We’re not surprised that some Front Range counties are developing local regulations to govern oil and gas leasing as exploratory activity in the Niobrara formation begins to encroach on populated areas.
Nor do we necessarily consider all such initiatives misguided. Energy development can involve noise, traffic and other activity that has an impact on a community’s quality of life.
Having said that, however, we believe counties should proceed with caution. They need to recognize that most concerns regarding hydraulic fracturing — which involves the injection of water, sand and trace chemicals under pressure into rock formations to release oil and gas — are best regulated by the state.
Nevertheless, as Mark Jaffe reported in last Sunday’s Denver Post, some counties appear determined to test the boundaries of state authority. A proposal in Elbert County, for example, which goes further than most, would require that “only nontoxic substances be used in fracking and the use of only closed-loop systems — in which all the fluids are brought and removed in tanks,” Jaffe wrote.
Sorry, but groundwater quality — which invariably becomes a concern with fracking — is the regulatory domain of the state and federal governments. And properly so: If all 64 Colorado counties were allowed to craft their own rules governing the ingredients used in fracking, the result would be utter regulatory confusion.
It’s not as if the state has been neglecting its responsibilities regarding energy development. After Bill Ritter was elected governor in 2006, the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission embarked upon a thorough rewrite of drilling rules that in many respects still serve as a model of enlightened oversight.
At the time of the revisions, no state was requiring full disclosure of chemicals used in fracking, and Colorado didn’t either — although it did require disclosure of even proprietary secrets to appropriate officials in the event of a medical emergency.
However, under draft state regulations issued just last week, Colorado will soon follow the lead of Texas and Wyoming and require disclosure of ingredients used in fracking by posting them on the FracFocus website.
Granted, the rules still would exempt disclosure of proprietary chemicals — but even in those cases the type of chemical would be listed.
The state also has required groundwater data at thousands of wells — an effort that is now being supplemented by a voluntary baseline groundwater quality sampling program that includes 90 percent of the industry.
In other words, regulators are doing their job on water quality. If counties are going to dip their toes into leasing rules, at the very least they should stick to issues where they can make a better case for a truly compelling local need.
