The director of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission plans to resign this month and return to practicing law.
David Neslin was appointed to the post in Nov. 2007. During his tenure, the commission overhauled Colorado’s oil and gas development regulations and approved a rule requiring companies to disclose the concentration of chemicals they use in hydraulic fracturing.
Neslin says he worked closely with environmental groups and the oil and gas industry to show that energy production and natural resource protection are not an ‘either-or’ scenario.
“When we updated our regulations three years ago we adopted a number of new requirements, and then we worked with the industry in implementing those requirements to minimize the disruption,” he says. “And at the same time we were able to shorten up permit processing times and extend the duration of drilling permits.”
Neslin says he’ll join the Denver law firm of Davis Graham & Stubbs on March 1, with a focus on public lands and energy.
