Colorado Tightens Reins on Energy Extraction

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122999246547828591.html

DECEMBER 23, 2008

Colorado Tightens Reins on Energy Extraction

By STEPHANIE SIMON

DENVER -- Colorado's Oil and Gas Conservation Commission is asserting control over the state's booming energy industry with its approval of the most far-reaching drilling restrictions in the nation.

Regulations laid out this month in a 177-page document immediately drew fire from the industry and from some lawmakers, who say the restrictions will drive energy companies out of the state at a time when Colorado needs more high-paying oil and gas jobs.

The rules, which take effect in the spring, aim to strike a balance between two resources critical to Colorado's future: the bounty of natural gas buried underground and the natural beauty of a state rich in outdoor tourist draws, from sparkling trout streams to rugged big-game habitats.

Among other things, drilling will be restricted -- and, in some areas, prohibited -- around streams that provide drinking water. State wildlife officials must be consulted before drilling proceeds in vast stretches of western Colorado that are labeled "sensitive habitat" because bald eagles nest there or mule deer overwinter.

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