Weld County is making adjustments to its oil and gas regulations, ostensibly to enhance clarity and streamline the permitting process. According to a recent statement from Kevin Ross, Weld County Commissioner, the revisions, which kick in on October 1, focus on the Weld County Oil and Gas Location Assessment (WOGLA) procedure, allegedly to better govern surface-site permitting and prioritize public and environmental safety.
The Bureau managed to notch several points in this regulatory victory, listing enhancements that include clearer noise standards for better enforcement, a waiver option for drainage issues to allow flexibility for site-specific conditions, and a consolidated process for operational notices to heighten efficiency and accountability, according to Weld County. They've also expanded WOGLA's remit to cover geothermal wells, which follows on the heels of prior changes that allowed inspections of Class VI carbon sequestration and Class II injection wells.
In the interests of reducing redundancy and expediting processes, the bureau has also scrapped the Location Assessment for Pipelines, reasoning that the county's use-by-right process suffices with an emergency action plan for pipelines remaining intact, coordinated by the county's office of emergency management.
These updates are the latest in a series of changes stretching back to a 2021 memorandum of understanding with the state, coupled with further adjustments in 2024, aiming to bridge any delays between county and state permitting. It is said that these changes, as represented in Chapter 21 of the Weld County Code, were the product of extensive toil by the Weld County Oil and Gas Energy Department (OGED), striving to deliver a more lucid path for operators navigating the energy sector's regulatory landscape.
