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clipped from online.wsj.com

DENVER — Colorado’s Oil and Gas Conservation Commission is asserting control over the state’s booming energy industry with its approval of the most far-reaching drilling restrictions in the nation.

Regulations laid out this month in a 177-page document immediately drew fire from the industry and from some lawmakers, who say the restrictions will drive energy companies out of the state at a time when Colorado needs more high-paying oil and gas jobs.

Among other things, drilling will be restricted — and, in some areas, prohibited — around streams that provide drinking water. State wildlife officials must be consulted before drilling proceeds in vast stretches of western Colorado that are labeled “sensitive habitat” because bald eagles nest there or mule deer overwinter.

“These rules have made a grim situation almost intolerable for these companies,” said state Sen. Josh Penry, a Republican who represents a heavily drilled region on the western slope. “This is killing jobs.”