There is hereby created in the department of natural resources the division of oil and gas resources management, which shall be administered by the chief of the division of oil and gas resources management. The division has sole and exclusive authority to regulate the permitting, location, and spacing of oil and gas wells and production operations within the state, excepting only those activities regulated under federal laws for which oversight has been delegated to the environmental protection agency
(1) (a) It is declared to be in the public interest and the commission is directed to: (I) Regulate the development and production of the natural resources of oil and gas in the state of Colorado in a manner that protects public health, safety, and welfare, including protection of the environment and wildlife resources; (II) Protect the public and private interests against waste in the production and utilization of oil and gas; (III) Safeguard, protect, and enforce the coequal and correlative rights
A. No well or test well may be drilled in search of minerals without first obtaining a permit from the commissioner of conservation, and the commissioner shall collect for each such well or test well a drilling permit fee. The commissioner shall periodically review the fees collected by his office for drilling permits and may revise such fees pursuant to the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act. B. (1) A six-month permit shall be valid for one hundred eighty days from the date
(a) Every applicant for a mining permit shall submit to the department a mined land-use plan which shall set forth in detail an outline of the mining property and the affected land, the applicant's mining plan and the applicant's reclamation plan. After the department has issued a mining permit, the permittee shall not deviate or depart from the mined land-use plan without approval by the department of an alteration or amendment thereto. (b) The applicant's mining and reclamation plans shall describe