2F71132B2DD15DA1872583B40073CC8D Hearing Summary

Senator Fenberg, prime sponsor, presented Senate Bill 19-181. The bill expands the regulatory charge of the Department of Natural Resources related to oil and gas production, and allows local governments to also regulate oil and gas operations within their jurisdictions.

The committee discussed the bill with Senator Fenberg.

Committee discussion continued.

Committee members continued questioning Senator Fenberg about the bill.

Dan Gibbs, representing the Department of Natural Resources, testified in support of the bill.

Jeff Robbins, representing the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, testified in support of the bill.

Erin Martinez, representing herself, testified in support of the bill.

The committee questioned the witnesses.

Committee questions continued.

Jim Martin, representing the Colorado Petroleum Council, Tracee Bentley, representing the Colorado Petroleum Council, Commissioner Barb Kirkmeyer, representing Weld County Commissioners, and Ken Wonstolen, representing High Point Resources, testified in opposition to the bill.  Mr. Wonstolen distributed written information (Attachment A).  The witnesses responded to questions from the committee.

Gary Melcher, representing himself, testified in opposition to the bill.

Commissioner Eva Henry, representing Adams County Commissioners, Christiaan Van Woudenberg, representing the town of Erie, Ryan Johnson, representing the city of Brighton, and Brandy DeLange, representing the Colorado Municipal League, testified in support of the bill. The witnesses responded to questions from the committee.

Mark Matthews, representing the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, Dan Haley, representing the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, Terry Adams, representing Boys and Girls Clubs of Weld County, and Miz Cordero, representing the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, testified in opposition to the bill. Mr. Cordero distributed written testimony (Attachment B). The witnesses responded to questions from the committee. Mr. Haley also distributed a letter of opposition (Attachment C).

Joel Nelson, representing himself, Penny Bieber, representing herself, and Tracy Dahl, representing himself, testified in support of the bill. Kevin Davis, representing himself, testified in opposition to the bill.  Mr. Davis testified from Trinidad State Junior College and did not sign a witness sheet.

Max Garrington, representing the Environmental Defense Fund, Joel Minor, representing Earth Justice, Barbara Green, representing the Northwest Colorado Council of Governments, and Kevin Lynch, representing himself, testified in support of the bill. The witnesses responded to questions from the committee.

Jenifer Waller, representing the Colorado Bankers Association, Jamie Jost, representing Jost Energy Law, Don Shawcroft, representing the Colorado Farm Bureau, and Kristi Pollard, representing the Jefferson County Economic Development Council, testified in opposition to the bill. The witnesses responded to questions from the committee.

Dr. Lauri Costello, representing herself, testified in support of the bill.

Christi Zeller, representing the Colorado Energy Council, testified in opposition to the bill.

J. Paul Brown, representing himself, testified in opposition to the bill.

Brad Gibson, Abby Palte, Therese Gilbert, and Susan Cabral, representing themselves, testified in support of the bill.

Jamie Goodwin, representing the Greeley Area Realtors Association, Julie Jensen, representing the Greeley Area Realtors Association, Neil Ray, representing the Colorado Alliance of Mineral and Royalty Owners, and Nick Colglazier, representing the Colorado Competitive Council, testified in opposition to the bill. Mr. Ray provided his testimony in writing (Attachment D). The witnesses responded to questions from the committee.

Brock Arvesen, Mark Waltermire, and Neal Platzer, representing themselves, testified in support of the bill.

Nicole Johnston, Judy Kelly, Phil Barber, and Val Vigil, representing themselves, testified in support of the bill. The witnesses responded to questions from the committee.

The committee recessed.

Chad Musick, representing the Colorado Farm Bureau, Dan Lisco, representing himself, Jules Van Thayne, representing himself, and Bill Dowd, representing himself, testified in opposition to the bill. The witnesses responded to questions from the committee.

Karen Sjoberg, representing Citizens for Clean Air Grand Junction, Janet Johnson, representing herself, Erin Riccio, representing Tom Acker, and Jay Mashburn, representing himself, testified in support of the bill.

Lisa Piering, representing the town of Rangely, Konnie Billgren, representing the Rangely Area Chamber of Commerce, Ray Beck, representing Moffat County Commissioners, and Jeff Comstock, representing Moffat County, testified in opposition to the bill.

Christine Berg, representing herself, Jenny Willford, representing the city of Northglenn, Julie Mullica, representing the city of Northglenn, and Suzie Brundage, representing herself, testified in support of the bill. The committee members responded to questions from the committee.

Hannie Kovac, Greg Gibson, Janelle Reyes, and Bob Bresnahan, representing themselves, testified in opposition to the bill.

Nina Anderson, Lannie Massey, Si Woodruff, and Kirby Wynn, representing themselves, testified in opposition to the bill.

Ian Roche, reading testimony from Sandy Bernage, and Emily Hornback, representing herself, both testified in support of the bill. Mike Foster and Chris Clark, representing themselves,  testified in opposition to the bill.

Renee Briscoe, representing herself, Bonnie Petersen, representing the Associated Governments of Northwest Colorado, Christian Reece, representing Club 20, and Diane Schwenke, representing the Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce, testified in opposition to the bill.

