Colorado, feds to hash out oil, gas regulations

State and federal officials plan to sort out questions about how Colorado's proposed new oil and gas regulations will apply to federal land. Last year, the Colorado office of the Bureau of Land Management said it believed some of the state regulations would be pre-empted by federal laws. Industry officials say they wouldn't know which regulations to follow on federal land. The Legislature is considering the rules, which will take effect April 1 in most places if they're approved. They would take effect May 1 on federal land. State officials will talk to the BLM about the regulations, said Dave Neslin, acting director of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, which regulates the drilling industry. He said the staff will recommend delaying the start date of rules on federal if the two sides don't settle issues by May. "We expect to be sitting down with the (commission) in the very near future," BLM spokesman Jim Sample said last week. The roughly 100 rules moving through the Legislature would enact two laws requiring more consideration of the environment, wildlife and public health and safety when approving oil and gas development...AP

The outcome of these negotiations will set a precedent across the western states, including New Mexico.