GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo. Gov. Bill Ritter said Monday that regulatory reforms he is proposing are a direct response to concerns he has heard in Garfield County about the effects of energy development on air and water quality.He also said those reforms and others under consideration by the state legislature should not prove too burdensome for producers of natural gas and other energy.”We’re hopeful that we can keep this industry still an industry that thrives,” Ritter said.Ritter spoke on energy and other issues in a phone interview with the Post Independent. His administration has proposed changing the makeup of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to reduce its level of industry-related representation and include members focused on interests such as wildlife, public health and the environment.The COGCC is in charge of regulating oil and gas development in the state. Ritter said his administration’s proposal also better balances the COGCC’s mission by having it treat oil and gas as a resource “and at the same time make sure we pay attention to air and water and land impacts.”Ritter, a Democrat who was elected governor in November, said his proposal is a result of two years of input he received while touring the state and campaigning for governor.”In that period I heard again and again and again how important it was for us to pay attention to impacts,” he said.He said he specifically used Garfield County as an example as he spoke elsewhere in Colorado about dealing with those impacts.Numerous bills are being considered in the legislature to try to reduce the negative effects of oil and gas development. Ritter thinks many of them can make small differences, but changing the COGCC’s makeup and mission would get to the root of the problem.”The fact of the matter is that I think the commission is central to deciding how we go forward and at what pace we go forward,” he said.Ritter said he has heard the energy industry complain that it is “under siege” as a result of all the regulatory reforms state lawmakers are considering. But he doesn’t believe the legislative process will harm the fast-growing industry.”I do think it will help us ensure that we are mindful about how we go forward,” he said.Ritter believes Colorado can play a continually increasing role in meeting the nation’s natural gas needs. He said California has pointed to natural gas as fitting in with its clean energy mandate. Ritter said his administration has been talking to the industry, and he feels he can manage the legislative process “in a way that the industry will not only exist but thrive at the end of the day.”Contact Dennis Webb: 384-8118dwebb@postindependent.comPost Independent, Glenwood Springs Colorado CO