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. Driving the conflict is a set of controversial new rules the state water-quality control commission adopted in March that require oil and gas operators to get an erosion-control pennit for wells on sites of I to 5 acres, In doing so, Colorado became one of the first states in the nation to try to control contamination and prevent erosion at oil and gas sites under construction. The commission, however, is set to reconsider these rules because of language in the 2005 energ-j bill that gives the oil and gas industry a free pass on several provisions of the Clean Water Act, including controlling stormwater runoff, After the federal legislation was passed this summer, the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment recommended to the commission that it spike the new rules and transfer responsibility of the small sites to the state oil and gas conservation commission. Similarly, the industry trade group, the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, asked the state water-quality control commission to consider abolishing stormwater rules for sites larger than 5 acres. NOAAINWS Forecasting Products: Michelle Garrison has been working with NOAA and the National Weather Service (NWS) to provide input on current and future weather and streamflow forecasting products, Michelle represented Colorado at a NOAAlNational Weather Service streamflow forecasting conference in Utah and gave a presentation on Colorado's uses of and needs for forecasting products. Michelle gave a similar presentation at a local NOAA/NWS meeting. She also participates in ongoing discussions with various agencies within NOAAlNWS as they strive to improve and tailor their forecasting products. Energy Companies Trying to Find Ways to Use Resource: The state's oil and gas wells pump up millions of gallons of water a day, Most ofthat water isn't used, but energy companies, state officials and potential users are looking at ways to turn that wasted water into a new water resource, . Petroglyph Operating, a Kansas-based company that's tapping coal-bed methane deposits near La Veta, wants to find a good use for the water, Petroglyph's wells produce up to 6.5 million gallons of water each day. The water flows into the Cucharas River under a permit from the Colorado Water Quality Control Division, During the drought, residents' water wells west ofWalsenburg dried up and the county arranged limited use of Petroglyph's water, The water was used for livestock, dust control on roads as well as drought-stressed vegetable gardens and landscaping. He said Huerfano County, the local economic development agency and Colorado State University's extension service were looking at how to do that. Statewide, estimates vary on the volume of groundwater pumped to the surface by oil and gas operations, but there's enough to generate interest. Statewide, oil and gas operators produce about 10 billion gallons of water a year - enough for 130,000 households, However, most of the water from energy development isn't near cities or towns, so pipeline costs and treatment expenses haven't made it an attractive water source, Some of the water from oil and gas drilling is almost good enough to drink, some contains so much salt its called brine and the remainder is undrinkable without treatment because of petroleum byproducts.. Some of the wastewater from energy production is pumped back into the ground, some is stored in evaporation ponds and some, using the health department's permitting system, flows into the state's streams and rivers, . 23