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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Scott Prestidge scott.prestidge@coga.org DENVER – The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) this week released a draft of proposed new regulations for oil and natural gas flowlines in Colorado. COGCC is expected to conduct a two-day rulemaking in November to approve new rules. This will be the second major rulemaking concerning flowlines in the past two years. Following the Firestone accident in 2017, the COGCC and then-Governor John Hickenlooper ordered a statewide safety examination of oil and natural gas flowlines. Industry tested more than 120,000 flowlines and found a 99.65 percent success rate with no reportable leaks or damage to remaining lines. With those results, the state was able to confirm no similar situation existed in Colorado and industry confirmed its high safety standards. Subsequently, a technical and complex flowline rulemaking process began in the fall of 2017 and concluded in February 2018. Those rules won’t be fully implemented until October 31, 2019, just a few weeks before the COGCC’s proposed flowline rulemaking is scheduled to occur. In addition to the COGCC’s 2018 comprehensive flowline rules, there were extensive legislative changes around the 8-1-1 one-call system for underground excavation during the 2018 legislative session, via SB18-167. A summary of those legislative and regulatory changes can be found here. “Colorado adopted the nation’s most rigorous and comprehensive flowline regulations in February 2018. That includes requirements to map, test, and monitor flowlines more often than anywhere. The complicated and highly technical stakeholder processes for drafting those regulations took time, as do processes for implementation. COGCC’s 2018 flowline regulations won’t be fully implemented until October 31, just three weeks before a hearing is scheduled to accept additional changes to these new requirements. Ideally, it would be better to let the 2018 rules take effect and then gauge how they are working before making additional changes,” said Dan Haley, President and CEO of the Colorado Oil & Gas Association. Haley added, “We are concerned about a few key elements of the draft rules. That includes the safety risks associated with making flowline location data and mapping widely available. That could encourage an expansion of the illegal trespassing and vandalism we’ve seen along major pipelines, but as importantly, broad access to inaccurate maps could encourage people to skip the “Call Before You Dig” 811 system, and put themselves at serious risk. “Industry is also concerned by the frequency of stress test requirements that, if done too often, can weaken pipeline systems. Industry has surveyed and integrity-tested flowlines extensively over the past two years. “We recognize the COGCC’s desire to make certain changes – some of which industry supports – but a few elements of these draft rules could negatively impact public safety and unnecessarily disrupt existing processes. COGA is a committed stakeholder in this discussion and we hope proposed rules can be amended to improve the final outcome.” About COGA Founded in 1984, the Colorado Oil & Gas Association’s (COGA) mission is to promote the beneficial, efficient, responsible and environmentally sound development, production and use of Colorado oil and natural gas. COGA is a nationally recognized trade association that supports the responsible expansion of oil and natural gas markets, supply, and transportation infrastructure through its growing and diverse membership.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Scott Prestidge scott.prestidge@coga.org
DENVER – The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) this week released a draft of proposed new regulations for oil and natural gas flowlines in Colorado. COGCC is expected to conduct a two-day rulemaking in November to approve new rules. This will be the second major rulemaking concerning flowlines in the past two years. Following the Firestone accident in 2017, the COGCC and then-Governor John Hickenlooper ordered a statewide safety examination of oil and natural gas flowlines. Industry tested more than 120,000 flowlines and found a 99.65 percent success rate with no reportable leaks or damage to remaining lines. With those results, the state was able to confirm no similar situation existed in Colorado and industry confirmed its high safety standards. Subsequently, a technical and complex flowline rulemaking process began in the fall of 2017 and concluded in February 2018. Those rules won’t be fully implemented until October 31, 2019, just a few weeks before the COGCC’s proposed flowline rulemaking is scheduled to occur. In addition to the COGCC’s 2018 comprehensive flowline rules, there were extensive legislative changes around the 8-1-1 one-call system for underground excavation during the 2018 legislative session, via SB18-167. A summary of those legislative and regulatory changes can be found here. “Colorado adopted the nation’s most rigorous and comprehensive flowline regulations in February 2018. That includes requirements to map, test, and monitor flowlines more often than anywhere. The complicated and highly technical stakeholder processes for drafting those regulations took time, as do processes for implementation. COGCC’s 2018 flowline regulations won’t be fully implemented until October 31, just three weeks before a hearing is scheduled to accept additional changes to these new requirements. Ideally, it would be better to let the 2018 rules take effect and then gauge how they are working before making additional changes,” said Dan Haley, President and CEO of the Colorado Oil & Gas Association. Haley added, “We are concerned about a few key elements of the draft rules. That includes the safety risks associated with making flowline location data and mapping widely available. That could encourage an expansion of the illegal trespassing and vandalism we’ve seen along major pipelines, but as importantly, broad access to inaccurate maps could encourage people to skip the “Call Before You Dig” 811 system, and put themselves at serious risk. “Industry is also concerned by the frequency of stress test requirements that, if done too often, can weaken pipeline systems. Industry has surveyed and integrity-tested flowlines extensively over the past two years. “We recognize the COGCC’s desire to make certain changes – some of which industry supports – but a few elements of these draft rules could negatively impact public safety and unnecessarily disrupt existing processes. COGA is a committed stakeholder in this discussion and we hope proposed rules can be amended to improve the final outcome.” About COGA Founded in 1984, the Colorado Oil & Gas Association’s (COGA) mission is to promote the beneficial, efficient, responsible and environmentally sound development, production and use of Colorado oil and natural gas. COGA is a nationally recognized trade association that supports the responsible expansion of oil and natural gas markets, supply, and transportation infrastructure through its growing and diverse membership.