To thrive in a challenging landscape, Colorado energy producers must continue to listen, engage and change realities as well as perceptions

After signing into law a sweeping package of oil and gas regulatory reforms known as Senate Bill 181 in April 2019, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis expressed hope that “the oil and gas wars that have enveloped our state are over.” Spoiler alert: they’re not, and that has major implications for Colorado energy producers.

Regulators at the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, which oversees the oil and gas industry, are hard at work on rule-making to implement SB 181, a process that may take months or even years to complete. SB 181 changed the make-up and mission of the COGCC and gives Colorado cities and counties more control over energy development within their borders.

While rule-making remains in its infancy, with little chance for impact on public health and safety so far, climate activists aren’t prepared to wait. The group behind a defeated 2018 ballot initiative that would have increased drilling setbacks dramatically is back again with six new initiatives slated for the November 2020 ballot. Five call for increased setbacks of varying distances, including the 2,500-foot setback rejected by voters in 2018; a sixth would require energy producers to post a $275,000 bond per well to pay for reclamation. Signature-gathering to place these initiatives on the ballot may begin this spring.

Drilling foes also want Boulder County District Court to declare that a ban on drilling passed by residents of Longmont, Colo., in 2012, is legal under SB 181, although the court struck down the ban in an earlier ruling. In Denver, advocates seek language on the November ballot banning fossil fuel extraction in the City and County of Denver. While drilling rigs are unlikely to rise in Wash Park anytime soon, there are a few dozen old wells on the Denver International Airport property. Permitting data suggests there are no plans to drill new wells at DIA, and if passed, the ballot initiative would keep it that way.

The bottom line is that hopes for a cease-fire in Colorado’s oil and gas wars have been dashed, long before completion of the SB 181 rule-making process. Colorado’s oil and gas industry must accelerate efforts to demonstrate that the energy we all use every day can be produced safely and responsibly. Energy producers must go beyond trying to change perceptions and work to address genuine community concerns with innovations such as continuous air quality monitoring and better dialogue with policy makers, influencers and environmental groups.

Colorado voters may choose in November to give stricter rules resulting from SB 181 a chance before adopting more draconian limits. But the state’s energy producers should expect no respite from the need to listen, engage and make the case that oil and gas produced here, under the strictest regulatory regime in the nation, is a safe, responsible choice for meeting U.S.energy needs, without harmful impacts and with net economic gains for nearby communities.

Note: Linhart PR serves clients in Colorado’s energy industry, developing communications and community engagement strategies to build trust and relationships.

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