Oil and gas cases point to challenges

How much can a Colorado county or home-rule city regulate oil and gas development within its city limits? Expect Colorado courts to re-address that question given recent actions in Longmont and Fort Collins.

In November, Longmont voters approved a ballot measure that banned hydraulic fracturing within city limits. Then, last month, the Fort Collins City Council passed a similar amendment to the City of Fort Collins code. The amendment, with almost no exception, prohibits the “use of hydraulic fracturing to extract oil, gas or other hydrocarbons” within the city of Fort Collins. This article addresses the city’s amendment, but may…