Colo. Oil and gas drilling in Colorado is no longer confined to the state's most rural areas. Energy companies are moving to drill in populous Front Range communities prompting local planners to suggest regulations that energy companies complaints far exceed county authority. Politicians from both parties are calling for legislation clarifying that locals can't set their own rules when it comes to drilling.(AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)
DENVER — Colorado is trying to regulate an energy boom that is coming closer and closer to suburban homes and schools.
State regulators earlier this month passed new regulations requiring that rigs stay at least 500 feet back from occupied buildings.
Colorado and other states are trying to figure out how to protect residents’ health and desire for quiet in their neighborhoods without stifling a surge in energy exploration that may allow the United States to surpass Saudi Arabia as the world’s top energy producer.
The reaction to Colorado’s new rules shows how hard that will be. Environmentalists complain there are too many loopholes. Industry officials say they’re too burdensome.
