DENVER – Colorado lawmakers made only modest progress this year addressing concerns surrounding hydraulic fracturing.
The Legislature set aside money to implement recommendations from a task force that met earlier this year. The task force was convened by Gov. John Hickenlooper as part of a deal to end a more sweeping 2014 ballot effort that would have cracked down on the oil and gas industry.
Those nine task-force recommendations included addressing local and urban planning as it relates to the industry, local input on wells and certain health, environment and nuisance issues.
Despite a loud outcry at the beginning of the legislative session that the task force left several critical issues on the table, lawmakers did not push many bills on the subject.
In fact, there was no significant legislation addressing local control over regulations, which always has been the sticking point in the debate.
“While Gov. Hickenlooper’s agency permitted nearly 1,000 wells during the five-month legislative session, the Legislature and governor did virtually nothing to protect Coloradans’ health, safety, property, water and air from fracking,” said Sam Schabacker, spokesman for Food and Water Watch, one of several groups discussing local and statewide ballot initiatives seeking to offer local governments the power to ban fracking.
As lawmakers ended the legislative session last Wednesday, Coloradans Against Fracking had a little fun outside the Capitol, staging a performance in which two figures – one representing the Colorado Legislature, the other Hickenlooper – wore dunce caps and were given failing grades.
But Hickenlooper believes progress was made, pointing out that industry, civic, community and environmental leaders came together as part of the task force.
“We made significant progress. For the first time, we saw the industry stepping up and saying, ‘We ought to have a process allowing local voices to be heard,’” Hickenlooper said.
The Keystone Policy Center, which facilitated the work done by the task force, sent a letter last month to Hickenlooper and lawmakers urging officials to continue the conversation, pointing to regulatory unrest.
The task force advanced only modest recommendations because members had a difficult time finding consensus on the tough issues, such as local control.
Christine Scanlan, president and chief executive of the Keystone Policy Center, said the state should consider creating a statewide forum for all stakeholders and the public to meet regularly to discuss conflicts and a path forward.
“Such an entity would not attempt to resolve specific disputes necessarily,” Scanlan said. “Rather, it would continue the depth of understanding that we need to build upon ... and get to issues that were worth further consideration in the right forum.”
Former Govs. Roy Romer, a Democrat, and Bill Owens, a Republican, also have expressed support for the forum process, pointing to the task force. They work with pro-fracking group Coloradans for Responsible Energy Development.
“The people of Colorado were well-served by this deliberative process,” Romer said. “The task force’s recommendations will make one of the best regulatory systems in the country even better.”
pmarcus@durangoherald.com
