Voters know a candidate is in trouble when he has to manufacture issues on which to run. Such is the case for Lyle McKnight, Republican candidate for county commissioner. According to the Herald (March 26), one of the lynch pins of his campaign against Democrat incumbent Gwen Lachelt is the county’s oil and gas regulations which, taking a lead from the Chamber of Commerce and the La Plata Energy Council song book, he states are too onerous.
Those regulations have been in effect since 1992; approximately 3,600 wells have been permitted and drilled with them in place; individuals have gotten rich with them in place; our community has an added layer of protection from coal bed methane development with them in place. “Too onerous” hardly characterizes the nature of these regulations.
Before striking up the chorus that regulation has brought hard times to the industry, remember: “Hard times” are strictly a function of the marketplace. There is very limited new drilling because of the price of natural gas is so low. Being a businessman, McKnight should know that when the price of a commodity drops below the level where it is profitable to produce that commodity, you don’t double down and produce more.
As to the assertion that La Plata County is following in the footsteps of Boulder and Bloomfield, that is historically inaccurate. La Plata County was the first Colorado county to adopt rules regulating oil and gas – and much to the consternation of the industry and state, other local governments have followed in our footsteps. La Plata County has a proud tradition of being a leader in holding the industry accountable through regulation.
So it is surprising to see that McKnight would choose to attack something that has worked so well for so long for so many people. Our county regulations are not something that need to be weakened or abolished. They are an intricate part of what makes our county government as effective as it is. And Commissioner Gwen Lachelt will continue to see that they do the job for which they were intended.
Josh Joswick
Bayfield
