House Committee on Agriculture, Livestock, & Natural Resources (02/10/2009)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, LIVESTOCK, & NATURAL RESOURCES

Date:	02/10/2009	ATTENDANCE

Time:	10:18 AM to 11:25 AM	Gardner C.	X
		Hullinghorst	*
Place:	HCR 0107	Labuda	X
		Looper	X
This Meeting was called to order by		McKinley	X
	Representative Curry	McNulty	X
		Pace	*
This Report was prepared by		Solano	X
	Lauren Ris	Sonnenberg	X
		Tipton	X
		Vigil	X
		Fischer	*
		Curry	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
HB09-1167		Postponed Indefinitely

10:19 AM -- House Bill 09-1167

Representative McKinley, prime sponsor, presented his bill concerning prohibiting the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) from promulgating rules pursuant to the "Colorado Habitat Stewardship Act of 2007" that would adversely impact the operation, servicing, or maintenance of a producing oil or gas well.

The following individuals testified on the bill:

10:23 AM -- Suzanne O'Neill, Colorado Wildlife Federation, testified in opposition to the bill. She discussed the COGCC rules that relate to wildlife, the intent of the rules, and how HB09-1167 would impact the rules. She answered questions from the committee about how the COGCC rules apply to developing oil and gas wells versus existing oil and gas sites.

10:26 AM -- Ivan James, Colorado Bowhunters Association, testified in opposition to the bill. He discussed the history of the COGCC rules. He stated that he is interested in seeing wildlife preserved and that the COGCC rules represent a balance between wildlife and oil and gas development. Mr. James explained how the bill would impact the implementation of COGCC rules.

10:30 AM -- Pat Ratliff, Colorado Counties Inc., explained that her organization voted to oppose the bill because they did not want to limit rulemaking opportunities in the future.

10:30 AM -- Jen Boulton, Trout Unlimited and Audubon Society, testified against the bill. She stated that rules are more flexible than statute and can be modified in the future in response to changing conditions. She explained that her organization believes that the bill would prohibit rule modifications in the future. She also mentioned a that stakeholder process will be held on April 1 to discuss additional protections for riparian habitat and that the bill would impact this and other stakeholder processes.

10:32 AM -- Dave Neslin, Department of Natural Resources and Acting Director of the COGCC, testified against the bill. He explained that the COGCC did extensive work on the wildlife portion of the rules throughout the rulemaking process and stated that no other rule received greater input from experts and the public. Mr. Neslin also stated that as a result of this process, the rules were revised numerous times and approved by a unanimous vote. He also stated that he believes the rules strike a reasonable balance between industry and wildlife. Mr. Neslin indicated that the rules would not limit maintenance repairs, or access to producing oil and gas wells. He expressed concern that the bill would prohibit amendments to the rules in the future and provided an example of how the bill may limit the ability of the COGCC to update maps. He answered questions from the committee.

10:40 AM -- Stan Dempsey, Colorado Petroleum Association (CPA), spoke about the bill. He explained that CPA chose neither to support nor oppose the bill. He described the issues with the rules that his association is concerned with including landowner consent, wildlife consultation guidelines, federal preemption, and the permit review process. He indicated that CPA could not support the exact language in bill. He also expressed some concerns about the COGCC process and issues that remain unresolved. Mr. Dempsey answered questions from the committee regarding stakeholder processes. The committee discussed the extent and reflection of the public comment process in the rules.

10:50 AM -- The committee continued to discuss their concerns regarding the COGCC rulemaking process.

10:52 AM -- Mr. Dempsey encouraged the committee to look at the record of votes on the wildlife provision of the rules. He stated that there was a tie vote and that the issues were controversial.

10:54 AM

Representative Curry explained her intent in allowing a fairly broad discussion in the committee. She explained that the committee has dealt with the issues surrounding the COGCC rulemaking extensively in the past, however the Legal Services Committee will be hearing related bills this session and that the House Agriculture Committee will not have another opportunity to discuss issues related to the COGCC rules until the Legal Services Committee passes these bills to the House floor.

10:55 AM

The committee discussed their views concerning the COGCC process.

10:59 AM

Representative Hullinghorst asked Mr. Dempsey to clarify why CPA decided not to support the bill. Mr. Dempsey explained that CPA did not take a negative view of the bill, but rather questioned what this bill could accomplish regarding CPA's goals and concerns. He re-emphasized CPA's primary concerns with the rules.

11:02 AM -- Duke Cox, Grand Valley Citizens Alliance and the Western Colorado Congress, testified against the bill. He described the impact that the bill would have on the natural resources in his community. He read a letter from a land owner from Las Animas County which described the negative impact of oil and gas development has had to wildlife. He answered questions from the committee.

11:07 AM -- Warren McDonald, rancher and land owner, testified in support of the bill. He stated that he has oil and gas wells on his property. He discussed the need to maintain and repair oil and gas rigs and stated that this bill would inhibit land and mineral owners to continue to maintain their wells as needed. He listed all several exclusions in the rules as they were originally drafted.

11:13 AM -- Devorah L. Kapers, representing herself, spoke about Lakota views about the environment.
11:16 AM

Rep McKinley provided closing comments. He read a portion of the COGCC wildlife rules. He discussed the role of local governments related to the rules. He showed a map of the Wattenberg Field as an example of an oil and gas operation and discussed the field's size in relation to the rest of the state. He discussed experiences he has had previously with grazing rules.


BILL:	HB09-1167
TIME:	11:23:31 AM
MOVED:	McKinley
MOTION:	Moved to refer House Bill 09-1167 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion failed on a 7-6 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	McNulty
		VOTE
	Gardner C.	Yes
	Hullinghorst	No
	Labuda	No
	Looper	Yes
	McKinley	Yes
	McNulty	Yes
	Pace	No
	Solano	No
	Sonnenberg	Yes
	Tipton	Yes
	Vigil	No
	Fischer	No
	Curry	No

Not Final YES: 6 NO: 7 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL


BILL:	HB09-1167
TIME:	11:24:31 AM
MOVED:	Labuda
MOTION:	Moved to postpone House Bill 09-1167 indefinitely. The motion passed on a 7-6 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	Solano
		VOTE
	Gardner C.	No
	Hullinghorst	Yes
	Labuda	Yes
	Looper	No
	McKinley	No
	McNulty	No
	Pace	Yes
	Solano	Yes
	Sonnenberg	No
	Tipton	No
	Vigil	Yes
	Fischer	Yes
	Curry	Yes

Final YES: 7 NO: 6 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

11:25 AM

The committee adjourned.