Public review of updated regulations scheduled to begin in March

Boulder County, Colo. (Jan. 28, 2020) -- The Board of County Commissioners held a public meeting to receive an update from county staff on Boulder County’s progress in drafting amendments to Article 12 of the Land Use Code (Special Review for Oil and Gas Operations).

The Article 12 amendments were authorized by the commissioners last June for the purpose of updating the county’s oil & gas regulations in light of S.B.19-181 (“Protect Public Welfare Oil and Gas Operations”), which was signed into law on April 16, 2019.

On June 28, 2019, the Board of County Commissioners enacted a moratorium on the processing of new oil & gas development applications in order give staff time to work on proposed Art. 12 changes and to explore areas where Boulder County’s local regulations could be strengthened. The current moratorium is in effect until March 28, 2020.

As part of today’s meeting, staff outlined in their presentation the areas of additional authority they have researched and the hundreds of hours of work they have done to-date, including: undertaking legal and practical research, exploring ideas and discussing possible changes at internal staff meetings, hosting stakeholder meetings, collecting comments from the public to consider in the proposed changes, etc.

During the presentation, staff rolled out a tentative schedule* for public review of the updated oil and gas regulations, which are expected to be released in mid-February:

Planning Commission Review of Draft Regulations:

• Monday, March 2 at 4 p.m. – Public hearing for Planning Commission to receive public testimony on the proposed oil and gas regulations. Public testimony only; no action by Planning Commission.
• Tuesday, March 3 at 4 p.m. – Public meeting for Planning Commission discussion and recommendation to BOCC. No additional public testimony.

Board of County Commissioners’ (BOCC) Review of Draft Regulations:

• Tuesday, March 17 at 3 p.m. – Anticipated public hearing for the BOCC to receive public testimony on the proposed oil and gas regulations. Public testimony only; no action by BOCC.
• Thursday, March 19 at 3:30 p.m. – Public meeting for BOCC discussion and action. No additional public testimony.

*Be sure to check www.boco.org/OilGas for updates to meeting dates and times.

In addition to participating at Planning Commission and Board of County Commissioner hearings, comments/information can be emailed to oilgascomment@bouldercounty.org.

The Boulder County Commissioners continue to thank members of the public who have been participating in public meetings and writing in with their thoughts and comments on updating the county's oil and gas regulations. They also encourage county residents to be as specific as possible with their comments on how staff and the board can improve the existing regulations.