COLORADO: Choked out: How Colorado’s regulatory maze is starving its energy producers.

Few states rival Colorado’s wealth of energy resources, but its oil and gas industry is up against increasing challenges. Small and mid-sized operators, once the industry’s backbone, are struggling with a growing tangle of regulations.

Delayed permits, overlapping oversight and rising fines are making it harder to stay in business, forcing many to reconsider their future in the state.

Ryan Clark, Vice President of Engineering at Petrox Resources and a fourth-generation Coloradan working in his family’s oil and gas business, has watched small operators disappear under the weight of increased regulations.

“Honestly, I don’t know if oil and gas has a future here,” he said. “Growing up, this was a business people built for generations. Now, I don’t see a lot of small operators doing much. And I don’t see a lot of big operators either. It’s like Colorado is pushing everyone out.”

Tyson Johnston, a father of four, serves as the Vice President of Land & Regulatory at Gunnison Energy LLC to ensure energy development is environmentally responsible and economically viable. He takes pride in industry innovations that reduce emissions and support sustainable energy solutions.

Johnston echoed similar concerns. “The end game under Polis will be importing energy. He believes it’s all going to be wind and solar, but the truth is that’s never going to be the case. We’ll be importing oil and gas from states that are less responsible with how they produce.”

I laugh — bitterly — every time I read some earnest tribute to my “libertarian” governor’s light regulatory touch.

Gov. Polis already signed a law banning the sale of pistols to anyone under 21. That strikes me as an unconstitutional infringement although perhaps I’m wrong. He’s expected to sign new legislation banning ammunition sales to 18-to-21-year-olds and requiring shops to store their ammo out of reach. The first part may or may not be constitutional but the second is a very big and expensive FU to gun store owners.