February 25, 2015 11:41 AM UTC

Fracking Task Force Falls Flat: Smart Next Steps Needed

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• by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE: Speaker Dickey Lee Hullinghorst slows down talk of a ballot measure, in a new statement that seems to walk back her comments to the Denver Post's John Frank:

“There have been reports that I may favor a ballot initiative. At this time, I believe a ballot initiative conversation is premature and not an avenue I am interested in pursuing. I look forward to continuing conversations with all parties involved, including mineral rights and surface rights owners, industry, environmental organizations, and local governments and communities on how we can best address the tensions caused by industrial activities in local communities.”

As a reminder, here's what Speaker Hullinghorst told the Post earlier today:

“We may just have to go to an initiative on this — I’m not averse to do that,” she said. [Pols emphasis]

None of this can be considered the definitive word, but you can guess that there are some interesting conservations going on right now behind the scenes. As soon as we have new insight on the state of play here, we'll share it. Original post follows.

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FOX 31's Eli Stokols reports on the failure of Gov. John Hickenlooper's task force on local control of oil and gas drilling to make any substantive recommendations, a disappointing outcome we forecast last week:

After half a year of meetings, all the state’s oil and gas task force could agree on to address the question of local control was the low-hanging fruit.

Nine of some 40 policy proposals received the required support from two-thirds of the task force, on which the oil and gas industry and a contingent of pro-local control homeowners and conservations were equally represented.

Those ideas, which the Gov. John Hickenlooper can choose to enact largely in the regulatory arena without lawmaker approval, include allowing local communities to offer input earlier in the process; increasing staff at the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, which regulates the industry; creating an information clearing house; and taking steps to include truck traffic around well sites.

As we heard would likely be the case, the final recommendations from the task force do not include any significant statutory changes to oil and gas drilling regulations in Colorado–only token "input" from local governments in a basically unchanged permitting process. For stakeholders who had gone into this process with good faith, this is more or less the worst-case scenario. Conservation Colorado's Pete Maysmith echoed the disappointment felt by just about everyone involved not employed by the oil and gas industry in a statement yesterday:

“Five months after the Governor’s Oil and Gas Task Force convened, the recommendations put forward lack the substance needed to protect Coloradans and our environment from drilling and fracking. Today’s outcome had some gravy, but forgot the meat and potatoes. This despite the fact the Task Force heard loud and clearly from Coloradans in communities across the state that are being impacted; from to Durango to Rifle to Greeley — communities are asking for something to be done.

We appreciate the hard work of Task Force members who spent countless hours attempting to come up with solutions to this critical issue and share their frustration that the job was not done.”

Anticipating the failure of the commission to put forward robust proposals to enhance local control over oil and gas drilling, proponents of a wholesale ban on the practice of hydraulic fracture drilling ("fracking") held a rally yesterday, announcing their intentions to put a measure on the 2016 to ban the practice statewide. This is where we need to say again, perhaps displeasing some readers: as a major energy producing state, a statewide ban on fracking in Colorado is simply not realistic. In fact, energy industry surrogates regularly use the threat of a total statewide ban on fracking in Colorado to scare away moderate opponents who might support other proposals–to increase setbacks, or give local governments real authority in oil and gas land use decisions.

With all of this in mind, where is the true middle ground? As the Denver Post's John Frank reports, Colorado Speaker of the House Dickey Lee Hullinghorst is working on it:

House Speaker Dickey Lee Hullinghorst struck a different tone than the Democratic governor in describing the task force’s report, a day after it voted to advance nine recommendation that avoided many of the thorny issues surrounding oil and gas drilling.

“This may be a matter of cognitive dissonance. I think he may be a little more pleased than I am with the results of the task force,” the Boulder Democrat told The Denver Post in an interview. “I am a little disappointed that we didn’t get further along on the real crux of the issue which is local control — the ability for local residents and property owners and communities to have more of a say on oil and gas development that is very close to them.”

…Hullinghorst said the House will consider additional legislation outside the task force’s report but may have to go to voters to get tougher local control measures approved. [Pols emphasis]

Last summer, Rep. Hullinghorst worked with Congressman Jared Polis during negotiations that led to the establishment of this task force, and in exchange the removal of setback and "environmental bill of rights" measures supported by Polis from the 2014 ballot. Rep. Polis is reportedly exploring all options in the wake of the task force's failure, and we expect that whatever he chooses to do will be in close partnership with Hullinghorst and the northern Front Range communities Polis represents–many of whom led the way into this fight by passing local fracking moratoria and bans.

For those interested in achievable progress on this issue, here is your ray of hope. Stay tuned.