Colorado’s New Top Oil & Gas Regulator Could Have a Very Busy Monday

Anti-frac advocates could overwhelm hearing

The new boss at Colorado’s key energy regulator, the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, may have her hands full on Monday—May 19—when the commission holds a hearing and opens the floor to the public to give comments.

New COGCC Director Julie Murphy told the Denver Business Journal last month that she was looking forward to “continuing the hard and difficult work” that the COGCC’s staff, its commissioners and outgoing director Matt Lepore have done to manage the conflicts over the state’s increasing oil and gas production at a time and place where the state’s population also is growing. “There really is an increasing interaction between the suburbanization and urbanization of Colorado and oil and gas development that continues to be a conflict. We can’t eradicate the conflict, but we can manage it,” she told the DJB.

Monday’s hearing could be overwhelmed by advocacy group 350.org activists if members heed the call to flood Monday’s COGCC hearing.

The group sent an email to its Colorado members earlier this week with specific instructions about how to register to speak at the COGCC hearing. It is asking all of its attending members to show up in person and ask Julie Murphy to enact an emergency moratorium on fracing in Colorado. Members were told to bring pictures of their children to show Murphy at the meeting. It also gave instructions on how to drive attendance via social media.

The email is reproduced here:

After multiple deadly explosions, fires and leaks, the oil and gas industry is clearly out of control, but insists on fracking by our homes and our children’s schools. Meanwhile, the COGCC has announced that it is in a financial crisis, currently lacking funds to pay its small pool of inspectors and other staff. The COGCC has a new director, Julie Murphy. Join us to call on Ms. Murphy to drop the Martinez appeal and protect our children by enacting an emergency moratorium of all fracking in Colorado until the COGCC has sufficient funding and can prove they are protecting public health and safety.

On March 19th, please join us in Denver at the COGCC hearing. Can you share the attached information with concerned friends & neighbors and join us?

Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) hearing

TIME: 8:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

LOCATION: The Chancery Building, 1120 Lincoln Street, Suite 801 Denver, CO (Parking in The Chancery Building)
Join us to give three minute public comments calling for an emergency moratorium and continuing to tell the COGCC to drop their appeal of the Martinez court decision that the agency must protect public health and safety as a precondition to permitting oil and gas development. Sign up to speak via this online form by NOON on FRIDAY, March 16th. You can also write your comments on the form or email them to cogcc.hearings_unit@state.co.us if you are unable to attend in person. [It is recommended that you refer to a docket #, but was not required at the last hearing (nor was pre-registration).]

Please bring: photos of your children/family with words overlaid: “Julie Murphy: Protect Our Children” – examples/templates here

You can RSVP here on Facebook and invite friends/share!

Thank you for your hard work and dedication!

Micah, for the 350CO team

“All tyranny needs to gain strength is for people of good conscience to remain silent.” – Thomas Jefferson

Sample Social Media:

FACEBOOK

The oil and gas industry is out of control! We need your voice in Denver on Mar. 19 as we call for an emergency moratorium of fracking in Colorado to protect our communities. Can you join us?

https://www.facebook.com/events/317453102111206/