The Laramie County Board of Commissioners shot down a proposal Tuesday to assert more local control over oil and gas development. The Cheyenne Area Landowners Coalition brought a resolution asking the Commissioners to require more specific mitigation measures for oil and gas drilling than are detailed in state law. It suggested setting limits on light and noise, among other things.
Half a dozen landowners spoke in favor of the resolution, saying the state's requirements are too vague and don't offer adequate protections. But Laramie County’s attorney, Mark Voss, advised Commissioners to vote against the proposal, saying the state has exclusive rights to regulate oil and gas and that any attempt to control it locally would inevitably lead to lawsuits from both the state and industry.
“That litigation would be expensive, it would take a while, and I think in the end, we would be unsuccessful,” he said.
Speaking on behalf of the Petroleum Association of Wyoming, lawyer and former governor Dave Freudenthal agreed with Voss' assessment. Nevertheless, he encouraged state regulators to hold problem companies publicly accountable.
“You know, there’s that old thing about if you want to convince people that you’re serious, every now and then you have to shoot a hostage? If the [Oil and Gas] Commission wants to make sure that it’s serious about this, just as we did, when somebody violates it, they have to be brought up in front of the Commission,” Freudenthal said.
Following the hearing, the commissioners voted 5-0 against the proposal, but several individual commissioners encouraged affected landowners to come to them with any issues, so as to make sure there is a continued public spotlight on the oil and gas companies.
The issue of local control over oil and gas drilling has come up in states across the country in recent years, leading to lawsuits and ballot initiatives from Texas to Colorado.
