From: Kurt Schlegel
Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 12:22 PM
To: Marvin and Nancy Maul; Del Schwab; John Shipper
Cc: Richard L. Miller
Subject: DRAFT Elbert County Oil and Gas Regulations
Good Afternoon Mr. Maul,
Thank you for sending me your thoughts / opinions regarding County based land use regulations. I have followed the recent actions that have been taken or deferred by other Counties regarding the adoption of specific land use regulation relating to Oil & Gas Exploration. As County Commissioners we are tasked with adopting and enforcing land use rules and regulations in order to protect the property values of all property owners in the County.
I believe it is County government’s duty to ensure that Oil & Gas exploration in Elbert County is done responsibly and staff has worked diligently to incorporate lessons that have been learned from other Colorado counties in our proposed Oil & Gas Regulations. Please be aware that these DRAFT regulations have nothing to do with the actual drilling / hydraulic fracturing / harvesting of resources processes. These are regulated by the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC). Our County regulations are designed to ensure the public safety by designating traffic / haul routes for equipment, specify where and how equipment can be stored safely, how waste byproducts are handled and stored, etc. In addition our staff has worked to ensure that the proposed regulations do not pre-empt any regulation already in place by the State of Colorado. I invite you to review the DRAFT document which is available on the Elbert County website at http://elbertcounty-co.gov/dept_CommunityandDevelopmentServices.php
As I stated previously, the County is also responsible for the enforcement of all zoning and land use regulations. The taxpayers expect this service and are entitled to this regulatory authority that is designed to protect everyone’s property values and ensure the public’s safety. The fact that we will have clearly defined what is expected of all surface activities associated with oil and gas exploration will make it easier for staff to enforce, thereby saving the taxpayers money in the long run.
I appreciate your input and invite you to attend, or be a part of, the Planning Commission’s review process. Their first meeting to discuss the DRAFT Oil & Gas Regulations is scheduled for Thursday – 26 January, 2012 at 6:00 pm.
Sincerely,
Kurt C. Schlegel
Elbert County Commissioner; District 2
215 Comanche Street
Kiowa, CO 80117
303-621-3139
Kurt.schlegel@elbertcounty-co.gov
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From: Marvin and Nancy Maul
Sent: Tuesday, January 10, 2012 3:05 PM
To: Del Schwab; Kurt Schlegel; John Shipper
Subject: Oil and gas regulations
To the Elbert County Board of County Commissioners:
This refers to the draft of new oil and gas regulations being prepared by Richard Miller, Director of the Elbert County Community and Development Services that I understand will be brought before the Board for a vote shortly.
I would suspect that by now the Commissioners are aware of the lead editorial contained within the January 9 issue of The Denver Post entitled “Current fracking rules enough” which summarizes pretty well the intent of the editorial. I understand as well, that at least two Colorado counties (Arapahoe and Gunnison) have been convinced that their proposed oil and gas proposed regulations represent an unnecessary duplication of regulations already adopted by the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, and are withdrawing them.
With all due respect I am concerned that actions taken by the Board to date as I understand them, seem to indicate that Elbert County is moving toward adoption of a 60-page set of regulations, tailor-made for Elbert County, even to the point of hiring outside counsel to aid in the drafting of the document. I cannot understand (and I refer again to the Denver Post article) why the County feels the need for a set of regulations that will largely superimpose over the existing COGCC regulations
Further, we recognize that Elbert County as with most other governmental entities across the country is in a financially precarious position. Adding the regulatory purview of Mr.. Miller’s proposal to the county’s populace would include not only the direct costs of the consequences of the regulations as well as additional costs imposed by the mechanisms for enforcement of the regulations. How many new employees will Miller be able to add to his department if these regulations with resultant enforcement are adopted? It seems to me that in view of the state’s regulatory actions, the County’s tacking on of these new costs will represent a highly wasteful use of taxpayers dollars, and it’s not as if the environmental concerns of the County’s residents were being overlooked!
Finally, as an Elbert County taxpayer, I am wondering if, in the event the County decides along with the other counties to instead adopt the COGCC regulations, will the County be able to recover some of the funds being expended on the outside lawyers?!
Sincerely yours,
Marvin O. Maul
Colorado Springs, CO