The Colorado Senate voted March 17 to approve the appointment of six people to the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. It was a good day for the people of Colorado who have been waiting for too long for a fair and balanced COGCC to oversee the gas and oil industry and its impacts.

It was, however, disappointing to read the negative comments made by Republican Sen. Josh Penry of Grand Junction when he called one of the appointees to the commission the “No. 1 enemy of the oil and gas industry on the Western Slope.” That was uncalled for, and unwarranted.

Here in Colorado, especially in Garfield County (which just this week Sen. Ken Salazar referred to as “ground zero” for gas exploration) we are at a vastly important juncture that will shape the future.

Natural gas is a valuable resource that must be properly and safely harvested. Human and environmental health are equally important, also. Striking a balance between the two is a challenging and daunting task, but is essential that it be done.

The commission that oversees gas and oil development must be fairly balanced in order to make proper and prudent decisions.

As statewide rule making proceeds regarding gas and oil regulations, both the industry and the landowners need to be heard.

There are people living near gas wells who are being severely sickened by noxious fumes, knocked to their knees, experiencing nausea, excruciating headaches and asthma attacks. Our air quality and water quality are being increasingly compromised.

As a citizen of Garfield County, I appreciate the honest dialog between industry and landowners and environmentalists. It can be done in a civil manner. No one wins when negative and attacking comments such as Josh Penry’s are made, least of all him.

TARA MEIXSELL
New Castle

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 26th, 2008 at 1:05 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.