Fenberg Bill to Prevent Forced Mineral Development Clears Committee

Fenberg: “This bill creates guardrails that will allow local governments to decide for themselves whether their mineral holdings will be developed or not.”

DENVER, CO – Legislation sponsored by Senate President Steve Fenberg, D-Boulder, that would bolster the rights of mineral owners, especially local governments, by putting protections around “forced pooling” orders cleared the Senate Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee today. Forced pooling is the mandatory consolidation of leased and unleased minerals to access one common underground mineral reserve.

SB24-185 would ensure publicly-owned minerals aren’t developed against the will of local governments, and promote transparency around the process for proving that oil and gas operators own or control 45 percent of the mineral rights within a drilling unit in order to force pool the remaining minerals in the unit.

“Many local governments in Colorado own minerals that have been purchased with public funds, and because of our ‘forced pooling’ law our communities have been forced to develop those minerals against their will and without their consent,” Fenberg said. “This bill creates guardrails that will allow local governments to decide for themselves whether their mineral holdings will be developed or not.”

Current law requires oil and gas operators to own or control 45 percent of the mineral rights within a drilling unit in order to force pool others’ minerals, but it does not require operators to submit sufficient evidence of their proportion of ownership or control. SB24-185 also requires operators to provide a list of the public leases that make up the 45 percent threshold. 

The bill also prevents drilling from starting until a force pooling order has been issued, which would ensure that the 45 percent mineral right threshold has been met before extraction begins.

SB24-185 will now move to consideration before the Senate Appropriations Committee. Track the bill’s progress HERE.