Larimer County commissioners place 30-day halt on new drilling applications

FORT COLLINS — The Larimer County Board of Commissioners unanimously voted to place a moratorium on new oil and gas drilling applications through April 15.

The halt on new 1041 and drilling applications was made to give the board time to consider revamping local rules to conform with the rules instituted by the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission last November in response to the 2018 industry reform effort known as Senate Bill 181. 

Some of those new rules were met with support from both environmental groups and industry supporters, such as expanding who has standing to present for or against a well application to the COGCC. However, some reforms such as the 2,000-foot setback instituted between a new well and any human-inhabited building or sensitive wildlife environment drew intense opposition from energy industry allies.

Those rules took effect on Jan. 15.

As of Tuesday morning, there were nine in-progress drilling permit applications in the county that are undergoing review by the COGCC, all of which were submitted in mid-February by Broomfield-based Magpie Operating Inc. The company aims to drill in a plot near southeast Loveland.

Larimer County does not have any other drilling applications in the pipeline.

The commissioners will hold a public hearing at 3:30 p.m. April 13 to take comments on whether to extend the moratorium further.

The moratorium will likely draw the ire of the oil and gas industry, which has lambasted local governments that have instituted stricter oil and gas rules or made multiple moratoriums in a manner it believes is arbitrary and overly-restrictive.

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