Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) members’ tentative endorsement of several new rules last week and last month may garner the attention of several states as they look to regulate the ongoing energy boom in the American West, the head of the agency said Friday. The acting director of the COGCC said several states may look to Colorado about how to regulate that energy boom after the commission’s initial endorsement of several rules that he said “mark some new approaches on some issues.” The rules he cited would mandate that companies inform the state of which chemicals are being used at a drilling location, encourage operators to use a comprehensive drilling plan, and require companies in three counties in northwest Colorado to use green completion techniques. That is a process that recovers gas that would otherwise be vented or flared during the completion phase of a natural gas well. Colorado’s oil and gas commission has given tentative approval to about 80 rules during five hearings in August and last week. Two more days of hearings will be held on September 22 and 23. That is when commissioners are expected to begin deliberation on wildlife and waste pit rules. Source:

[1] http://www.postindependent.com/article/20080915/VALLEYNEWS/109159995/1083&ParentProfile=1074