Tough rules in Thornton:

Thornton passes strict oil and gas rules as tensions rise over drilling in neighborhoods. »

THORNTON» City leaders on Tuesday approved a set of oil and gas regulations that exceed what the state requires of energy-extraction firms, setting the stage for potential legal challenges as tensions between Front Range communities and drilling companies mount.

Thornton’s new rules, which the city has been working on for more than a year, establish a 750-foot buffer between wells and homes, more than the 500foot setback required by the state. They also go tougher on abandoned flowlines than rules from the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission stipulate.

Thornton also would require operators to maintain $5 million in general liability insurance for property damage and bodily injury, while the state requires only $1 million in insurance coverage.

Councilman Joshua Zygielbaum called the new rules a reasonable balance between encouraging economic development in Thornton and protecting citizens’ health and welfare.

The final vote was 7-2. There was no public comment taken on the issue.

“I hope the oil industry sees the flexibility of of these regulations and can meet us at the table,” Zygielbaum said.

But two council members voted against the rules, with Mayor Heidi Williams warning her colleagues that “we have opened ourselves up for a lawsuit.”

Councilwoman Jan Kulmann said “we’ve overstepped in some areas” and “put ourselves at risk for no reason,” especially because no drilling permits have been issued in Thornton for at least a decade.

The new rules immediately prompted negative reaction from the industry. Colorado Oil and Gas Association president Dan Haley called some of Thornton’s regulations illegal and said the city disregarded a warning from the COGCC not to contravene state rules.

Local control over oil and gas development has been a fiery topic lately, with cities and counties across the metro area trying to put tighter controls on operations. The issue of safety around drilling in populated areas took on a critical tone this spring when gas seeping from a cut-off underground pipeline led to a home explosion in Firestone that killed two and injured one.

But efforts by several Colorado cities to outright ban drilling near homes repeatedly have failed when challenged in court, including a ruling from the Colorado Supreme Court last year that said oil and gas bans are not the purview of local government.

That has led municipalities that sit on the edge of the gas-rich Denver-Julesburg Basin, like Thornton, to pass local measures to shield their residents from the noise, lights and potential health issues connected to hydraulic fracturing near neighborhoods.

This month, Erie and Lafayette began putting together plans that would require oil and gas operators to map their pipelines throughout the cities, a move made in response to a failure by lawmakers this year to enact similar legislation at the state level. Erie was considering its mapping ordinance Tuesday night.

Earlier in the day, Gov. John Hickenlooper announced a seven-pronged approach he said would improve the industry’s safety record.

His proposal includes asking the industry to help pay to plug up to 800 “orphaned wells” in the state, and it calls on COGCC to conduct a review on what other states do on oil and gas rules, especially on pipelines.

Thornton’s proposed rules went crosswise with the COGCC before they were even introduced Tuesday. The agency penned a letter to city officials last month that accused Thornton of overreaching. COGCC took particular issue with Thornton’s proposed 750foot setback for oil and gas operations from homes.

The city also wants to prohibit the practice of abandoning flowlines in place, which contradicts state statutes that allow the practice.

“If you abandon flowlines the way our rules require, the leftover piece of plastic or metal in the ground is not a safety hazard,” COGCC director Matt Lepore said Tuesday. “I’m sorry Thornton is going to pick this fight — I don’t know what technical basis there is for it.”

But Jennifer Gamble, president of Adams County Communities for Drilling Accountability Now, said the state rules represent a minimum standard that local communities can exceed if they see a need.

“We think the local community serves an important role as advocates for their citizens,” Gamble said. “We don’t see Thornton’s regulations as being in conflict with the state — we see them as better.”

She said she won’t be surprised if the industry or state sues Thornton over its rules, as has occurred in years past when cities and towns enacted drilling bans.

Lepore said the COGCC hasn’t made any decision about litigation.

“I don’t think we’re in the automatic litigation posture,” he said. “We’re in wait-and-see mode as to how these regulations are applied.”

And he disputed the idea that the state’s rules are simply minimums.

“Our rules allow an operator to be as close as 500 feet,” Lepore said. “That’s what the commission decided.”