2020 Q1

government’s disposition of the application; or proof that the affected local government does not regulate the siting of oil and gas facilities. Section 14 also specifies that the operator cannot use the surface owned by a nonconsenting owner without permission from the nonconsenting owner. Current law also sets the royalty that a nonconsenting owner is entitled to receive at 12.5% of the full royalty rate until the consenting owners have been fully reimbursed (out of the remaining 87.5% of the nonconsenting owner’s royalty) for their costs. Section 14 raises a nonconsenting owner’s royalty rate during this pay-back period from 12.5% to 13% for gas and 16% for oil and makes corresponding reductions of the portions of the nonconsenting owner’s royalty from which the consenting owners’ costs are paid. Current law requires the commission to ensure that the 2-year average of the unobligated portion of the oil and gas conservation and environmental response fund does not exceed $6 million and that there is an adequate balance in the environmental response account in the fund to address environmental response needs. Section

15 directs the commission to ensure that the unobligated portion of the fund does not exceed 50% of total appropriations from the fund for the upcoming fiscal year and that there is an adequate balance in the account to support the operations of the commission and to address environmental response needs. Section 16 specifies that for permit-specific conditions for wildlife habitat protection, the commission is required to consult with and obtain consent from a surface owner only if the permit-specific conditions directly impact the affected surface owner’s property or use of that property. Section 17 amends preemption law by specifying that both state agencies and local governments have authority to regulate oil and gas operations and establishes that local government requirements may be more protective or stricter than state requirements.

Section 18 appropriates $851,010 to the department of natural resources to implement the act.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Temporary moratorium extended by Boulder County

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A temporary moratorium on the acceptance and processing of new oil and gas development applications and seismic testing in unincorporated Boulder County is in effect until March 28, 2020. The moratorium began in 2019 and has been extended as Boulder County Commissioners work on a “multi-pronged approach”, pledging to continue to protect public health, safety, and the environment from local oil & gas development.

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G r o w t h T h r o u g h E d u c a t i o n - J a n u a r y / F e b r u a r y / M a r c h 2 0 2 0

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