Natural Gas Intelligence reports that “with support from the oil/gas industry, Colorado lawmakers are recrafting a bill (HB 1356) this session to increase maximum fines that can be assessed against oil and natural gas operators for “significant waste of oil/gas resources.” Similar legislation was defeated last year.”  

“HB 1356 would raise the maximum daily penalty from $1,000 to $15,000 in cases where the violation doesn’t result in a “significant waste of oil and gas resources,” or damage correlative rights, resulting in a significant adverse impact on public health, safety and welfare. This would be Colorado’s first increase since 1955.”  

“The legislation would direct the state Oil/Gas Conservation Commission (OGCC) to create a process for determining when violations start and end, assessing the fines for the number of days involved. OGCC would also have to publish quarterly reports on the fines assessed.”