We know now that last month’s deadly house explosion in Firestone was caused by a leak in an old gas line that was believed to be out of service but, for unknown reasons, was still connected to a producing gas well.

And the response has been what we would expect in the aftermath of a catastrophe. The governor ordered inspections of all similar gas lines within 1,000 feet of occupied buildings and Anadarko Petroleum, which owns the well, shut down 3,000 similar wells out of an abundance of caution.

That hasn’t stopped organizations opposed to drilling and fracking from calling for the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to impose tougher restrictions or beef up enforcement of existing rules.

But Colorado’s regulatory framework is already extensive. It’s questionable that adding safeguards will change anything because the existing rules seems to be working fine when producers follow them. Mistakes and human error happen in every enterprise. When people die, those mistakes invariably lead to calls for government intervention to ensure public safety.

Read more at The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel.