Boulder County approves temporary ban

Boulder County commissioners on Friday imposed a temporary moratorium on county staff members accepting or processing new oil and gas drilling applications, sparking outrage from industry leaders, particularly Crestone Peak Resources, the Denver company seeking to put more than 100 wells north of Erie.

The moratorium also prevents Crestone from seismic testing for its operation.

The move — approved unanimously to a room full of applause — was necessary to stop oil and gas development permit applications from moving forward until the county has updated its land use rules for energy extraction to take advantage of a new law enacted this year that gives local governments far broader authority to regulate the industry.

“Moratoriums on new energy development stand in direct opposition to the Colorado way of doing business, and we urge the Boulder County Commission not to take such wide-ranging action without fully acknowledging the consequences of doing so,” Colorado Petroleum Council executive director Lynn Granger stated through a spokesperson.

Crestone is engaging in the preapplication steps in the county’s permitting process, which requires a $250 registration fee and the scheduling of a conference with county officials. Extraction Oil and Gas has also targeted Gunbarrel property owners to lease oil and gas beneath their homes, and owns significant mineral interests beneath city of Boulder open space in the area.

No public testimony was taken by the commissioners, but they scheduled a public hearing for July 16. The commissioners will decide whether to keep the drilling permit timeout in place.