On February 22, 2013, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a sweeping proposal regarding the treatment of excess emissions in state rules from sources during periods of startup, shutdown, and malfunction (SSM). The proposal responds to a petition for rulemaking filed in 2011 by the Sierra Club, and promises to fundamentally alter the way most states, including Colorado and North Dakota, treat SSM events in their State Implementation Plans (SIP). Comments on EPA’s proposal are currently due March 25, 2013.
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COGCC Issues New Drilling Setback Rules
On Monday, the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) gave final approval to new rules which expand the setbacks for oil and gas wells and production facilities and impose new notice, meeting, and mitigation requirements to better protect nearby homes and neighborhoods. The COGCC touts the new rules as “the strongest rules in the country for limiting the impact of drilling near residences and other occupied buildings.” These rules will go into effect on August 1, 2013.
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Strange Bedfellows – Bicycles and Hydraulic Fracturing
What do bikes and hydraulic fracturing have in common? Prior to this week, the answer was probably very little. On February 4, 2013, however, the Colorado Supreme Court unanimously issued an opinion striking down the City of Black Hawk’s ban prohibiting bicycle traffic on certain local streets. The Court found that even though Colorado law and Black Hawk’s home rule status granted the City some authority to regulate bicycle traffic, that authority is not without limits. The decision in Webb v. Black Hawk poses important implications for the ongoing efforts by certain Colorado municipalities to ban hydraulic fracturing, and it provides the oil and gas industry with new authority for contesting such efforts.