Colorado oil and gas industry sues to kill Longmont fracking ban

Font ResizeEnvironmentBy Bruce Finley
The Denver Postdenverpost.comPosted: 12/17/2012 07:18:11 PM MSTDecember 18, 2012 2:19 AM GMTUpdated: 12/17/2012 07:18:12 PM MST

  The oil and gas industry on Monday hit Longmont with a lawsuit to kill voters' recent ban on fracking within city limits.

The Colorado Oil and Gas Association contends the ban is illegal because it denies mineral owners the right to develop their property and blocks operations that state laws allow.

COGA has asked Weld County district court to invalidate the resolution passed by Longmont voters.

"We recognize and understand that the citizens of Longmont are concerned about the safety of their environment," COGA president Tisha Schuller said in a written statement.

"We hope that the lawsuit can be quickly resolved," Schuller continued, so that industry and the city can cooperate "to address those concerns in a way that does not illegally preclude the safe and responsible development of oil and gas reserves."

Longmont leaders vowed to fight back.

"We will vigorously defend our charter and the will of the people," City Council woman Katie Witt said.

The voters on Nov. 6. changed the city charter to prohibit fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, and the storage of fracking waste in the city. Energy companies frack by blasting millions of gallons of water, sand and chemicals deep underground to loosen oil and gas held in rock.

Colorado residents elsewhere along the Front Range also are pushing to ban oil and gas operations inside municipal limits. Local governments face intensifying pressures as drilling expands close to communities. They've tried to respond to constituents by toughening health and safety regulations that could withstand legal challenges.

However, when Longmont's council passed tougher regulations this year, Gov. John Hickenlooper directed state attorneys to sue the city, challenging local authority.

State lawmakers have established the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to simultaneously regulate and promote development of oil and gas resources. COGA's lawsuit aims to set a precedent.

Hickenlooper on Dec. 6 said the state will not sue Longmont again over the action of voters but that it will support any lawsuit by companies. On Monday, neither the governor's office nor state natural resources officials responded to queries.

Industry officials say the oil and gas under Longmont is worth $500 million.

"A ban on oil and gas development ignores our interdependence with oil and gas," Schuller said. That means "products we use, including electricity production, home heating, cooking and hot water, movement of goods and services, and our essential transportation needs."

Bruce Finley: 303-954-1700, twitter.com/finleybruce or bfinley

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