About ECMC

Our Mission

Our mission is to regulate the development and production of oil and gas, deep geothermal resources, the capture and sequestration of carbon, and the underground storage of natural gas in a manner that protects public health, safety, welfare, the environment and wildlife resources.

About Our Work

We are team of experts who work across the state to uphold our mission and ensure operators comply with our rules. ECMC establishes rules and regulations through a rulemaking process, inspects operator sites to be in compliance with the rules and, if needed, uses enforcement tools to ensure all operators are in compliance with the rules and regulations to protect public health, safety, welfare, wildlife and the environment.

In 2019, Senate Bill 19-181 changed the mission of the Agency from “fostering” to “regulating” oil and gas in a manner protective of the public health, safety, welfare, wildlife and the environment. In 2023, Senate Bill 23-285 changed the Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission to the Colorado Energy & Carbon Management Commission (ECMC). The new name reflects the agency’s expanded regulatory authority beyond the development and production of oil and gas. 

ECMC has five full-time professional Commissioners who are appointed by the Governor. Our team of 200+ staff members make recommendations to the Commission.