Colorado is starting a revolt against a blanket exemption from the Clean Water Act that Congress granted to oil and gas drillers last year.
The energy bill signed by President Bush in August prohibits regulation of runoff from oil and gas operations, relieving drillers of the need to prevent sediments and contaminants from draining into nearby water supplies.
But after months of debate and a contentious two-day hearing this week, the Colorado Water Quality Control Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to require erosion-control permits for drilling sites larger than an acre.
Commissioners cited sampling data and studies showing that the state’s recent drilling boom is causing sedimentation that threatens water quality and fish habitat.
“Obviously, this program is needed,” said Commissioner Sybill Navas, the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel reported. “There is the opportunity for (drilling) to have a huge impact. We would be negligent not to do this.”
Gas and oil companies will probably challenge the plan as a violation of the new energy law, but the state may be able to justify controls on the basis of protecting public health and natural resources, said Bruce Baizel, attorney for the Oil and Gas Accountability Project, a Colorado-based group that monitors environmental impacts of drilling.
Other western states, including Montana and Wyoming that have major fishing industries, may also consider regulations now that Colorado has blazed the trail, Baizel said.
