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State has responsibility to consider local concerns about drilling

Two state ballot initiatives designed to give local governments more say in gas and oil development, and to increase the setback of wells from homes, schools and hospitals, met their demise this week after failing to secure the required number of signatures to make the November ballot.

This hardly means the debate about community self-determination and ensuring protections for public health and the environment is going away. In fact, the state Legislature’s inability to come up with a compromise last session, which resulted in the now-failed citizen ballot initiatives, suggests that state government has more responsibility than ever before to address Coloradans’ ongoing concerns.

That is also true for local government and why, at the urging of La Plata County Board of County Commissioners, we support the Colorado State Land Board’s decision to put off until February 2017 the decision about whether to recommend a 640-acre parcel in the Florida Mesa Stewardship Trust for gas and oil leasing.

The additional time will allow the commissioners to coordinate with the State Land Board to conduct a local public hearing to listen to local concerned citizens about the impacts to land, wildlife, water and wells, private and public roads, traffic, noise and property values such development can pose.

A dual mission guides the State Land Board both to produce income to benefit K-12 education and provide sound stewardship of state trust lands such as Florida Mesa Stewardship Trust. Two years ago, gas and oil royalties on state trust lands generated $106 million to the State Land Board. Last year, due to prices dropping, they generated just $58 million.

Local governments like ours, accustomed to industry paying upwards of 60 percent of our property taxes, are looking to other sources of revenue like the proposed road and bridge mill levy increase and impact fees to fund basic services. It may be an opportune time for the state to do the same.

For La Plata County Commissioners, continued efforts to weigh the costs and benefits of projects like these and ensure the protection of citizens and landowners through compliance with local regulations is paramount.

A February extension is a good thing.



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