House Moves To Regulate Drilling Industry Health
DENVER – A House committee approved a measure Wednesday that would require the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to set rules to protect public health in oil and gas operations and bar drilling until those rules have been followed.
The bill would also require the commission to work with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to investigate complaints, which residents said have been largely ignored.
The Agriculture, Livestock & Natural Services Committee approved the measure (House Bill 1223) on a 9-4 vote. It now goes to the House Appropriations Committee.
Dee Hoffmeister of Garfield County said she retired to a 40-acre plot of land outside Silt in 1994. She said she built a new home and gave the old one to her son, only to see a derrick put up only 300 feet from her home.
“There was a big, grey cloud of benzene. I just passed out from the fumes in our home. I couldn’t breathe,” she told lawmakers, breaking into tears.
She said five of her grandchildren have developed asthma, which she blamed on drilling.
Gopa Cooper, who lives near Weston, showed lawmakers a jar filled with brackish water and said her drinking water was polluted by drilling.
Rep. Kathleen Curry, D-Gunnison, said the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation does not have a health expert on staff, even though it is charged with protecting public health.
She said COGCC rules focus solely on safety concerns.
“The public health component, they’re pretty silent on that,” she said.
She said the boom is just beginning on the Western Slope and it’s not too late to help homeowners who say the drilling is ruining their lives.
Stan Dempsey, president of the Colorado Petroleum Association, said the industry is already heavily regulated.
“You need to know there is very stringent oversight,” he told the committee.
Rep. Frank McNulty, R-Highlands Ranch, said lawmakers could harm the industry with too much regulation.
“With each bill that goes through, we’re threatening to kill this industry by 1,000 small cuts,” he said.
Associated Press via Yahoo News.
