Dear County Commissioners,
As a resident of Larimer County, I applaud revised Section 11.1 dealing with Intent, Purpose, and Applicability, which make the protection of public health, safety, and welfare, and the environment and wildlife the first priority. To continue this theme in today’s subject of financial assurance, please support the following:
Under Section 11.3.26 A.2 regarding Fees, the County should charge a minimum $5,000 application fee plus Operator and Inspection fees.
The County should require annual proof of surety bond status and solvency of the Insurer.
Operators should cover a surety bond tied to the actual cost of reclamation. The $90,000 per oil and gas well surety bond in the current draft is a good step, but the average cost of site reclamation is disputed, and the Commission should consider doubling the bond amount to $180,000 as reclamation costs will only rise, and this specific amount is currently used in North Dakota.
Regulations are only as good as the penalties and enforcements included. I implore the Commission to include robust penalties and enforcements as specifically detailed below, taken from Boulder County’s recently revised regulations: https://assets.bouldercounty.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Resolution-2020-95.pdf pages 39-40.
2-1500 Fines and Penalties
A. Fines for Violations. An Operator who violates any condition of approval imposed for the oil and gas facility or
operation or any provision of Section 12-400, 12-500, 12-600, or 12-700 will be subject to a civil penalty assessed by the Director.
B. Process.
- Identification of Violation. If the Director has reasonable cause to believe that a violation has occurred, the
Director will issue a Notice of Violation to the Operator. Each violation of an individual condition or Code
provision will be considered a separate infraction. Each day that a violation remains will be considered a
separate infraction.
a. Contents of Notice of Violation:
i. Provisions of this Article or conditions imposed on a permit that are violated;
ii. Short and plain statement of the facts alleged to constitute each violation;
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iii. A statement that the Operator will be subject to fines as specified in this section; and
iv. A demand that the violation be remedied
2. Response. The Operator will have the time specified by the Director in the notice to respond to the Notice of Violation, unless an extension is requested in writing and granted by the Director. The Response mustaddress each violation, including the cause of the violation and any corrective actions taken, and identify
any other relevant facts.
3. Assessment of Fine
a. Based on the Operator’s response, if any is provided, and any other competent evidence, the Director
will determine if a violation has occurred and, if so, the appropriate penalty to assess. Any fine
imposed after consideration of the response will be measured with respect to the first date of
discovery of the violation or the date the violation first occurred and continues until the violation has
been remedied to the satisfaction of the Director.
b. If the Operator disputes the Director’s determination that a violation occurred or the amount of any
fine assessed, an appeal as specified in Section 12-1500(D) must be made within 14 days of the
determination. Any requirement to remedy the violation will not be stayed during the appeal period.
C. Penalty Calculation. The Director has discretion to assess a civil penalty between $300 and $15,000 per
violation per day, depending on the nature and severity of the violation, statutory authority, and application
of the additional factors listed in subsection (b) below.
1. To evaluate the severity of the violation, the Director will consider the following:
a. Degree of threatened or actual impact to public health, safety, welfare, the environment or wildlife;
b. Existence, size, and proximity of potentially impacted livestock, wildlife, fish, soil, crops, water, and all
other environmental resources;
c. Degree of threatened or actual damage to agricultural lands, public lands, private property,
freshwater sources, public drinking water, natural resources, environmental features, or wildlife;
d. The size of the leak, release, or spill;
e. The violation resulted in a significant waste of oil and gas resources;
f. Toxicity of leak or spill;
g. Violation led to death or serious injury; and
h. Duration of the violation.
2. In addition to considering the severity of the violation, the Director will consider the following:
a. Whether the same or similar violations have occurred at the location;
b. Whether other violations have occurred at the location in the previous 12 months;
c. The Operator’s history of violations of any applicable rules, of similar or different types, at the
location or others;
d. The timeliness and adequacy of the Operator’s corrective actions;
e. The degree the violation was outside of the violator’s reasonable control and responsibility;
f. Whether the violator acted with gross negligence, or knowing and willful misconduct;
g. Whether the violator self-reported; and
h. Whether violator was cooperative with all agencies involved in working to mitigate the impacts of the violation.
With best regards,
Susan Quinnell