American Oil and Gas Reporter - August 2015 - 118

not enough evidence that hardship would
occur if the case was suspended temporarily.
Flanders says that, aside from its ongoing litigation with Broomfield, COGA
is monitoring similar measures in other
communities and dialoguing with them

about possible compromises.
For instance, he says, Platteville, Co.,
"has been very supportive of oil and gas,
and in May, voted in favor of a resolution
that says the town's Board of Trustees
doesn't have any plans to approve bans
or moratoria on oil and gas operations in

COGA Rocky Mountain Energy Summit - Denver, Co.
Monday, Aug. 24

7 a.m.-6 p.m. Golf Tournament, Bear Dance
Golf Club, Denver
7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Exhibitor Move-In, Mile
High Ballroom, Colorado Convention
Center
2-5 p.m. Early Registration, Mile High Prefunction Area

Tuesday, Aug. 25

7:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Registration Open, Mile
High Prefunction Area, Colorado Convention Center
7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Expo Hall Open, Mile
High Ballroom
8 a.m. Breakfast, Mile High Ballroom
8:30-10:15 a.m. Executive Forum One,
Mile High Ballroom-Conference Hall
Panelists: Wouter van Kempen, DCP Midstream Partners; David Lawler, BP
Moderator: Stephanie White, HDR
10:15-11:30 a.m. Networking Break, Mile
High Ballroom
11:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m. Opening Luncheon
& COGA Awards, Mile High BallroomConference Hall
Participants (Subject to Change): Kenneth
Hersh, NGP Energy Capital Management;
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock
1-5 p.m. EHS Half Day, 400s Corridor
1:30-2:45 p.m. General Session, Mile High
Ballroom-Conference Hall
Panelists: Tom Petrie, Petrie Partners LLC;
Robert D. Kaplan, Foreign Correspondent
Moderator: Jennifer Harris, Council on
Foreign Relations
3:15-4:45 p.m. Midstream to Markets, Mile
High Ballroom-Conference Hall
Panelists: Andy Lipow, Lipow Oil Associates; Scott Garner, MarkWest Energy
Partners LP; Paul Davis, PBF Energy
Moderator: Charles Laudeman, Great Western Oil & Gas Company
6-9 p.m. Opening Night Party, Downtown
Denver

Wednesday, Aug. 26

7:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Registration Open, Mile
High Prefunction Area
7:30 a.m.-5:45 p.m. Expo Hall Open, Mile
High Ballroom
8 a.m. Breakfast, Mile High Ballroom
8:30-10:15 a.m. Executive Forum Two,
Mile High Ballroom-Conference Hall

Panelists: Jason DeLorenzo, EnCap Investments LP; David M. Leuschen, Riverstone
Moderator: Barney Jopson, Financial Times
10:15-11:30 a.m. Networking Break in
Expo Hall, Mile High Ballroom
11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Keynote Luncheon &
COGCC Awards, Mile High BallroomConference Hall
Participants: Colorado Attorney General
Cynthia Coffman; Former Houston Mayor
Bill White
1-1:30 p.m. Networking Break in Expo
Hall, Mile High Ballroom
1:30-2:45 p.m. General Session, Mile High
Ballroom-Conference Hall
Panelists: U.S. Senators Michael Bennet,
D-Co., and Cory Gardner, R-Co.
Moderator: Manu Raju, Politico
1:30-5p.m. Emerging Technologies OneHalf Day, 400s Corridor
3-4:30 p.m. Midstream to Markets, Mile
High Ballroom-Conference Hall
Panelists: Bob Gibb, Navigant; Javier
Diaz, BENTEK Energy
Moderator: Chris Briggs, Anadarko Energy
Services Company
4:30-5:45 p.m. Networking Happy Hour in
Expo Hall, Mile High Ballroom

Thursday, Aug. 27

7:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Registration Open, Mile
High Prefunction Area
7:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Expo Hall Open,
Mile High Ballroom
8 a.m. Breakfast, Mile High Ballroom
8:30-9:45 a.m. Executive Forum 3, Mile
High Ballroom-Conference Hall
Panelists: Claire Farley, KKR; David
Stover, Noble Energy Inc.
Moderator: Chris Hansen, IHS Energy
9:45-10 a.m. Networking Break, Mile High
Ballroom
10-11:15 a.m. General Session, Mile High
Ballroom-Conference Hall
Participants: Colorado Governor John
Hickenlooper; Peter Kareiva, The Nature
Conservancy
11:15 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Exhibit Hall Luncheon & Party, Mile High Ballroom
12:30-2 p.m. Midstream to Markets, Mile
High Ballroom-Conference Hall
Panelists: Kelly Van Hull, RBN Energy
LLC; Larry Schwartz, BP
Moderator: Burt Jones, Encana

118 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

its jurisdiction."
Also, COGA Chief Operating Officer
Sarah Landry reports the Brighton, Co.,
City Council voted unanimously in April
to adopt revised drilling regulations. "We
have been actively engaged with Brighton's
regulatory process from the beginning"
she comments. "Brighton has approached
this issue pragmatically, and has worked
tirelessly with a diverse group of stakeholders over months of negotiations to
understand both community concerns and
the technical aspects of energy production.
Brighton should be lauded for taking input
from the COGCC, local chambers and
business leaders, the general public and
industry, and finding common ground.
"This process should serve as a model
across Colorado," Landry continues. "This
win-win outcome proves that local governments have a strong voice in oil and
gas regulation, and that industry is consistently willing to come to the table."

Quiet Chambers
According to Garin Vorthmann, a lobbyist with Colorado Legislative Services
(CLS), a legislative advocacy group that
works with COGA, the 2015 Colorado
legislative session was "fairly quiet,"
without any major anti-industry legislation
being proposed.
The reason, Vorthmann ventures, is
twofold: The governor's task force still
was forming its recommendations, and
the 2014 elections changed the political
dynamics of both the Colorado House of
Representatives and the Senate. Democrats
hold a majority in the Colorado House,
while the Republicans have a majority in
the Senate, she says. "So, if one chamber
proposed it, the other would not pass it,"
Vorthmann reasons.
"It was very quiet this year because
there was so much regulatory activity
between the COGCC and the governor's
task force," she continues. "We don't
expect that to be the case next year. In an
election year, politics will be at play and
we anticipate a lot more oil-and-gasrelated bills, but whether there will be
more pro- than anti-industry legislation,
we are not yet sure."
Since the session ended in May, Vorthmann notes that CLS and COGA have
been monitoring interim committees,
which are dealing mostly with transportation and water issues. "However, sometimes oil and gas issues can come up,
whether in regards to water usage, truck
traffic, or something else entirely," she
comments.
"COGA did take advantage of the
quiet legislative atmosphere, though, by
integrating itself more into the legislative
business community," Vorthmann affirms.

American Oil and Gas Reporter - August 2015

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