May 03, 2012 08:03 PM UTC

"One Size Fits All" With Jerry Sonnenberg

• 1 Comments
• by: Colorado Pols

The Durango Herald’s Joe Hanel reports on yesterday’s hearing of the congressional House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources at the Colorado state capitol:

Bruce Baizel of Durango, a lawyer for Earthworks Oil and Gas Accountability Project, was one of about a dozen people to testify in the congressional hearing.

“Our view is that we see a need to coordinate regulation of hydraulic fracturing at all levels – federal, state and local,” Baizel said.

States should be the primary regulator, but unless they show they are effective, local governments and the feds need to step in, he said.

On the opposite side, state Rep. Jerry Sonnenberg, R-Sterling, told congressmen the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission has been effective at regulating the industry and promoting good relationships with local communities, and the feds should stay out.

“I can assure you that a one-size-fits-all regulatory structure at the federal level will be devastating to the energy industry in Colorado,” Sonnenberg said.

U.S. Rep. Rush Holt, D-N.J., questioned that.

“Do Coloradans react differently to contaminated water? Does the physiology of a Coloradan react differently to carcinogens?” Holt said. [Pols emphasis]

To which GOP state Rep. Jerry Sonnenberg replied that “different areas” have different geography. This might make you think that Rep. Sonnenberg is a proponent of “local control,” but as you may recall and Hanel reports again today if you don’t,

[C]loser to home, Sonnenberg wants local governments to stay out of gas regulation. He is sponsoring a state bill to withhold severance tax money from cities and counties that adopt drilling moratoriums. However, the bill is on the verge of failing…

Oh yeah, one size would “fit all” if Sonnenberg had his way! You might ask yourself, “doesn’t Colorado have ‘different topography and soil types?'” And somewhere between the Eastern Plains and the San Juan Mountains you’d realize, why, yes we do!

Much like “Obamacare” compared to, say, the mandatory auto insurance you’ve carried for decades, it becomes glaringly obvious that this is dishonest and vacuous rhetoric.