A wave of bills in the Colorado legislature to increase oversight of the state’s oil and gas operations has hit a nearly immovable dike in Hickenlooper administration officials and industry lobbyists.

Two bills have died in committee, controversial provisions were removed from two more, and a fifth may not muster enough votes for final passage, its sponsors say.

“Even though we may not pass many bills, we’ve done a lot of work, a lot of research,” said House Majority Leader Dickey Lee Hullinghorst, D-Boulder.

“This is just the start,” said Hollinghorst, who said her groundwater-testing bill, HB-1316, may not get enough Senate support to pass.

As oil and gas drilling has expanded on the Front Range, so has concern among residents in more suburban areas.

“All anyone wanted to talk about was drilling rigs, not the economy or jobs, oil and gas drilling,” said Sen. Matt Jones, D-Louisville.

Spurred by those constituents, Democratic lawmakers filed eight bills aimed at oil and gas drilling oversight and the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, the agency that regulates the industry.

“It has been an uphill battle,” said Jones, whose bill to increase oil and gas operation inspections was cut back. “We’ve taken on 20 to 25 industry lobbyists and the administration.”

Administration officials testified in opposition to bills or parts of bills, saying they were redundant with state rules or unworkable.

Among the officials who testified were Matt Lepore, the director of the oil and gas commission; Chris Urbina, executive director of the state Department of Public Health and Environment; and Bob Randall, deputy director of the Department of Natural Resources.

Industry lobbyists argued that regulation of the industry should be through the state’s comprehensive oil and gas regulations and the state oil and gas commission.

“We’ve tried to work with legislators,” said Stan Dempsey, president of the Colorado Petroleum Association, a trade group.

“But where we questioned the merit behind a bill, we’ve worked hard to make our positions known,” Dempsey said.

The tally on the bills Thursday was:

HB 1273: A bill creating additional funding for local government oil and gas oversight activities failed in a Senate committee.

HB 1275: A bill for a Front Range oil and gas health study failed to get out of committee as the health department’s Urbina said the way it was drafted, it would not provide meaningful data.

SB 202: A bill requiring the addition of about 30 oil and gas inspectors and requiring all oil and gas facilities to be inspected yearly was amended, removing the inspector and inspection requirements. As part of the budget appropriation, 14 new inspectors will be added to the oil and gas commission staff.

What is left is a study to identify the riskiest oil and gas activities.

HB 1316: A bill adding the Wattenberg Field, in Weld and parts of neighboring counties, to the state’s newly adopted groundwater-testing regimen. The field is covered under another, more limited, water-testing rule.

HB-1267: A bill increasing fines for oil and gas violations to a maximum of $15,000 from $1,000. The bill passed over the objections of the sponsors Thursday because a provision requiring a minimum mandatory fine for public health violations, which the administration opposed, was removed.

“Without the minimum penalty, the bill has no teeth,” said Rep. Mike Foote, D-Lafayette, who sponsored the legislation.

A second Foote bill, HB 1269, would remove the mandate that the oil and gas commission “foster” development so that it just focuses on health and safety.

It would bar individuals paid by the industry from serving on the commission. It is opposed by the administration and the industry. If the bill makes it out of the Senate in its current form, administration officials say they would oppose it.

Three other bills — one increasing reporting of spills, another requiring real-estate sale disclosure of mineral leases and a third on air permits — are pending.

Mark Jaffe: 303-954-1912, mjaffe@denverpost.com or twitter.com/bymarkjaffe