Colorado’s oil and gas regulator puts new restrictions on public comments

The Colorado Independent: Next time you want to voice an opinion or concern to state oil and gas regulators, you’ll want to plan ahead.

In a notice posted on its website Monday, the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) noted that it recently has seen “a significant increase in the volume of public comment” at its hearings — and so has some new policies for those who want to make their voices heard.

To start, the agency will now restrict the public comment period at these hearings to two hours at the start of each meeting. Hoping to speak? The agency asks that you sign up online ahead of time, and that you provide a “short written summary of the substance of [your] comments” when you sign up. (Specific docket numbers are preferred.) But hurry — online signups will close on the Fridays before each meeting.

Once meetings are underway, elected officials will be given speaking priority, followed by those who signed up online, with walk-ins last. No matter your status, you’ll only be allowed the floor if time allows.

If you haven’t spoken by the time the allotted two hours are over, you’re “invited to return at the conclusion of commission business” to provide your comments.

This business can conclude sooner or later than expected — or even spill into the following day — so it will be your responsibility to follow the hearings (which are streamed on YouTube) and return “at the appropriate time.”

Visit The Colorado Independent for more.

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