Colorado Oil and Gas Task Force
The growth of Colorado oil and gas development — especially along Colorado’s Front Range — presents challenges for Colorado leaders, residents and businesses alike regarding the tension of developing resources while also reducing impacts for residents and respecting local communities. Following a protracted public policy fight, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper issued an executive order in mid-2014 creating the Colorado Oil and Gas Task Force to find ways to reduce conflicts and suggest ways to improve relationships and propose strategies.
The governor charged the task force, led by the Keystone Policy Center, with finding collaborative ways to balance oil and gas development — one of the most important economic drivers in Colorado — and private mineral right holders’ interests with local residents, public health officials, and conservationists’ concerns.
The task force, whose members represented the diverse opinions and interests around energy development in Colorado, conducted six months of listening sessions around the state from September 2014 forward. The task force’s final recommendations, crafted based on stakeholders comments and other input, represented a series of consensus proposals for enhancing oversight and response to Colorado’s ongoing energy boom. State policymakers are in the process of implementing the task force’s recommendations.
