Dirty Fuels / Oil & Gas

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Oil and gas drilling has jeopardized the health and safety of Colorado communities, especially our most marginalized neighborhoods. The increased frequency of placing oil rigs near homes and schools is turning many low-income neighborhoods and communities of color into industrial zones. Oil and gas drilling is also harmful for the lands, waters, and wildlife in the surrounding areas.  We’re working to protect Coloradans from oil & gas drilling in the following ways: 

Legislative:
In 2019, we worked to pass SB-181, a pivotal law which sought to increase the prioritization of public health, environmental justice, the environment, and wildlife in oil and gas operations

Regulatory:
We have worked to urge the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to pass protections that will put Colorado’s health and natural environment ahead of oil and gas profits. 

The newest statewide rules passed by the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) include setbacks (safety buffers) of 2,000 feet (compared to the previous law of 500 ft) for homes, schools and riparian areas. Currently, we are monitoring these new rules and regulations to ensure that their implementation have the intended effects of SB181- to increase the prioritization of public health, racial justice, the environment, and wildlife in oil and gas operations.

Colorado Sierra Club also worked with partners and other stakeholders in February of 2021 to secure a first-in-the-nation rule to require some pneumatic control devices at oil-and-gas facilities to be retrofitted to lower methane emissions.

Purpose:

The Colorado Sierra Club Oil and Gas Committee was formed in 2021 to provide an active response to the ongoing and growing threat to human health, wildlife, and biological resources in Colorado.

Mission Statement:

The Sierra Club Oil and Gas Committee mission is 

• to prepare and mobilize the public to participate in rulemaking; 
• to uphold adherence to current regulatory policies, as well as influence future ones; and 
• to identify oil and gas projects that are not in compliance with current rules, and/or that provide an ongoing threat to health, wildlife, and biological resources.

Vision Statement:

Sierra Club Oil and Gas Committee members will do this 

• by conducting grassroots education and outreach; 
• by engaging in rulemaking; 
• by both monitoring and collecting data on existing oil and gas operations in the field, and also reviewing applications for new or expanded drilling and operating sites in Colorado.

Have questions? Interested in joining?

Please feel free to contact JoAnn Hackos, Oil & Gas Team Chair, at joann@jhackos.com for questions and more information, or view the volunteer position description at https://clubvolunteer.org/position_details?id=880