February 10, 2009 12:18 PM
Another pro-drilling bill goes down
A House committee this morning rejected an attempt to limit the reach of wildlife regulations on oil and gas drillers.
The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission last year proposed a series of new regulations that would do more to protect the environment and wildlife from drillers. The wildlife regulations that are set to go into effect on April 1 would make it harder to drill in certain areas where animals migrate and mate.
Rep. Wes McKinley's House Bill 1167 would have banned the imposition of further regulations regarding oil and gas drilling after the initial rules are put into place. McKinley, D-Walsh, said that he wanted to protect drillers who might relocate rigs to one location to avoid migration patterns and then find that migration patterns have switched to their new location.
However, several Democrats on the committee noted that the OGCC rules were approved unanimously and said they should be put into place as is. The measure failed on a 7-6 vote, with McKinley joining the five Republicans on the committee in backing it.
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