State, local control at odds over fracking

Voters in Longmont voted to ban hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. Voters in Fort Collins approved a five-year moratorium on the practice, which involves pumping water mixed with sand and chemicals into a drilled hole to retrieve oil and natural gas from shale deep underground. District courts overturned those bans, and both cities appealed, with much of the state watching earlier this month as the cities sparred with oil and gas industry officials in front of the Colorado Supreme Court. A ruling from the state’s high court is expected sometime in 2016. We checked in with Colorado Oil…