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Boulder County finalized new oil and gas regulations

No new permit applications have been filed

On Dec. 10 last year, the Boulder County Commissioners approved updated Land Use Code regulations that relate to oil and gas production. These regulations were made effective as of Dec. 15, so now the oil and gas industry will be held  to higher standards since the lifting of the moratorium on Dec. 31.

"These regulations are quite stringent," said Jasmine Rodenburg, senior planner in the Boulder County Community Planning and Permitting Department. "This is emblematic in the detail of materials requested during operator registration and the application process for any new drilling permits."

She said the county added new sections to the regulations, which included requirements for seismic testing and guidance for well and pipeline abandonment or decommissioning. They have determined fines and penalties for violating these stricter regulations. There also will be more inspection opportunities for the county in regard to current and proposed sites.

As for implementing these new regulations, Rodenburg said, "Our next steps will be to continue to work through the implementation of the new regulations, staying up to date and involved in COGCC rule-makings and hearings, and working on ongoing oil and gas lawsuits."

One site that has received a lot of attention was that of Crestone Industries, which applied for permits at the state level back in 2017. Its application was put on hold due to Senate Bill 19-181, but Crestone could conceivably try applying again.

At this time, there haven't been any new permit applications at the county level, but there are existing operators within Boulder County who must follow these updated regulations. Should Crestone wish to pursue the application previously filed with the state, it would have to submit a separate, local application, which would go through the county's review process. Crestone did not return requests for comment.

Oil and gas regulations have been a trending topic as of late. In January, President Biden announced that he was instituting an order to halt oil and gas leasing on federal lands. There are some federal lands in Boulder County, but those lands are in the western part of the county and far away from the Wattenburg Field area to the east. Much of this field is in Weld County, but it also extends into Adams, Broomfield, Larimer and Denver counties. It's unlikely that this federal move will have a large effect on fracking in the county.

Previously, there have been calls for an outright ban on fracking. Former Commissioner Elise Jones had said that this is being litigated and that the county is "watching very closely." The city of Longmont's case against the oil and gas industry is currently on appeal, but there have been no further updates.

For those interested in learning more about oil and gas development in Boulder County, information can be  found here. People can also sign up for email/text updates with this link; and then select "Oil and Gas Development" under the "Hot Topics" section. Finally, written comments can be submitted to oilgascomment@bouldercounty.org.

 

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