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Archive for the 'Oil and Gas' Category

Council lays out schedule for oil and gas regulations

October 16th, 2012, 10:21 am by

The City Council today outlined the schedule for proposed oil and gas regulations in Colorado Springs.

Here is the full text of a press release on the subject:

On Sept. 25, City Council voted 8 to 1 to postpone the proposed oil and gas regulations vote in order to allow city staff to address the following concerns:

– A plan on how the wells located within city limits will be inspected.

– A plan outlining regular monitoring of air and water quality.

– An answer to whether more zoning options are available to the city.

The revised schedule for the proposed oil and gas regulations is as follows:

– Monday, Oct. 22 – Informal City Council meeting. Staff to present options. Council to give final direction regarding a draft ordinance. Public welcome; public comment not permitted.

– Tuesday, Oct. 23 – Formal City Council meeting. Council to take action to postpone the item until Nov. 27 for first reading. Public welcome; public comment permitted.

– Tuesday, Nov. 27 – Formal City Council meeting. First reading of the ordinance. Public welcome; public comment permitted.

All meetings will begin at 1 p.m. and will be held in the Council Chambers located on the third floor of City Hall at 107 N. Nevada Avenue.

This schedule could change based on Council direction or decision.

Posted in: City Council • Civic Participation • Meetings • Oil and Gas • • | Post a Comment »

Quote of the Day

August 2nd, 2012, 12:30 pm by

Janet Suthers

Today’s Quote of the Day comes courtesy of Gazette reporter Andrew Wineke, who has been following the city’s examination of oil and gas regulations.

During today’s meeting of the Colorado Springs Planning Commission, one of the commissioners said they didn’t want to pick a fight with Colorado Attorney General John Suthers over oil and gas regulations.

The chairwoman of the Planning Commission happens to be Suthers’ wife, Janet Suthers.

“I can fight with him all I want,” she joked.

Wineke reports that Mrs. Suthers did not actually propose any regulations that might get the city sued by the AG’s Office.

Not yet, anyway.

 

Posted in: Boards and Commissions • Meetings • Oil and Gas • People • • • • | Post a Comment »

City schedules oil and gas public meeting May 24

May 18th, 2012, 6:25 am by

The City Council issued the following press release Thursday:

The city will host a public meeting on Thursday, May 24 from 6-8 p.m. at the City Administration Building (30 S. Nevada Ave.), suite 102 to get public input on proposed options for local oil and gas regulations.

City staff, elected officials, and Oil and Gas Committee members will be available to answer questions and record feedback on proposed levels of regulation for oil and gas exploration and development within city limits. The input will be considered by the voting members of the Oil and Gas Committee, who will deliver recommendations to City Council on June 12 for formal Council direction.  The City Attorney’s Office will draft the regulations, which will then be presented to Council for approval later this summer.

The Oil and Gas Committee was appointed by City Council in January and met over the course of 14 weeks to learn about oil and gas exploration and production, as well as review state and local regulations. Three councilmembers – Val Snider, Brandy Williams and Angela Dougan – served on the committee as voting members with the responsibility to bring forward recommendations on areas and levels of local regulation. The areas identified for regulation are: adherence to the pre-application/site plan process; impact fees; water quality compliance; land use setbacks; operational conflict avoidance language; zoning districts for oil and gas; high density/low density considerations; and conditions of Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) operator approvals for city government.

Handouts will be available following the meeting on the City’s Oil and Gas Committee webpage at www.springsgov.com. Public comment can also be submitted through the webpage or via email at OilandGasCommittee@springsgov.com.

Posted in: City Council • Meetings • Oil and Gas • • • • • • | Post a Comment »

Who applied for Oil and Gas Committee? Who got passed over?

January 20th, 2012, 10:40 am by

Thirty-seven people applied to serve on the city’s new Oil and Gas Committee.

Council members Angela Dougan, Val Snider and Brandy Williams, who will serve on the committee, reviewed all the résumés and are recommending the selection of the following seven people:

Randy Case

Jan Handke

Stephen Harris

Chris Mendrop

John Maynard

Michael Martin

Ed McCord

The nominations have to be confirmed by the full City Council.

The city did not include the résumés of those seven individuals. A request for their résumés was referred to Dougan, who is apparently in charge of committee communications. Dougan did not immediately return a call for comment.

The committee, previously called a task force, was commissioned by council President Scott Hente in response to plans by Texas-based Ultra Resources to drill on Banning Lewis Ranch in east Colorado Springs.

Hente gave the committee until May to issue a report. That’s because the council issued a six-month moratorium on oil and gas exploration Nov. 29 to determine whether the city has the right regulations in place.

The committee will meet every Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. starting Jan. 26. Committee members are expected to attend the weekly meetings on a regular basis, perform research assignments as needed and go on possible field trips, the city said.

Only Dougan, Williams and Snider, who will chair the committee, will have a vote on the final report to council.

