June 16, 2009 08:34 PM UTC

Penry's Little Problem

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• by: Colorado Pols

That would be the conflict between the people on the West Slope he represents as a state Senator, and the oil and gas interests he represents, well, regardless. As the Grand Junction Sentinel reports:

State Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry said Monday that he expects Antero Resources to engage in a “good-faith give-and-take” with Battlement Mesa residents to minimize the effects of oil and gas drilling it is planning there…

Meeting with about 60 residents, Penry also talked about the recently concluded legislative session and efforts to obtain funding for a west Parachute Interstate 70 interchange.

But in their questions, residents focused almost entirely on the drilling plans, which caught them off guard when Antero announced them last month.

Homeowners in the unincorporated development of about 5,500 people, many of them retirees, continued to voice concerns Monday over the drilling. They worry that Antero will drive down property values and endanger their health and quality of life.

“They need to be held accountable so that we can live a normal life if we have to put up with drilling,” Burk Wynkoop said.

Penry urged residents to take a methodical approach to work through the issues and ensure Antero minimizes its impacts…

Responding to a resident’s hopes that the drilling might be stopped, Penry said, “Under the law there is a mineral right that attaches certain rights, and one of those rights is access to it. And we are a country that needs energy.”

Translation: nice to meet you all, sorry about the drilling under your house but America “needs energy,” it’s actually the Democrats’ fault for not letting us drill in Alaska (read the article, he really says this), better work out your problems “methodically” with that giant oil company who will just happen to be funding my run for Governor in a few months.

What’s really amazing is that this charade started off with Penry talking about “good faith.” How do you think these base Penry voters, Western Slope conservatives who Penry must have in his column in order to have a prayer of winning next year, felt leaving this meeting?