LOVELAND — MRG LLC, a company affiliated with McWhinney Real Estate Services Inc., has filed an application for a permit to drill for oil and gas at a site identified as MRG East Well Pad, which is located on the east side of the Centerra development.

The application was filed Dec. 2, which starts a 45-day public comment period. Documents can be reviewed and comments submitted at lovgov.org/oilandgas, according to a statement from the city of Loveland. 

The city said that “based on the information provided by MRG, the East (CE) Well Pad application meets the city’s enhanced oil and gas requirements,” which means that the application can follow the city’s Track 2 process — an administrative review. A neighborhood meeting was already conducted on Nov. 9, the city said.

“Track 2 includes project meetings with the city’s Development Review Team consisting of staff in current planning, building, transportation, development services, power, waste/wastewater, stormwater, economic development, and the Loveland Fire Rescue Authority. Outside consultants may be brought in as part of the review team to assess specific areas of the project,” the city statement said. Oil and gas developments in the city also must be approved by the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.

The MRG East application is the first oil and gas development application submitted to the city under the Unified Development Code. McWhinney has previously said it also would establish a well pad south of U.S. 34 and Centerra that would drill northward under Centerra.

The COGCC review is also underway; its public comment period will end Dec. 24. Links to comment forms for the state review can be found at:  cogcc.state.co.us/permits2.html#/ogdp.Prior to the application, the McWhinney intentions were the subject of opposition from community and regional groups that oppose fracking for oil and gas. Colorado Rising, which lists a Boulder post office box, has a petition on its website seeking signatures in opposition to drilling at the proposed sites. A call to Colorado Rising was not returned by time of publication.