Laramie Energy gives Mesa County a bleak outlook on future under present regulation
By Lindy Browning | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice
In an informational work session, Chris Clark of Laramie Energy gave Mesa County Commissioners Cody Davis and JJ Fletcher an update concerning how ever-increasing regulatory policy in Colorado is not only impacting smaller oil and gas companies, but also cutting into the county budget.
Energy producing counties have relied on their share of the severance tax, a tax that is extracted from fossil fuel energy developing companies that is designed to cover infrastructure impacts like water development, roads and local entities.
In the past, severance tax dollars paid for local libraries, hospital wings, firefighting facilities and equipment, municipal water line replacements, and funded upgrades to local schools, among many...