After more than a year of rulemaking hearings, public meetings, and legislative debate, the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commissions new rules to minimize impacts of oil and gas development on wildlife and the environment cleared their final hurdle as, on April 22, Governor Ritter signed the rules review bill through which the new rules are ratified.  On its way to the Governor, the bill passed both the House and Senate with only minor changes to ensure the rules were consistent with statute.

While the rules did not provide all that CTU would have hoped, they do represent a major step forward in creating balance - helping set the stage for a future in which responsible oil and gas development can take place in a manner that also protects Colorado's water and wildlife.

Among the important provisions for aquatic habitat in the rules are measures that would require operators to address stormwater discharges so as to protect streams, protective buffer strips for riparian habitat along native cutthroat recovery waters and Gold Medal waters, and a requirement for stream crossings (e.g., for roads built to access oil and gas sites) to be designed and built so as to maintain fish passage.

Bill signing photo courtesy of Suzanne O'Neill, Colorado Wildlife Federation.

The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) has developed new rules for oil and gas development in Colorado that are intended to protect wildlife and public health.  Under a law passed in 2007 (HB1298), the COGCC was directed by the legislature to begin a rulemaking "to establish standards for minimizing adverse impacts to wildlife resources affected by oil and gas operations and to ensure the proper reclamation of wildlife habitat."  Public hearings were held in Grand Junction and Denver, and various groups became formal parties in the rulemaking - from Colorado Trout Unlimited to energy companies to local governments.  As a party, CTU had the opportunity to provide written and oral testimony to the COGCC about the rules.

While not perfect, the draft rules provide some important new protections for fisheries and wildlife.  For many sensitive wildlife habitats, the rules provide for consultation with the Colorado Division of Wildlife to find ways to minimize and mitigate impacts.  In the case of fisheries, one of the major concerns is with stormwater discharges which can carry contaminants and/or excessive sediment into streams.  The rules call for operators to implement stormwater management programs to protect watersheds.  Another area of concern with development are spots where pipelines or roads built for oil and gas cross streams; improperly constructed crossings can block fish from being able to pass upstream and lead to fragmented habitat.  The rules require that such crossings maintain fish passage.

The primary protection for aquatic and riparian habitat, though, is a requirement for development activity to be set back from streams - providing protection for sensitive riparian habitats, and increasing the likelihood that spills or sediment releases can be contained before they reach a stream.  Unfortunately, COGCC scaled back the original draft rules - which established 300 foot buffers for all waterbodies - so that setback protection will apply only to designated cutthroat trout habitats and Gold Medal waters.  Collectively, such waters make up about 5% of the state's perennial rivers and streams, and less than 2% when intermittent and ephemeral streams are also considered.  Buffer protections were removed from most Colorado rivers including such well-known waters as the Yampa River, the Eagle River, the Cache la Poudre, the Arkansas River, and the White River.  Campers on Colorado's National Forests are expected to camp at least 100 feet from any water source; under the newest draft, for many streams oil and gas development would have weaker setback requirements than overnight camper!

The good news is that the COGCC has indicated that it will hold a stakeholder process to look at the possibility of strengthening riparian standards.  In that process, there will be an opportunity for conservationists, agency staff, and industry representatives to work toward finding agreement on reasonable protections for riparian habitat and streams.

Why is CTU concerned about oil and gas drilling?  Because it can result in spills and stormwater discharges like these at Garden Gulch which clogged the stream and created an enormous sediment "popsicle" at the base of a waterfall.  Discharges of harmful chemicals, drilling muds, and sediment can do major damage to fisheres - and are a major reason that appropriate rules for stream protection are so important.