State oil and gas regulators have given the green light to a comprehensive plan from Crestone to drill up to 166 petroleum wells near Aurora Reservoir, despite strong opposition from a nearby homeowner’s group and concerns that the plan was missing key details.
“We are devastated by the commission’s decision to approve the Lowry Ranch Comprehensive Area Plan,” said Marsha Goldsmith Kamin, president of Save The Aurora Reservoir or STAR in a statement. “This is without doubt the wrong decision for the health, safety and environment of our community.”
The Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission, after considering and rejecting a request for an additional delay, voted 3 to 1 on Wednesday afternoon to approve Crestone’s Comprehensive Area Plan, or CAP, for Lowry Ranch.
The approval was conditioned on Crestone using electric-powered rigs and equipment at all pad sites rather than the three out of 11 it had gotten guarantees from Xcel Energy to supply. Electric rigs generate less noise and air pollution and are now common when drilling occurs near residential areas. Sound walls would add another level of noise mitigation.
Crestone must still win regulatory approval for individual pad sites and local approvals from Arapahoe County, and Kamin vowed that her organization would keep up its fight. But the approval removes a major hurdle for Crestone, which filed its application 645 days ago.
Commissioner John Messner, who cast the dissenting vote, expressed concerns that Crestone left several important questions unaddressed, including wildfire mitigation, which has become a more pressing consideration after the Marshall fire in Boulder County destroyed more than 1,000 homes.
“I’m not sure the applicant has met the burden of proof in this application,” he told the other commissioners. In short, Crestone wasn’t comprehensive enough in its planning and seemed more focused on checking the boxes, Messner argued.
Wildfire mitigation plans aren’t required under state CAP rules and emergency response plans are typically addressed with local pad requests. Homeowners represented by Save The Aurora Reservoir, the main opposition group, are concerned about fire risk given the dry grass and high wind conditions in the area.
Other concerns include additional traffic, potential contamination of the Aurora Reservoir, potential seismic activity and disturbing the Lowry Landfill, a 480-acre Superfund site at the northeast corner of Quincy Avenue and Gun Club Road owned by Denver.
Crestone, a subsidiary of Denver-based Civitas Resources, plans to drill up to 166 wells on 11 locations across about 40,480 acres. Only one home is within 2,000 feet of a drill site, and the owner of that property has agreed to allow drilling. Two other homes are within 3,000 feet. And the company will stay away from the landfill.
Much of the area is state trust lands managed by the State Land Board, which will use the lease and royalty proceeds to fund schools. The original agreement with the state to develop oil and gas in that area dates back to 2011.
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