wildlife rules – called the 1200 series – was substantial and included significant opportunity for stakeholder input, beginning in November 2019 and concluding a year later. The rulemaking hearings spanned 181 hours of presentations, witness testimony and deliberations conducted entirely over Zoom. Colorado Trout Unlimited joined as a formal party to the hearings as part of a coalition with aligned sportsperson groups, including Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, National Wildlife Federation and Colorado Wildlife Federation. CTU members provided expert witness testimony at the hearings, wrote letters to publications, and sent in over 500 written comments to the Commission in support of additional protections for cold-water fisheries. CTU stakeholder input advocated for expanded “no drill” buffer zones and spill protection measures around high priority aquatic habitat, including Gold Medal and native cutthroat trout streams. This input, aligned with voices from other conservation organizations, helped to inform the Commission’s rulemaking, resulting in significantly improved protections for valuable fisheries and aquatic habitats.
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On November 23rd, the Commission unanimously voted to adopt revisions to its rules to implement the new mission set out in SB 19-181, including the following changes to its 1200 Series for wildlife protection:
500’ buffers around important aquatic habitats
• 500 foot No Surface Occupancy (NSO) buffers for all aquatic High Priority Habitat (HPH) streams identified by Colorado Parks and Wildlife, including designated cutthroat trout habitat, Gold Medal streams, sportfish management waters, and native species conservation waters. Nearly all of Colorado’s trout habitats will enjoy this important protection.
• Provides stronger standards and covers much more land than prior rules:
o Prior rules directed operators to avoid 586,605 acres around cutthroat and Gold Medal waters to extent technically and economically feasible with 300’ buffers.
o New 500’ buffer on increased number of streams applies to 6,340,918 acres- 980% more than prior rules- and prohibits exceptions unless the operator demonstrates it will protect the habitat.
• Spill prevention measures will be required for any new pad within 1000’ of the aquatic High Priority Habitat streams referenced above, including:
o Containing fluids in tanks instead of pits;
o Constructing lined berms around tanks; and
o Maintaining spill response equipment onsite.
• Measures such as these were required in prior rules only to protect drinking water sources (i.e., municipal water intakes); now being used to protect our valuable fisheries as well.
Boring beneath aquatic HPH streams
• Operators will be required to bore beneath streams in aquatic HPH areas rather than trenching across it, avoiding impacts to fish habitat.
Big Game protections:
• For the first time ever, operators will be required to consult with CPW for locations proposed in migration corridors for FULL COLOR elk, mule deer, bighorn sheep and pronghorn.
• Operators must prepare Wildlife Mitigation Plans when drilling in migration corridors, including plans to minimize impact on wildlife and habitat and plans to offset adverse impacts through mitigation projects or fees.
CTU is grateful to the experts who provided testimony to the process – including Dennis Buechler, Cory Fisher and Dr. Ashley Rust – as well as the many volunteer advocates who weighed in with public
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comment throughout the process. We also thank Bob Randall with
Included!
Kaplan Kirsch & Rockwell LLC, whose skilled and effective legal representation through the rulemaking process was instrumental to our
About The Author
Barb Sheedlo is the Chair of Colorado TU’s Bull Moose (Advocacy) Committee and is a retired geologist who worked in the oil and gas industry.
coalition’s success.
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