Energy Tomorrow Blog
For Public Health, Safe Operations in Colorado – And Everywhere
colorado safe operations industry standards regulation emission reductions
Mark Green
Posted October 18, 2019
There’s nothing more important to our industry than protecting health and safety – of our skilled workers and the communities where they are engaged in supplying Americans with affordable energy for every aspect of modern life and economic well-being.
As energy companies, we know that maintaining the public’s trust and the permission to operate hinge on our ability to work safely and responsibly – caring for the environment, reducing our footprint and continually improving technologies and operations to reduce emissions.
This is the context as we consider a new report on the potential public health effects of natural gas and oil operations by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), using 2015 data to model impacts.
Seventh Local Ban on Natural Gas and Oil Raises Uncertainty in Colorado
colorado regulation economic impacts oil and natural gas development
Mark Green
Posted May 30, 2019
A new Colorado law handing more control over natural gas and oil operations to municipalities, authority that used to reside with the state, risks another law – the law of unintended consequences – that could deal a serious blow to one of our country’s leading energy-producing states.
This week the city of Broomfield became the seventh Colorado community to impose a ban on new natural gas and oil development since introduction of Senate Bill 181, which became law last month. …
Before SB 181’s passage, industry warned the law could disrupt responsible natural gas and oil development by hatching a patchwork, unpredictable regulatory system across the state – with the unintended consequence of imperiling energy development and jobs and economic growth. Regulatory uncertainty can chill sizeable investments in new operations that often have significant lead times
Unfortunately, that uncertainty appears to be growing in Colorado – with national implications because the state ranks sixth in both natural gas and oil production.
New Colorado Regulatory Push Could Again Imperil State Jobs, Economy
colorado regulation oil and natural gas economic impacts
Mark Green
Posted March 20, 2019
Though Colorado has set the gold standard for state regulation of natural gas and oil, some don’t think that’s enough.
Opponents of oil and natural gas are pushing state legislation to let local governments have regulatory authority over industry – “local control” – which in other states has been a way to curtail energy development. If enacted in a state that ranks top 10 in the country in natural gas and oil production, it could have big negative impacts for the state and nation.
Colorado's Vote For Colorado Energy
colorado vote economic growth oil and natural gas
Mark Green
Posted November 8, 2018
A big shout-out to Colorado’s voters for decisively rejecting a measure that could have significantly stifled new natural gas and oil production in their state – showing that they value energy’s importance to their economy, schools and public services.
Coloradans clearly support responsible development, and Tuesday’s vote signals that going forward, natural gas and oil’s value to Colorado is to be acknowledged as everyone works together to advance energy growth and public health.
Vote Tests Future of Responsible Energy Development in Colorado
colorado oil and natural gas regulation safe operations
Mark Green
Posted November 1, 2018
As Coloradans prepare to vote on an anti-energy measure that could severely damage state natural gas and oil production and stagger the state’s economy, it’s no exaggeration to say the whole nation is watching.
Consider: Proposition 112 would make 85 percent of non-federal land in Colorado – the United States’ sixth-leading natural gas and oil producer – off limits for new energy production by increasing required setbacks or buffer zones around certain “occupied structures” and “vulnerable areas” by 400 percent over the existing requirement.
Denver Post Editorial: No on Proposition 112
colorado oil and natural gas safe operations jobs economic growth
Mark Green
Posted October 11, 2018
In an editorial this week, Colorado’s largest newspaper announced strong opposition to Proposition 112, the anti-progress, anti-energy ballot measure that could put 85 percent of non-federal land off limits to natural gas and oil production in the nation’s fifth-leading natural gas and seventh-largest oil producing state.
The Denver Post editorial urges voters to vote no on Proposition 112, arguing that requiring natural gas and oil operations to be 2,500 feet from “vulnerable areas” would be a severe blow to state energy production, jobs and economic growth.Colorado Anti-Energy Initiative Looms Large for State, Nation
colorado oil and natural gas production jobs economic growth us energy security
Mark Green
Posted August 30, 2018
A map shows just how much damage could be done to the United States’ fifth-leading natural gas and seventh-largest oil producing state by Colorado’s Initiative 97 – the anti-energy, anti-progress measure that state officials said will be on the November election ballot. Coloradoans and all Americans should be very concerned.
Zeroing in on the state’s top five producing counties (outlined in blue) – Weld in the north on the border with Wyoming, Rio Blanco and Garfield on the western border with Utah, and La Plata and Las Animas on the southern border with New Mexico – the map shows that opportunity for new natural gas and oil development on non-federal land would be all but prohibited.
This is an alarming prospect for all Americans, because we’re talking about putting the brakes on one of the country’s leading and fastest-growing energy producers.Initiative 97 Would Be A Disaster for Colorado
colorado jobs economic impacts
Tracee Bentley
Posted August 2, 2018
We’ve spelled out the potential dangers to Colorado energy production and the state economy posed by Initiative 97, a measure backed by environmental extremists that would require an extraordinary, 2,500-foot buffer zone between natural gas and oil development and occupied structures and “vulnerable” areas (see here and here). With backers nearing a deadline to collect just over 98,000 valid signatures to qualify the measure for the November ballot, those negative impacts are even starker.
Sustaining U.S. Energy Through Right Policies
oil and natural gas production policy colorado
Mark Green
Posted July 31, 2018
U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry makes a number of important points about domestic natural gas and oil production, hydraulic fracturing and U.S. energy exports in a piece for CNBC. These include: The United States is shedding dependence on imported energy; U.S. energy exports are helping friends and allies overseas; and natural gas is helping the U.S. lead in cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
Progress and Opportunity: The State of Colorado Energy
colorado natural gas production
Tracee Bentley
Posted July 23, 2018
Colorado’s natural gas and oil industry thrives by working collaboratively with stakeholders of various and, sometimes, differing interests. Development in the Centennial State is well-regulated and places great emphasis on the safety of our communities and the environment, and the industry has grown by leaps and bounds as a result. In fact, Colorado is now the fifth-largest natural gas producer and the seventh-largest oil producer in the United States. This growth has fundamentally reshaped Colorado’s economy for the better, which is why these collaborative conversations must continue to occur.