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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Scott Prestidge scott.prestidge@coga.org DENVER — The Colorado Oil & Gas Association (COGA) responds to the Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission’s (COGCC) arbitrary 2,000-foot setback proposal for new oil and natural gas development. “The setback recommendation is completely arbitrary, not based on science, and is being made without any legitimate consideration of its impacts on working families across our state, all while unemployment remains high and our economy flounders in recession. Non-partisan COGCC staff, which has decades of experience protecting public health and safety in Colorado, put forward recommendations based on their years of working with stakeholders. Those recommendations were dismissed by commissioners who promised to be guided by science and data, but instead today turned to arbitrary and unjustified setbacks distances that provide no additional protection and will stifle Colorado’s economic recovery. “Safety is our top priority, and we conducted extensive analysis of publicly available data when looking at setbacks. There is no record in Colorado of hydraulic fracturing contaminating groundwater, and of the thousands of air measurements that have been taken near Colorado sites in recent years, there is zero scientific evidence to suggest existing statewide setbacks need amending or that they are not protective of public health, safety, welfare, or the environment. The data spoke loud and clear to that fact. “Coloradans overwhelmingly voted down greater setbacks just two years ago, and the state lawmakers who passed Senate Bill 181 consistently said the law wouldn’t create the same type of dire outcomes envisioned by the activists who pushed for greater setbacks. Yet here we are, facing the same blunt and shortsighted approach of Proposition 112. “We supported at least 80 percent of what COGCC staff proposed in the draft rules, and for commissioners to ignore all of that work over the past year and fold a politically driven 2,000-foot setback increase into this rulemaking, without any legitimate scientific evidence demonstrating its need, is shameful.” -- Dan Haley, President & CEO, COGA About COGA Founded in 1984, the Colorado Oil & Gas Association’s (COGA) mission is to be the unified political and regulatory voice for the oil and natural gas industry in Colorado, and to support our members through advocacy, partnerships, education and stakeholder engagement.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Scott Prestidge scott.prestidge@coga.org
DENVER — The Colorado Oil & Gas Association (COGA) responds to the Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission’s (COGCC) arbitrary 2,000-foot setback proposal for new oil and natural gas development. “The setback recommendation is completely arbitrary, not based on science, and is being made without any legitimate consideration of its impacts on working families across our state, all while unemployment remains high and our economy flounders in recession. Non-partisan COGCC staff, which has decades of experience protecting public health and safety in Colorado, put forward recommendations based on their years of working with stakeholders. Those recommendations were dismissed by commissioners who promised to be guided by science and data, but instead today turned to arbitrary and unjustified setbacks distances that provide no additional protection and will stifle Colorado’s economic recovery. “Safety is our top priority, and we conducted extensive analysis of publicly available data when looking at setbacks. There is no record in Colorado of hydraulic fracturing contaminating groundwater, and of the thousands of air measurements that have been taken near Colorado sites in recent years, there is zero scientific evidence to suggest existing statewide setbacks need amending or that they are not protective of public health, safety, welfare, or the environment. The data spoke loud and clear to that fact. “Coloradans overwhelmingly voted down greater setbacks just two years ago, and the state lawmakers who passed Senate Bill 181 consistently said the law wouldn’t create the same type of dire outcomes envisioned by the activists who pushed for greater setbacks. Yet here we are, facing the same blunt and shortsighted approach of Proposition 112. “We supported at least 80 percent of what COGCC staff proposed in the draft rules, and for commissioners to ignore all of that work over the past year and fold a politically driven 2,000-foot setback increase into this rulemaking, without any legitimate scientific evidence demonstrating its need, is shameful.” -- Dan Haley, President & CEO, COGA
About COGA Founded in 1984, the Colorado Oil & Gas Association’s (COGA) mission is to be the unified political and regulatory voice for the oil and natural gas industry in Colorado, and to support our members through advocacy, partnerships, education and stakeholder engagement.