We are three days away from the end of Colorado’s legislative session. Steve King is in panic mode because his Regulatory Recapture Bill hasn’t yet been passed. You may remember that I’ve written about HB 1223 repeatedly. If it doesn’t pass the Senate by midnight Wednesday, it is dead. At least until some bonehead once again decides to put the profits of the oil and gas industry ahead of the health and welfare of the citizens of the state.
Today, King “wrote” an op-ed for the Sentinel using the same tired story that regulations caused the downturn in the economy. That’s pure bullshit. Market conditions caused the slowdown—the price of natural gas went down, so investors slowed down their investing in exploration. Colorado’s oil and gas industry is alive and well, and doing business in the state. The recent trend is toward increased activity, not continued decreases.
The same issue of the Sentinel had a stark reminder of why regulation is so important. Three years ago there were two spills of oil and gas chemicals that are finally going to have a hearing by the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Committee. May 16 – 18 the Committee will consider fining Berry Petroleum after they reported spilling over 100,000 gallons of drilling fluids into a tributary of Parachute Creek. Later the Committee will consider actions against Marathon Oil, which reported spilling 1.25 million gallons of fracking fluid in the same area.
Regulatory capture is responsible for the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Every drilling plan contained the same language, including some that demonstrated the plans were simply a cut and paste job. They mentioned protecting aquatic animals that do not exist in the Gulf, and haven’t for thousands, if not millions, of years. The plans were approved because nobody at the agency responsible for regulations was reading them.
Colorado changed the rules that regulate the industry on state and private lands so that the environmental and farming interests would have a voice at the table. Steve King and Ray Scott want the commission to go back to the way it was, with industry calling all the shots. It is a lame-brained idea that is only supported by small companies and legislators who listen only to this one segment of the industry. The big boys have moved on. HB 1223 deserves a quick death in the Senate.
Homework:
Garden Gulch Hearings
Steve King Op Ed
Wikipedia Defines Regulatory Capture
September 2010 Report Finds Regulatory Capture in Oil and Gas Industry
Today, King “wrote” an op-ed for the Sentinel using the same tired story that regulations caused the downturn in the economy. That’s pure bullshit. Market conditions caused the slowdown—the price of natural gas went down, so investors slowed down their investing in exploration. Colorado’s oil and gas industry is alive and well, and doing business in the state. The recent trend is toward increased activity, not continued decreases.
The same issue of the Sentinel had a stark reminder of why regulation is so important. Three years ago there were two spills of oil and gas chemicals that are finally going to have a hearing by the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Committee. May 16 – 18 the Committee will consider fining Berry Petroleum after they reported spilling over 100,000 gallons of drilling fluids into a tributary of Parachute Creek. Later the Committee will consider actions against Marathon Oil, which reported spilling 1.25 million gallons of fracking fluid in the same area.
Regulatory capture is responsible for the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Every drilling plan contained the same language, including some that demonstrated the plans were simply a cut and paste job. They mentioned protecting aquatic animals that do not exist in the Gulf, and haven’t for thousands, if not millions, of years. The plans were approved because nobody at the agency responsible for regulations was reading them.
Colorado changed the rules that regulate the industry on state and private lands so that the environmental and farming interests would have a voice at the table. Steve King and Ray Scott want the commission to go back to the way it was, with industry calling all the shots. It is a lame-brained idea that is only supported by small companies and legislators who listen only to this one segment of the industry. The big boys have moved on. HB 1223 deserves a quick death in the Senate.
Homework:
Garden Gulch Hearings
Steve King Op Ed
Wikipedia Defines Regulatory Capture
September 2010 Report Finds Regulatory Capture in Oil and Gas Industry
RSS Feed