Boulder County has released a second draft of oil and gas regulations, which the board of county commissioners will approve before a moratorium on new extraction activity expires at the end of December.

County staff released the initial draft of the new regulations on March 6. Among the major changes between the first and second versions were the addition of a 2,000-foot setback of well pads from any house, educational facility or child care center. The county also clarified protocols for notifying emergency response services for hazardous incidents and will require additional plans from operators for county review, touching on weed control, dust suppression, worker training and other subjects.

“Operators (whether of existing wells or proposed) must supply significant information to demonstrate their financial and technical capabilities, along with their history of complying with oil and gas regulations, which is renewed annually,” a summary of the changes reads.

The county’s planning commission will review the regulations on Nov. 9, followed by an anticipated final vote from commissioners on Dec. 3. The board may also direct staff to modify the regulations, in which case public proceedings could stretch to Dec. 15.

People who wish to make comments may do so by emailing oilgascomment@bouldercounty.org. The proposal arose from Senate Bill 181 enacted last year, which gave localities additional power to regulate extraction activity.