Reported by Staff

The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission this week agreed to an industry request to make drilling permits good for two years rather than the current one.

Doug Hock, a spokesperson for EnCana Oil & Gas, which has major drilling operations in Colorado, said his company welcomes the decision “because it brings consistency between the federal and state permitting periods which, from a businss planning perspective, makes sense.”

Both federal and state permits are required of energy companies that drill on federal land.

The rule change applies only to permits that have been issued since new oil and gas rules providing greater protection for the environment, wildlife and public health took effect earlier this year, and for which companies have obtained accompanying permits to deal with surface impacts under the new rules.

Jep Seman, legal counsel for the Colorado Petroleum Association,  noted that the change in the permit period will help reduce unnecessary paperwork and acknowledges the practice of drilling multiple wells from a single pad, something that cannot be accomplished in just one year.

One oil and gas commissioner, Rich Alward of Grand Junction, told reporter Dennis Webb of the Grand Junction Sentinelthat he voted against the permit change. In an interview, Alward said the process leading to the revision was incomplete, and he never saw data in support of a longer permit time, or any assessment of potential drawbacks.

“Nothing was presented that convinced me there was really a problem and this rule change was a solution,” Alward said.

He said it may be that the change is an improvement, “but I just didn’t see anything that was convincing that we needed to change our rules so quickly.”

According to Dave Neslin, Director of the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, the updated package of regulations approved earlier this year provides more opportunity for his agency to consult with state wildlife and health officials and get public input about drilling permits. So there should be less need to re-evaluate permits after a year’s time, he said.

“This was an effort by the commission to reach out to the industry and try to accommodate the industry’s needs and help facilitate energy development in the state while ensuring that the environment and the public are properly protected as well,” Neslin said.