Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission Director Matt Lepore was forced to apologize recently for saying that fracking opponents are affluent individuals unrepresentative of everyday Coloradans.
But if anything, his “apology” is fanning concerns about his fitness to oversee the oil and gas industry.
“I didn’t hear [effects on natural gas prices] being discussed, and I think that’s a mistake, and maybe the improper leap that I made is the people engaged in dialogue just aren’t worried about it.”
He went on to say it probably isn’t his job to be commenting on the finances of fracking critics, but “it’s also sort of inevitable.”
Inevitable? It’s safe to say that state officials charged with overseeing a particular industry should not appear at a conference put on by that industry, and then proceed to assail residents concerned about said industry’s health and safety practices. We want regulators who are tough and balanced, not cheerleaders for an industry they should be keeping under close watch.
Lepore should have gone to visit with the residents on the Front Range concerned about drilling and fracking in their backyards. He would have found people of all stripes who want some local control and assurances that state regulators will step up if drillers compromise their health and safety. Instead, Lepore opted for an “I’m sorry, but it’s an approach that, if anything, leaves residents unsure of where his loyalties lie.
In doing so, he is raising questions again about the competence of state level regulation. State regulators are in charge of inspecting drill sites, investigating well integrity, and implementing fines and other remedies against companies that break the rules.
But critics say that state oil and gas departments see themselves as enablers, not overseers of drilling. Recent news stories have shown a lack of tough enforcement action, leaving communities to take matters into their own hands by imposing fracking and drilling moratoriums and bans, much to the displeasure of industry and state regulators like Lepore’s COGCC.
Other Western states have the same problem. In New Mexico, communities are adopting local restriction on oil and gas development and, even when a driller breaks the rules, regulators are not even allowed to levy fines.
Lepore’s comments, and his apology, will only fan the flames of this debate. The only way to assuage the fears of locals is to listen to them, not write them off as unwarranted. Until oversight officials, like Lepore, recognize their role is to protect the public, not criticize it, they will continue to feel pushback from communities wanting assurances that their interests are attended to and demanding more stringent regulations.