Here’s a list of everyone who applied:

Jim Adcox

Val Barrutia

Russell J. “Jeff” Cahill

Randy Case

Gary Casimir

John Crandall

John E. Donovan

Jack Flobeck

Charles Guy

Jan L. Handke

Stephen D. Harris

Scott Harvey

Walter H. Heckelmann

Stephen Hench

Rob Henderson

Bruce Hughes

Michael Humberd

Stacy S. Jensen

Robert Jones

Robert W. Kettle

Liz Klein

R.Terry Krai

Randy Kraeger

Jonathan Macomber

Michael Martin

Mark Masters

John Maynard

Ed McCord

Chris G. Mendrop

Brian Penn

Dick Standaert

Cris Stoddard

John Stokes

Mary J. Talbott

Grady Vaughn

Michael S. Welsh

Lynn Wilkinson

Posted in: Boards and Commissions • City Council • Civic Participation • Meetings • Oil and Gas • • • • • • | 11 Comments »

Oil boom in El Paso County? Not with the county’s regs, says industry official

January 17th, 2012, 4:28 pm by

Tisha Conoly Schuller, president and CEO of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, stopped by The Gazette — along with Josh Penry, former Senate Minority Leader and one-time gubernatorial candidate — to chat about oil and gas exploration.

To see a video of part of that discussion, click here.

Posted in: Oil and Gas • • • • | 7 Comments »

Quote of the Day

January 5th, 2012, 6:27 pm by

City Councilwoman Angela Dougan says she’s tired of her colleagues leaving her out of the decision-making process.

The latest example is what’s happening on the new Oil and Gas Committee.

Dougan said City Councilman Val Snider, committee chairman, is making all sorts of decisions unilaterally.

“This idea of Val being the king of the task force and that he can do or say whatever he wants and make up any rules without talking to anybody is bahooey because we’re all elected officials with the exact same weight of a vote.”

 

Posted in: City Council • Oil and Gas • Politics • • • • | 11 Comments »

Quote of the Day

January 4th, 2012, 4:53 pm by

The city’s new Oil and Gas Committee is going to have to drill right into its task when the City Council announces who will serve on the committee during the Jan. 24 council meeting.

The committee, previously called a task force, has only until May to submit a report with recommendations to council.

Even though the task force … er … committee was formed a month ago, it wasn’t until today that the city issued a press release asking for volunteers.

“It is not moving slow because we’re having our consultant work on a lot of stuff while we’re going through the logistics of the task force. At our first meeting on the 26th we’re going to already have the gun loaded. We’re probably going to splatter the task force with several live buckshot,” said City Councilman Val Snider, who is the committee chairman.

Wait, did Snider just call the committee a task force?

Snider couldn’t explain why the task force is now being called a committee. He said City Attorney Chris Melcher was involved in the decision, but he couldn’t remember who suggested the change.

“We just thought it would be better to call it a ‘committee’ than a ‘task force,’” he said.

Why?

“I’d have to get back” to you, Snider said.

Posted in: Boards and Commissions • City Council • Oil and Gas • • • • | 6 Comments »

City seeks volunteers for new Oil and Gas Committee

January 4th, 2012, 1:09 pm by

The city of Colorado Springs is seeking volunteers to serve on the new City Council Oil and Gas Committee.

The committee, which will meet weekly through May 31, will make recommendations for “above-ground oil and gas exploration and operations policy,” the city said today.

The committee, previously called a task force, was commissioned by council President Scott Hente in response to plans by Texas-based Ultra Resources to drill on Banning Lewis Ranch in east Colorado Springs.

Hente gave the committee until May to issue a report. That’s because the council issued a six-month moratorium on oil and gas exploration Nov. 29 to determine whether the city has the right regulations in place.

The committee will meet every Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. starting Jan. 26. Committee members are expected to attend the weekly meetings on a regular basis, perform research assignments as needed and go on possible field trips, the city said.

About 11 or 12 people will serve on the committee, which includes council members Angela Dougan, Bernie Herpin, Val Snider and Brandy Williams. Snider is the chairman.

“Citizen members will be asked to fully participate in all meetings but only the council members of the committee will vote on any final recommendations to the full City Council,” the city said.

People who are interested in applying to serve on the committee are asked to submit a letter of interest, a two-page résumé and a response of less than 300 words to each of the following questions:

Describe the need you see for the City of Colorado Springs to examine above ground oil and gas exploration and operation policy.

Do you represent a particular constituency or advocate a particular position?

Describe your previous experience or perspective that could be valuable to the committee.

Applications must be received by 5 p.m. Jan. 12 and should be mailed to:

Marti Devine

City Oil and Gas Committee

City Council Offices

P.O. Box 1575

Colorado Springs, CO  80901-1575

Electronic submissions should be sent to mdevine@springsgov.com.

Applications may also be delivered in person to City Hall, 107 N. Nevada Ave, Suite 300, Colorado Springs, CO  80903.

For questions, call Snider at 385-5485 or via email at vsnider@springsgov.com .

Posted in: Boards and Commissions • City Council • Civic Participation • Oil and Gas • • • • • • • • | 7 Comments »