The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) approved this week stricter rules for oil and gas drilling, extending the setbacks for oil wells from homes and schools to 2,000 feet, four times the current buffer, and banning routine flaring as of January 15, 2021. The COGCC had been considering for months changes to the state regulations about oil and gas drilling in Colorado after the state passed in 2019 Senate Bill 181, which says that public health and welfare should be prioritized in the regulation of oil and gas drilling. In the 2018 midterm elections, voters in Colorado were asked to vote on a ballot proposition to increase the setback distance for drilling oil and gas wells by five times to 2,500 feet, which would have put a lot of land off-limits for new developments. Back then, Proposition 112 requiring much greater setback distance failed with 56.75 percent […]