Longmont’s ban on oil and gas fracking was struck down Thursday in a ruling that portends even more political divisiveness in the November elections.
Boulder County District Court Judge D.D. Mallard ruled that state law supersedes Longmont’s 2012 voter-approved ban on the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing in oil and gas wells.
Mallard issued a stay of the order pending an appeal. As a result, well fracking won’t take place in Longmont until the case is heard again.
Fracking is the practice of injecting water, sand and chemicals under heavy pressure into wells to crack rock formations and liberate hydrocarbons.
The Colorado Oil and Gas Association trade group filed suit last year against the Longmont fracking ban.
Analysts said the court ruling stirs the already roiling pot in which environmentalists and local-control advocates are squaring off against energy and business interests.
Both sides are seeking to place initiatives on the November ballot to bolster their respective interests.
Whether Thursday’s court ruling benefits one camp or another was open to interpretation.
Mark Squillace, a law professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder, said the decision may serve to further mobilize advocates of local control over drilling.
“It could energize the proponents,” he said. “If the courts are not going to look favorably on local-control decisions over oil and gas, I’m guessing (proponents) will be inclined to double down on their efforts.”
Those efforts include two proposed ballot initiatives backed by U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Boulder. Initiative 88 would increase Colorado’s existing 500-foot setback between wells and homes to 2,000 feet. Initiative 89, dubbed the Environmental Bill of Rights, stipulates that people have a right to “clean air, pure water, and natural and scenic values.”
Proponents on Thursday said they have collected nearly 100,000 signatures for each measure. To get on the ballot, initiatives must have 86,105 verified signatures.
Two measures backed by the oil and gas industry also are close to making the ballot.
Protecting Colorado’s Environment, Economy and Energy Independence said more than 100,000 signatures have been gathered on both Initiative 121, which would keep communities that ban oil and gas development from receiving state oil and gas tax revenues, and Initiative 137, which would require future ballot measures to have a fiscal-impact statement.
Natural resources attorney Dave Neslin of Davis, Graham & Stubbs termed the local-control ballot measures “an overreaction to the underlying issues. A majority of Loveland voters recently said no thanks to a hydraulic fracturing moratorium, and now the Boulder County District Court has struck down the Longmont ban as inconsistent with state law.”
Neslin said Thursday’s ruling was “largely predictable” because a pair of 22-year-old Colorado Supreme Court decisions upheld the primacy of state regulations on oil and gas activities when they conflict with local laws.
Less clear is whether the Boulder County District Court ruling will have an effect on two other challenges by the Colorado Oil and Gas Association against local ordinances.
The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission also has sued Longmont over tightened oil and gas regulations the City Council passed in 2012. That lawsuit is still pending.
“While the outstanding cases are fundamentally the same, there are aspects that are different from case to case, but still we think this is an important precedent and we’re hopeful it will be informative for future rulings,” said COGA president and CEO Tisha Schuller.
Longmont officials said the city is “reviewing its legal options” in the wake of Thursday’s ruling.
“I am disappointed that the court has struck down Longmont’s fracking restrictions, which were initiated and approved by our citizens and became part of Longmont’s home rule charter over a year and a half ago,” Longmont Mayor Dennis Coombs said. “I have been pleased with our vigorous defense of Longmont’s charter, and we are considering all our options moving forward.”
Steve Raabe: 303-954-1948, sraabe@denverpost.com or twitter.com/steveraabedp
