The task force created by Gov. John Hickenlooper to resolve conflicts over oil and gas drilling in Colorado met for the first time on Thursday in Denver, kicking off a five-month process that members said they hope will result in a legislative solution to one of the state’s most divisive issues.

“The work you’re going to do is going to have great significance to the state,” Hickenlooper, calling himself “an incurable optimist,” told members of the panel, convened inside a packed classroom at the Colorado Parks and Wildlife offices.

“I think you guys can do it,” he said, acknowledging that the interests represented on the task force involve “difficult circumstances and difficult history.”

The challenge, Hickenlooper said, will be getting “to that place where there is agreement of a path forward and a solution to what so many people see as an impassable blockage.” Coloradans, he added, are known for solving problems through collaboration “We do things differently in Colorado.”

Hickenlooper established the 21-member task force — charged with recommending legislation to the General Assembly by late February — as part of a deal to remove competing initiatives from the November ballot, including two measures funded by U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, a Boulder Democrat, that critics say could have crippled the state’s energy industry but that backers contend would have set needed restrictions on a recent explosion of drilling in more densely populated parts of the state.

The task force is supposed to consider a myriad of issues, including setback restrictions for wells, whether local governments can adopt stricter rules than the state’s, the potential for different regulations in rural and urban areas, how to reconcile the interests of landowners and those who own separated mineral rights, and how to handle noise, air quality, dust and traffic problems.

According to the executive order issued by Hickenlooper, any legislation proposed by the task force requires the backing of two-thirds of its members.Much of the task force’s initial meeting was spent introducing members and going over housekeeping matters. Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission director Matt Lepore delivered a crash course in the history and current state of oil and gas drilling and regulations, and Geoff Wilson of the Colorado Municipal League discussed how some local governments are dealing individually with energy companies.

Panel co-chairs Randy Cleveland, president of XTO Energy, and La Plata County Commissioner Gwen Lachelt, the founder and former director of Earthworks’ Oil & Gas Accountability Project, both called on task force members to seek solutions.

“There are many difficult issues to face. That being said, I am very optimistic that, if we approach this in the right way, that we can be successful,” Cleveland said. He urged task force members to “really, really listen” and to avoid hardening positions early. Saying that the challenge was “getting to yes,” Lachelt made it clear that she brings a perspective formed over decades.

“When I heard that the ballot initiatives would go away as part of this compromise agreement, I was really disappointed,” she said. “It was a monumental effort to collect the signatures required to put these initiatives on the ballot. Taking those decisions out of the hands of the people of Colorado felt — and still feels — like a real blow to the democratic process. And, as we all know, those votes could have gone either way. A victory would likely have led to a lengthy process to implement the voters’ decisions; a defeat would likely have led to decisions on what to do next. And in my mind, what to do next would look something like this task force.”

Lachelt then repeated complaints she heard in the late 1980s when an oil company commenced plans to drill hundreds of wells in La Plata County, including from a woman who was urged to move to a hotel if the drilling bothered her and another who said her water turned black.

“We had so many impacts, we couldn’t keep pace,” Lachelt said, recalling that she was then part of “countless efforts to bring oil and gas development into check.”

“There is a lot of skepticism out there that we will fail, that this process is designed to fail,” she said, adding that she agreed to serve on the task force because she believed otherwise. “Stonewalling in pursuit of the perfect is not an option. Practical solutions to real-world problems are needed.”

Not everyone, however, wants to “get to yes.”

Hickenlooper’s Republican challenger, former U.S. Rep, Bob Beauprez, blasted the task force and said through a spokesman that he will dismantle it if he wins election in November.

“The proceedings today confirm two things Coloradans already know about John Hickenlooper: he expects more regulations to come from the Polis Commission and he lets others tell him what he should do,” Beauprez campaign spokesman Allen Fuller told The Colorado Statesman. “So much for ending uncertainty for Colorado job creators. Hickenlooper clearly just kicked the can down the road.”

Fuller said that a Beauprez victory would mean the end of the task force. “The only outcome from the Polis Commission will be more regulation on Colorado job creators.”

Task force members — appointed by Hickenlooper to represent the energy, agricultural and homebuilding industries, local government and conservationists and the public at large — sounded a more hopeful note.

Russ George, a former speaker of the Colorado House and past director of the state’s Division of Wildlife, Department of Natural Resources and Department of Transportation, called himself “a very strong believer in the collaborative process” and said that the task force will allow all voices to be heard, include “non-powerful, minority voices.” It’s possible to “find the balance,” the Republican said. “Anything, anytime can derail this kind of effort, so it takes that true good faith and intention on everyone’s part.” Brad Holly, a vice president of Anadarko, said his company works individually with local governments and landowners all the time, suggesting that solutions might not be best addressed through regulations. The task force, he said, needs to get to the root of the problems rather than offer blanket solutions that might inhibit effective local control.

“It’s really important for us to focus on the idea that these are complicated problems and we should really strive to avoid simple solutions,” said Bruce Rau of the Colorado Association of Home Builders, warning against any unintended consequences a blunt approach might yield.

Western Resources Advocates President Jon Goldin-Dubois noted that the task force was created because of conflicts between “competing but legitimate interests” and said that would likely result is “a set of solutions that perhaps leave none of us happy.”

Former Colorado Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Kourlis said she hopes the task force can transcend the bitter partisanship that seems prevalent lately.

“All of us would like to say that Colorado is different, that we have an open-mindedness, a willingness to work toward solutions that actually are balanced,” Kourlis said. “I challenge all of us to get there, to prove us right, that we can do this and not to prove the naysayers right, that it’s impossible. Colorado is different, and we are uniquely a laboratory for the playing out of the issues that are before this task force.”

The meeting concluded with two hours of brief public comments, which ran the gamut of views on the question, although the vast majority warned the task force against shackling the industry with harmful regulations.

Kim Stevens of Environment Colorado pressed the case for local control over drilling methods that involve hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking.”

“We believe Colorado communities will have the right to say ‘no’ to fracking within their borders. That will be the real measure of progress,” she said in a statement. “The public deserves a comprehensive, statewide solution to this problem.”

“The benefits of this industry range from well-paying jobs to tax revenue for schools and local and state governments to lower energy costs,” said Tamra Ward, president and CEO of Colorado Concern, a coalition of business executives, in a statement. “But to not only survive, but thrive, the industry needs some certainty. It needs to know what the rules are and why. We believe a comprehensive and consistent approach to oil and gas development and regulation is the best way to ensure that we protect our environment while remaining an inviting place for future energy investment.”

Noting the outsized role the oil and gas industry plays in the state’s economy, Kelly Brough, president of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement, “This industry not only powers our economy, but provides us all with a clean, cost-effective and efficient energy source that’s produced using the consistent and safe statewide regulations that others across the nation look to as a best practice.”

The next meeting of the task force is in Durango Oct. 9 and 10, followed by a meeting in Rifle Nov. 5 and 6, a return to Denver on Dec. 10, and then a meeting in Greeley Jan. 15 and 16. The task force has its final meetings set for Denver on Feb. 2 and 24.

See the Sept. 26 print edition for full photo coverage.

— Ernest@coloradostatesman.com