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Task force

Diverse stakeholders take both the problem and the process seriously

The Oil & Gas Task Force convened by Gov. John Hickenlooper to recommend possible solutions to the tensions between local governments, their residents and gas and oil companies with plans to drill is doing difficult work. The very nature of the conversation is polarized to a degree, and its provenance was one of conflict. To hash through it and develop actionable recommendations, this 19-member assembly has a significant task indeed, and by all appearances, together and individually, the group and its membership is approaching the work in earnest.

Hickenlooper convened the task force as an answer to proposed ballot initiatives that would have given local and county governments the power to limit or ban gas and oil development – or just about any other activity the community found unpalatable – within their boundaries. The state, as well as the industries potentially affected by these proposed initiatives, would have found its authority pre-empted by local governments – a not altogether appealing scenario, constitution-wise. On the other hand, cities and counties have a legitimate concern about how gas and oil activity occurs, as well as growing anxiety about human and environmental health as relates to that activity – specifically the implications of fracking.

For La Plata County, these are not new problems and are largely solved. The state, county and most gas and oil operators have developed a sound working relationship that involves state-level regulations administered by the Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission, as well as county-level rules about setbacks, surface-use agreements and other drilling-related components, that complement and bolster the state’s requirements. This was not an easily won balance, and it is not necessarily perfect. There is always room for modification to improve the natural tension that arises when surface owners and mineral owners have divergent interests: Namely, the former would prefer their land be unmarred by development while the latter would like – and is guaranteed – access to their property beneath the ground.

If there is anyone in the state more qualified and experienced than La Plata County Commissioner Gwen Lachelt in navigating this complex framework and enacting change that all sides can get behind – though maybe not love – he or she is a well-kept secret. Lachelt, as co-chairwoman of the task force along with XTO Energy’s Randy Cleveland, is seasoned in negotiating such impasses: in La Plata County, at the state level and throughout the country. Her background is in environmental advocacy, but she is hardly rabid. Hers is a collaborative approach that has yielded significant successes in negotiating these complex matters. That is what is needed on the task force, and the group’s dynamics illustrate its effectiveness thus far.

The task force is charged with recommending legislative solutions to the impasse between state and local control over gas and oil development, with an eye toward four critical components of the issue: recognizing the benefit of such development to Colorado’s economy; protecting the environment, public health, water and wildlife; avoiding conflict and overlap between state and local regulations; and creating an environment that encourages responsible development of gas and oil. This directive from the governor is clear, and it encompasses all the parties and their concerns. Sorting through it is not necessarily easy, but the task force, and its members are up to the job.



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