A state-government push for better teamwork with communities, and new EPA rules to cut toxic air pollution from gas drilling — both unveiled Wed- nesday — still leave towns such as Erie irked.
The local leaders face pressure from residents demanding action to protect public health and hold drillers back from houses, recreational greenways and schools.
When Erie tried to use Colorado’s “Local Government Designee” process last week to request that companies contain 100 percent of air pollution at new wells, state regulators rebuffed them on a technicality. The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission regulators pointed out that land where wells are planned is in unincorporated Weld County — so that only a county LGD could make the request.
When Erie could not get state health officials to assess risks of elevated propane and other contaminants in its air, it had to hire a private consultant. That consultant has reviewed federal air data and found no immediate health threat, town administrator A.J. Krieger said.
“It stings” for a town to try working through state channels and still be left more or less on its own, Krieger said. “Working within the framework recommended to us, we can’t ever seem to advance the ball. We still want 100 percent capture of air emissions,” Krieger said.
These frustrations loom as state and federal agencies fine-tune their approach to protecting people and the environment while still enabling the expansion of oil and gas drilling along Colorado’s Front Range.
Gov. John Hickenlooper’s task force on resolving state-local issues recommended “a robust stakeholder process” using the LGDs.
Meanwhile, EPA officials finalized requirements that companies install new technology to capture emissions — starting in 2015. The delayed implementation, demanded by industry lobbyists, lets companies control pollution by burning gases, known as “flaring,” until 2015.
The EPA rules resemble Colorado rules but are stricter to the extent that companies would have a tougher burden of demonstrating times when capturing emissions isn’t technically feasible and economically reasonable. Colorado regulators don’t require companies to capture emissions unless it is feasible and economically reasonable, state natural-resources spokesman Todd Hartman said.
“States have more flexibility in their regulations to accommodate needs of the industry,” said Colin Harris, an attorney for the oil-and-gas industry.
Whether Colorado’s robust collaboration will prove protective enough for local governments “is the $24,000 question,” said Wayne Forman, an attorney with Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck.
“There are going to be some bumpy roads as this process gets ironed out. Perhaps folks at the state feel they know the industry and the capabilities of the industry to control emissions — and they may have a frustration with a local government designee they feel is not properly educated and trained.”
Bruce Finley: 303-954-1700, bfinley@denverpost.com or twitter.com/finleybruce
