Dave Neslin, who has helmed the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) for five years and who helped to shape and then implement more stringent statewide natural gas and oil regulations, is resigning effective March 1 to join Denver law firm Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP. Neslin, who joined the COGCC on an interim basis in late 2007, was instrumental in implementing the controversial drilling regulations that increased scrutiny of gas and oil production in 2009. Neslin was appointed to his current position in April 2009. Prior to joining the commission Neslin, an attorney, had been a partner in Denver law firm Arnold & Porter. No replacement has been named by the commission.

Pennsylvania state Rep. Camille “Bud” George has announced his intention to retire at the end of the year. First elected in 1974, the Clearfield County Democrat chairs the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee (previously known as the House Conservation Committee). He proposed a 30 cent/Mcf severance tax on high-volume shale wells (among the highest rate proposed during the debates) and suggested that lawmakers not be afraid to delay passage of legislation without “the protections that you and I want not only for ourselves, but for those that we represent.” George also claimed that the recommendations of the Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission didn’t go far enough to protect environmental resources in the state. Sen. Mary Jo White, the long-time Republican chair of the state Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, also plans to retire this year.

©Copyright 2012Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. The preceding news reportmay not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, in anyform, without prior written consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.