DENVER - A spokesman for the Colorado Oil and Gas Association said rules adopted Dec. 10 will make Colorado "the most challenging state in the nation for the natural gas and oil industry to conduct business."

John Swartout said the new drilling regulations adopted by the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission will hurt the oil and gas industry and threaten the state's shaky economy.

"Not only is today a disappointing day for Colorado's No. 1 economic contributor, it is a sad day for Colorado's economic well-being," Swartout said in a Dec. 10 statement. "The COGCC commissioners approved rules that create the most expensive, time-consuming and burdensome regulatory environment in the nation at a time when Colorado should be fighting to keep jobs."

Swartout said the new rules will make drilling for natural gas and oil tougher. "Particularly during these uncertain economic times, Colorado's oil and gas industry needs a stable regulatory environment to thrive and today what the COGCC commissioners approved were rules that create uncertainty and instability."

The Colorado General Assembly will review the new rules after the legislature convenes on Jan. 7.

Among other things, the rules establish protection zones around streams that serve public water supplies; require notice to nearby landowners and public comment periods for development proposals; and allow state health department and the Colorado Department of Wildlife to offer recommendations on oil and gas proposals.

Swartout called such state oversight burdensome, while Harris Sherman, director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources and chair of the oil and gas commission, said he believed the new rules struck the right balance between industry profits and the public interest.

"Thanks to all of this public, industry and stakeholder input, we have crafted a modern framework that will allow one of our most important industries to thrive while protecting the things that make Colorado such a great place to live and work," Sherman said in a statement.