By Lindy Browning | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice
During a time when state legislators are trying to figure out where to cut the budget because of the state operating at what previously was thought to be a $1 billion shortage, the Energy and Carbon Management Commission, previously known as the Colorado Oil and Gas Commission, has announced that they are hiring two new environmental justice liaisons.
According to the announcement on the ECMC website: “We are hiring two EJ Community Liaisons. One position is dedicated to the West Slope and one position is dedicated to the Front Range. You’ll work remotely from home and receive a state-issued electric vehicle to make travel possible as you interact extensively with communities in your region. You’ll work independently but be part of a passionate, committed team.”
It appears that ECMC has prioritized funding for an internal advocate for “disproportionately impacted” communities pushing for a statewide influence, and focus on implementing those energy policies.
“This is a unique opportunity to affect positive change statewide and ensure communities have equitable access to engage in ECMC’s work by coordinating amongst energy industry operators, community groups, individual community members, local governments and Tribes, and other parties,” reads the announcement.
As the state prioritizes spending, local communities who used to develop oil and gas at much higher levels than today are scrambling to try to find funding to replace the millions in funding from severance taxes generated for their communities as a result of fossil fuel development.
Severance taxes from oil and gas used to fund water infrastructure, hospitals, ambulances, fire stations, roads and libraries, among other things in communities where oil and gas workers lived and development was occurring. Those dollars have been shrinking at the same rate that oil and gas development has declined.
The stated mission of (ECMC) is to regulate the development and production of the natural resources of oil and gas, deep geothermal resources, the capture and sequestration of carbon, and the underground storage of natural gas in a manner that protects public health, safety, welfare, the environment and wildlife resources.
Prior to the new name and change in mission statement, COGCC used to have the mission of fostering responsible development, not regulating it out of business. Colorado has vast amounts of oil, gas, coal and mined mineral resources.
Unfortunately, the state government has placed a chokehold on the industry, making the process significantly more expensive for the producer and the consumer.
“We have the most protective standards for energy development in the country and recently adopted new, stronger protections to ensure cumulative impacts from oil and gas operations are addressed as part of our protective regulatory protocol, particularly impacts in disproportionately impacted communities.”
Taking the definition from the Colorado Department of Health and Environment, ECMC defines DI communities at the census block group scale, which is the smallest geographic scale of data available from the U.S. Census Block Bureau and typically contains 600 to 3,000 individuals.
DI communities include low-income communities, communities of color, housing cost-burdened communities, linguistically isolated communities, communities with environmental and socioeconomic impacts, Tribal lands, mobile home communities, and historically marginalized communities.
The irony is that the very policies that Gov. Polis has made a priority for his energy agency to enforce, has made energy more expensive to the communities they say they want to help.
Driving up the cost of energy seems to be something the Polis Administration is quite good at. Policies that overregulate the oil and gas industry and cause the industry to flee the state, putting downward pressure on the evils of coal use through the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), and refusing to add small modular advanced nuclear power to the list of renewables in the state, dominate and showcase the political nature of energy policy in Colorado.
One can hold no doubts concerning the objective of the ECMC agenda when the hiring criterion is as follows.
“At a minimum, you need seven years of professional experience. Candidates with expertise in environmental justice and/or firsthand experience with Disproportionately Impacted (DI) community member(s) and/or extensive advocacy of Disproportionately Impacted (DI) communities are preferred. Extensive advocacy could include, 6+ years of professional community activism, professional position in an EDI or EJ outreach role.”
ECMC emphasizes the need for the successful candidate to demonstrate Spanish language literacy because the community relations team liaises regularly with constituents who are Spanish-speaking. Public speaking, stakeholder engagement, experience with conflict management, experience with public, mass, de-escalation techniques, familiarity with ECMC rules and regulations, current or former state experience relevant to this position, and professional experience with natural resources or environmental justice.
What you may find shocking is that an agency that regulates oil, gas and geothermal energy is hiring people with no experience in the science of oil and gas exploration and development, no experience or knowledge in geography, no related degree in petroleum engineering, or expertise working in or knowledge of the industry.
ECMC and this governor no longer try to quietly slip through the “Colorado Green New Deal”. They are going forth boldly, knowing full well that they control all three branches of Colorado government and there isn’t enough balance in the legislature to push back and stop the most gregarious of their policies.