Tag: David Neslin

Citing the pending departure of David Neslin, environmentalists are speaking out against the “ongoing parade of regulators” leaving state government to take jobs with the industries they formerly regulated.

The director of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission announced he will resign his post this month and practice law instead.

Colorado Democrats have introduced a bill in the State Legislature that would require hydraulically fractured oil and gas wells to be set back at least 1,000 feet from any school or residence.

There was widespread praise Tuesday for a hard-fought compromise deal that led to Colorado’s groundbreaking new hydraulic fracturing chemical disclosure rule, but environmental groups and some politicians have already started pushing for more regulation of the state’s booming oil and gas industry.

The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) today unanimously approved a new rule requiring oil and gas companies to fully disclose the chemicals used in the controversial but commonplace drilling process known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

Colorado oil and gas regulators Monday defended what critics claim are watered-down hydraulic fracturing chemical disclosure rules, arguing the new regulations can be fine-tuned later to add more public health and environmental protections if necessary.

Most of the criticism thus far of Colorado’s proposed changes to rules governing hydraulic fracturing chemical disclosure – and the vast majority of online comments – has centered on the so-called “trade secret” loophole that would allow oil and gas companies to obtain exemptions from disclosing certain chemicals for proprietary reasons.

Critics of a draft Colorado rule to compel oil and gas companies to divulge chemicals used in the controversial hydraulic fracturing process will have some extra time to file comments online after the state’s website was taken down for “security-related emergency maintenance.”

Burleson LLP, a top national energy law firm that recently opened a Denver office, this week announced the hiring of one of the top enforcement officials from the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) – the state agency that regulates oil and gas drilling. The move raised some eyebrows in the environmental community.

As the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) works to catch up on a backlog of old spill enforcement cases dating back several years, the method by which the state regulatory agency publicizes any fines that are levied against operators has become a topic of conversation for conservation groups tracking the industry.