As 2016 nears, Democratic Congressman Jared Polis is once again using the threat of a ballot measure on fracking to try to coerce Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, generally viewed as pro-energy industry, into tougher regulations, the Associated Press reports today.
As we reported last summer, Polis agreed to end his financial support for two anti-fracking ballot measures only after he’d cornered Hickenlooper into creating an 18-member legislative advisory commission to study fracking and make policy recommendations.
But as the AP notes, the commission’s conclusions have left Polis less than enthused:
After five months of meetings, the panel suggested giving local governments a consulting role but not the power to set their own oil and gas rules. The task force rejected proposals to require disclosure of all the chemicals used in fracking and to give surface property owners more leverage if someone else owns the minerals under their land and wants to drill.
Hickenlooper praised the recommendations, but Democratic congressman Jared Polis, who favors more restrictions, was disappointed. Polis supported ballot issues in 2014 that would have given local governments more control and required new wells to be at least 2,000 feet from houses, but withdrew them in the truce.
Polis said fracking could be on the 2016 ballot if state officials don't further regulate the industry. He stopped short of saying whether he would organize the effort, but he wants lawmakers and regulators to adopt three proposals that weren't formally recommended by the task force.
This clash of wills will be one to watch. Colorado is not only politically purple; it’s also one of the nation’s top 10 energy-producing states. If Polis succeeds in strong-arming Hickenlooper into further concessions, expect his strategy to be duplicated elsewhere in America.