ERIE, Colo. (AP) - Erie leaders have rejected a one-year ban on drilling, hoping instead to negotiate limits on the locations of new oil and gas wells.
Town trustees voted 4-3 on Tuesday night to reject the moratorium on all new oil and gas development, the Daily Camera (https://bit.ly/18uV6DQ) reported.
The moratorium was introduced after town officials found that a memorandum of understanding being negotiated with Encana, a major natural gas producer, did not meet the town goals for regulation and concessions.
Mayor Pro Tem Mark Gruber said the moratorium was introduced out of desperation, but Encana and Anadarko Petroleum have since expressed a desire to negotiate with the town over how new drilling should proceed.
The town could get the companies to put all new oil and gas wells at least 1,000 feet from homes, twice the minimum distance required by the state, he said.
“If we pass this moratorium, we would lose more than we stand to gain,” he said.
Other communities that have passed drilling bans have been sued by the state and energy industry. Longmont is fighting to restore its ban after a judge ruled that it interfered with the state’s ability to regulate oil and gas drilling.
U.S. Rep. Jared Polis had tried to intervene in that court fight but the Colorado Court of Appeals on Tuesday rejected, without explanation, a friend of the court brief the Boulder Democrat had submitted with an attorney for Boulder County commissioners.
The judge asked the county commissioners’ lawyer to resubmit the brief without Polis’ name. Longmont is not part of Polis’ congressional district.
Polis spokesman Scott Overland said the decision will not affect the merits of the case.
“Representative Polis will continue to use avenues available to him to ensure local residents have control over their communities,” Overland said in a statement.
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Information from: Daily Camera, https://www.dailycamera.com/
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