The enforcement consequences of Colorado’s oil and gas data falsification scandal are finally here, and once again, they’re deeply disappointing.
On June 3, 2026, the ECMC filed proposed orders assessing a combined $11.6 million in penalties against five operators (listed below) for their roles in the falsified spill remediation laboratory reports we first started covering in December 2024. On the surface, $11.6 million sounds like accountability. Look closer, and the picture is far grimmer.
What Rules Were Violated?
In all 5 instances, the ECMC alleged violations of Rule 207 and Rule 602:
- 207. REPORTS: Any report required under the Commission’s Rules or requested by the Director or the Commission will be timely filed, accurate, complete, and comply with the requirements set forth in the Commission’s Rules or any requirement set by the Director or the Commission.
- 602. GENERAL SAFETY REQUIREMENTS: Pursuant to Rule 602.a, Operators will familiarize their employees, contractors, and subcontractors with the Commission’s Rules as they relate to the person’s job functions. Pursuant to Rule 602.c., Operators are responsible for ensuring that operations are conducted with due regard for the safety of employees, for the preservation and conservation of property, and for protecting and minimizing adverse impacts to public health, safety, welfare, the environment, and wildlife resources.
59% of Penalties Suspended
Operator | Total Penalty | Settlement Amount Due | Public Project Funding | Amount Suspended | % Suspended |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noble Energy Inc. | $8,020,919 | $400,000 | $783,003 | $4,812,551 | 60% |
| Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas Onshore LP | $2,139,777 | $267,472 | $1,872,305 | 88% | |
| Bonanza Creek Energy Operating Company LLC | $932,392 | $133,098 | $100,000 | $699,294 | 75% |
| Crestone Peak Resources Operating LLC | $255,851 | $63,963 | $191,888 | 75% | |
| Extraction Oil & Gas Inc. | $228,383 | $57,096 | $171,287 | 75% |
$7.7 million of the total penalties for the data falsification by these five operators (59%) is suspended. This is in stark contrast to the historical pattern of the ECMC settling for 35% suspended penalties on average (see chart above, courtesy EcoCarto). After years of falsified lab reports submitted to state regulators, after hundreds of spill sites across Weld and Larimer Counties went without rigorous environmental testing, these five companies will collectively write checks totaling less than $1 million. The rest? Mostly forgiven because these operators were gracious enough to pay a pittance for their years-long malfeasance without putting up a fight.
Public Project Funding
Rather than paying the full penalties to the state, Noble Energy and Bonanza Creek will be allowed to satisfy a combined $883,003 of their assessed penalties by funding a collection of “public projects.” As the operator with the largest assessed penalty, Noble receives a favorable 1.54:1 credit ratio, meaning every dollar it spends counts as $1.54 toward its penalty. The projects include:
- Data audit (~$230,000, Noble): hiring a contractor to review Forms 27 and 19 submitted by Eagle and Tasman from late 2021 through 2026, looking for additional falsified data. Noble is essentially funding the investigation into its own contractors’ wrongdoing.
- Split sampling (~$156,503, Noble): funding a contractor to collect independent testing samples alongside those taken by Noble and its subcontractors, so the ECMC can directly compare results. Basically, Noble is paying for the oversight mechanism that should have existed all along.
- Geothermal Summit ($150,000, Noble): a payment to the Payne Institute for Public Policy at the Colorado School of Mines to support a geothermal energy conference co-hosted by the ECMC in November 2026. It’s hard to see how sponsoring an energy industry conference is meaningful accountability for falsified spill data.
- Groundwater software (~$130,000, Noble): funding for the Ground Water Protection Council‘s WaterSTAR data management platform for state oil and gas agencies.
- Pit site cleanup (~$116,500, Noble): funds an independent contractor to assess abandoned pit sites needing waste removal, soil sampling, and reclamation.
- Energy assistance (up to $100,000, Bonanza Creek): funding to Energy Outreach Colorado, which provides energy bill assistance and resources to low-income Coloradans. Of all the public projects across these five cases, this is the one most clearly benefiting the communities in which these companies operate.
Altogether, funding these public projects will absolve Noble and Bonanza Creek of $883,003 in penalties paid to the ECMC.
Attend the June 24th Commission Hearing
All five cases go before the Commission on June 24, 2026. We encourage you to register to make public comment and express your outrage and disappointment.
More About Data Falsification
We’ve been covering this story since it broke. If you’re just catching up, our previous reporting includes preliminary statistics on the affected locations, a map of every falsified report site, a closer look at the five locations in and around Erie, and an April 2025 update from ECMC Director Julie Murphy.
