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February 24, 2011 09:15 PM UTC

HB1223: Have henhouse...need fox.

  • 23 Comments
  • by: Duke Cox

( – promoted by Colorado Pols)

Recently elected Colorado representative Ray Scott, in keeping with a tradition among western slope Republican legislators, has now performed his first rite of passage. He has introduced his first “whatever the oil and gas industry lobby wants me to do” bill. His dance partner in the senate is the ever dapper, “King of the double dip”, himself, Senator Steve King.

HB1223 would revert the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to the make-up that existed before the passage and implementation of HB1341, back in 2007…effectively repealing that bill. In effect, the Republicans are trying to give the keys to the henhouse back to the fox, by recreating an industry dominated panel.

The current make-up of the commission includes voices from several different stakeholders. Only three of the nine members of todays’ panel may be employed by the industry. One must represent local communities. Another is an environmental specialist. Yet another, a rancher with mineral rights.

When you include the directors of both the Colorado Department of Natural Resources and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, you get a pretty balanced point of view. Senator King and Rep. Scott would have you believe that balance is a bad thing…but it is not.

The previous commission was made up of seven members, five of whom were REQUIRED to be involved in the O&G business. The voices represented by all the other stakeholders ,mentioned above, were, when rarely heard, routinely ignored. The COGCC amounted to little more than a country club for O&G guys and the legislators that carry their water.

The natural gas industry has been taking it on the chin a bit lately due to the amazing greed with which they have overproduced their commodity. Natural gas prices are still languishing near $4.00/mcf, while oil prices continue their rapid ascent, further dulling incentive to “drill the living daylights” out of Colorados’ gas fields. Even so, natural gas production has increased the past three consecutive years, as have permit application numbers. The industry is healthy.

This bill yearns for the “good ol’ days when the O&G industry was allowed to do “whatever is reasonable”…and they decided what was reasonable. To my knowledge, there have been no significant complaints about the fairness and balance of the present commission and I trust Governor Hickenlooper will not forget those “other” voices that have a stake in Colorados’ energy future. Voices of the wind, the waterfall, the wild Elk and the Sage Grouse. The voices of our childrens’ children.

Thousands of Coloradoans worked and sacrificed to create a truly exceptional set of O&G development regulations and crafted a balanced and efficient board to implement them. Leave it like it is, it ain’t broke.  

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23 thoughts on “HB1223: Have henhouse…need fox.”

  1. we have absolutely the worst delegation in the General Assembly.  HB1223 shouldn’t make it past the Senate, but it’s still embarrassing to have Scott and King pushing this damn bill.

  2. This is one I have been watching, as I am embarrassed to say that I live in Scott’s district.

    There was a time when I thought we couldn’t do much worse than Steve King.  There was a time…

    1. all over the nation Republican Governors and state and federal legislators have decided that now is the ideal time to make the big class warfare push.  I suppose all the other Dems and progressives have received the same bunch of e-mails from the usual suspect orgs about the next rally in support of the Wisconsin workers noon, Saturday, Capitol steps?  It’s really stand up or go down time for the American Middle class. Come on, it’s Saturday this time.  We can do better than Tues.  

  4. Duke, another excellent diary from the corps of people who care about our state (aka, COPols regulars).

    Why do Scott & King hate split estate home owners and children and clean water and clean air and wildlife?

    This seems to be another attempt from the O&G lackeys to turn back the clock to some mythical time, say 2006, when natural gas sales in Colorado were 20% LOWER and oil production was 18% LOWER than in 2009 (the most recent year with “complete” records).

    Update: HB-1223 had been on the calendar to be in front of the House Ag, Livestock and Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday March 2nd. It appears to have been postponed. Instead the “committee will be taking a trip to tour oil and gas operations near Brighton” on Monday, February 28th.

    Keep us posted if you learn when this has been calendared so we can contact members of the committee.

    (On a positive note, I think this might be the first bill sponsored by King that has a negative fiscal note! Of course, none of the potential savings comes from the General Fund but rather from the COGCC’s fund that is generated by a mil levy on the industry.)

      1. and blasting Front Range legislators to the Western Slope for anything other than ski junkets is a very hard thing to do.

        Kathleen Curry managed it, just barely, when she held a committee hearing in Glenwood Springs when the new oil and gas rules legislation was being considered.

        Many of her Front Range colleagues didn’t appreciate it.

      3. the next big uptick in drilling will be in Wattenberg basin and not the Piceance. The gas for the conversion of the power plants mentioned in the “Clean Jobs/Clean Air” (or whatever) Act, will almost all be provided by Anadarko, I believe. They have no holdings on the western slope…AFAIK.

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