The resignation of Meg Collins as president of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association (COGA) has touched off speculation in conservation circles that the state’s leading trade group for the oil and gas industry was dissatisfied with the worsening regulatory climate for energy extraction in Colorado.
Collins, who stepped down last week to “pursue other interest,” spent most of her two-year tenure battling the Ritter administration and Democrat-controlled legislature over the more environmentally stringent drilling regulations that went into effect April 1. COGA has filed a lawsuit challenging the new regs.
A graduate of the University of Colorado with a degree in environmental conservation, Collins came to COGA after five years as head of environmental affairs at the Colorado Livestock Association.
Some environmental activists are fearful that a new COGA president will pursue industry interests with a renewed vigor that will further endanger air and water quality, wildlife habitat and public safety on the Western Slope and in other gas-rich regions of the state.
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