Callie Hendrickson, representing the White River and Douglas Creek Conservation Districts, Frank Whidden, representing Mesa County, and Eric Carlson, representing the Western Slope Colorado Oil and Gas Association, testified in opposition to the bill.

Leslie Robinson, representing the Grand Valley Citizens Alliance, Shaina Oliver, representing herself, Michelle Gazarik, representing herself, and Alan Rosenfeld, representing himself, testified in support of the bill. The witnesses responded to questions from the committee.

Dene Martin, David Stewart, John Schmidt, representing Crestone Peak Resources, and Brad Beck, representing himself, testified in opposition to the bill.

Kevin Krieger, representing the city and county of Broomfield, Katie Farnan, representing herself, Ramesh Bhatt, representing himself, and Matt Samuelson, representing himself, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Samuelson provided a handout (Attachment E). The witnesses responded to questions from the committee.

Travis Vitek, representing himself, Donald Phend, representing the Colorado Alliance of Mineral and Royalty Owners, Jake Johnson, representing Magellan Midstream, and Scott Prestidge, representing the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, testified in opposition to the bill. Mr. Prestidge provided a set of fact sheets (Attachment F). The witnesses responded to questions from the committee.

Emily Baer, representing herself, Gary Norton, representing himself, Tyrone Newsom, representing himself, and Andrew O'Connor, representing himself, testified in support of the bill. Mr. O'Connor provided his testimony in writing (Attachment G).

Howard Melcher, representing himself, Lane Jungers, representing Load Energy, Inc., Christy Woodward, representing herself, and Michelle Smith, representing Vital for Colorado, testified in opposition to the bill.

Tim Howard, Neil Allaire, Jennifer Dulles, representing themselves, and Josh Joswick, representing the Oil and Gas Accountability Project, testified in support of the bill. The witnesses responded to questions from the witnesses.

Sandra Solin, representing the Northern Colorado Legislative Alliance, Craig Rasmuson, representing SRC Energy, Susan Farharzadeh, representing CWOG, and Bill Becker, representing the Loveland Chamber of Commerce, testified in opposition to the bill. The witnesses responded to questions from the committee.

Matt Sura, representing himself, Clint Folsom, representing the town of Superior, and Mark Lacis, representing the town of Superior, testified in support of the bill.

Doug Dennison, representing High Point Resources, Linsey Jones, representing herself, Chris Bock, representing himself, and Audrey Carlson, representing herself, testified in opposition to the bill.

Troy Redding, representing Western Colorado Alliance, Lawrence Forman, representing himself, Heidi Henkel, representing Broomfield Active Moms, and Kate Christiansen, representing herself, testified in support of the bill.

Dwight Bordelon, representing himself, Peter Mueller, representing himself, and Jimmy Sengenberger, representing the Millennial Policy Center, testified in opposition to the bill.

Karen Speed, representing herself, Wes Wilson, representing Be the Change USA, Phil Doe, representing Be the Change USA, and Barbara Mills-Brea, representing Be the Change USA, testified in support of the bill.

Luke Kunze and Nick Klebenstein, representing themselves, testified in opposition to the bill.

Joe Zemek, Bryon Bednar, Angelina Lefave, and Ron Booth, representing themselves, testified in support of the bill.

Amber Shettron and Angela Mallon, representing themselves, testified in opposition to the bill.

Kristin Logan, Susan Noble, Dale Lanan, and Charles Beckman, representing themselves, testified in support of the bill.

Kirstin Derr, Karen Pratt, Reid Godbolt, and Tamarah Pierce, representing themselves, testified in opposition to the bill.

Marilyn Hughes, Dawn Reinfeld, and Katherine MacIulay, representing themselves, and Laurie Anderson, representing Broomfield Health and Safety First, testified in support of the bill.

Kate Aschwege, representing herself, Destinie McMillen, representing herself, Karl Honegger, representing himself, and Ryan Zorn, representing himself, testified in opposition to the bill.

Josh Maynard, Gail Dubas, and Jan Rose, representing themselves, and Jim Alexee, representing the Colorado Sierra Club, testified in support of the bill.

Ivan Steinke, Colton Steinke, Luis Vasquez, and Gloria Belden, representing themselves, testified in opposition to the bill.

Nancy Hall, Ingrid Moore, Bernie McKibben, and Linda McKibben, representing themselves, testified in support of the bill.

Matthew Covington, Spencer Watkins, and Ron Gusek, representing themselves, testified in opposition to the bill.

Lizzie Lario, representing herself, Tricia Olson, representing Colorado Rising, Dan Cramer, representing the city of Longmont, and Elizabeth Smith, representing herself, testified in support of the bill.

Joan Lutz, representing herself, Patty Sullivan representing 100 Percent, Tezcatli Diaz, representing herself, and Ean Thomas Tafoya, representing himself, testified in support of the bill.

Christy Douglas, Eric Rutherford, Cory Carroll, and Marlow Baines, representing themselves, testified in support of the bill.

Micah Park, representing 350 Colorado, Vince Miller, representing himself, Heather Baines, representing herself, Patricia Nelson, representing herself, and Laurent Million, representing Capitol Solar Energy, testified in support of the bill.

Senator Priola read a statement.

Additional written testimony was entered into the record both for (Attachment H) and against the bill (Attachment I).

Senator Fenberg made closing remarks. Members of the committee also provided remarks.