Regulators disparage fossil fuels as they ready sweeping new rules.
By The Editorial Board
Nov. 20, 2020 6:40 pm ET
A pump jack works off state highway 119 near Firestone, Colo. in 2016.
PHOTO: DAVID ZALUBOWSKI/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Colorado regulators are preparing to approve sweeping new restrictions on oil and gas companies on Monday. Meanwhile, the companies received an unintended glimpse this week of how their regulators hold them in contempt.
For years state law required the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to strike a balance between energy development and protecting the environment and the public. But Democrats tipped the scales against oil and gas last year with Senate Bill 181.
The new legislation installed professional regulators on the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission while reducing the number of energy representatives. Under the new statute, the commission’s mission is no longer to “foster” energy development but to “regulate” it to protect the environment, wildlife and public health, safety and welfare.
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