Despite voter’s rejection, Colorado adopts tougher setback rules for oil and gas drillers

The vote comes six weeks after Colorado voters rejected Proposition 112, a ballot proposal that would have required a buffer of 2,500 feet between wells and occupied buildings as well as areas described as vulnerable. Those included parks, creeks and irrigation ditches.

Efforts to increase the setbacks from school property have been in the works for at least a year. The League of Oil and Gas Impacted Coloradans — LOGIC — made the proposal to state regulators, said Travis Duncan, spokesman for the Colorado Department of Natural Resources.

“It is past time the COGCC consider the health and safety of kids. Implementing a 1,000-foot setback from all school-use areas and child care centers where kids learn and play is the least the COGCC can do,” Sara Loflin, LOGIC executive director, said in a statement. “It is ridiculous that we have had to fight to get oil and gas sites further away from kids and the places where they learn and play.”

The Colorado Oil and Gas Association participated in several meetings and conversations about the new setback requirement, said Dan Haley, the trade organization’s president.

“If we take the time to work on important and complex issues together, we can find constructive solutions. That is the Colorado way, and we are grateful for all who negotiated in good faith, enabling us to reach a successful outcome that will serve this state for years to come,” Haley said in a statement.

The Colorado Petroleum Council supports the new setback, said Tracee Bentley, the group’s executive director.

“Today’s rulemaking is a direct result of good-faith compromise and collaboration, and we appreciate the partnership that helped move this effort forward,” Bentley said in a statement.

The organization also supports improving the process of notifying schools about oil and gas development, Bentley added.

While glad to see the change, Sophia Mayott-Guerrero, energy and transportation advocate at Conservation Colorado, said it is just one small step forward. She said the group looks forward to working with Gov.-elect Jared Polis and lawmakers to “ensure that health and safety of all Coloradans is prioritized when it comes to oil and gas development.”