Grassroots groups Colorado Rising for Communities and Our Longmont stated an appeal is “imminent” after a Boulder County District Court judge on Monday ruled against reinstating a fracking ban approved by Longmont voters in 2012.
Meanwhile, the president and CEO of the Colorado Oil & Gas Association said the ruling affirms that local fracking bans are not in compliance with state law.
In her ruling, Judge Judith LaBuda stated “banning fracking materially impedes the effectuation of the state's interest” and the “fracking ban is preempted by state law.”
The decision is the latest installment of the battle over the change to the municipal charter, enforcement of which was blocked in 2016 by the Colorado Supreme Court. In the court’s 2016 opinion, Justice Richard Gabriel said the ban was “preempted by state law and, therefore, (was) invalid and unenforceable,” CPR News reported.
But with the passage last year of Senate Bill 19-181, Our Longmont and Colorado Rising in August 2019 filed a motion seeking to have the case reopened.
Boulder District Court Judge Nancy Salomone in December ruled “the court couldn’t revisit a settled matter but added the groups could file a separate case to argue the legality of fracking ban,” according to CPR News.
In January, Colorado Rising on behalf of Our Longmont and Food & Water Watch submitted a declaratory judgment action to Boulder County District Court asking the court to find that Longmont’s fracking ban now complies with state law.
Also known as “Protect Public Welfare Oil And Gas Operations,” Senate Bill 19-181 “prioritizes public safety, health, welfare, and the environment in the regulation of the oil and gas industry by modifying the oil and gas statutes and by clarifying, reinforcing, or establishing various aspects of local governments' regulatory authority over the surface impacts of oil and gas development.”
SB 19-181 provides greater control over oil and gas operations to local governments, and eliminates state preemption, “making Longmont’s charter enforceable as a reasonable and necessary action to protect public health and safety,” Colorado Rising stated in a Monday news release.
“This decision is about the Legislature expressly giving power to local governments the ability to regulate oil and gas operators in a manner that is more protective than state standards. That means local governments have the authority to ban or enact moratoria. We are disappointed in the court’s decision, and we will appeal the decision to the appellate courts,” Our Longmont member Michael Bellmont stated in the release.
Joe Salazar, executive director of Colorado Rising, in the release stated, the court “has clearly misread the intent of the Legislature when issuing its decision in this case. It’s almost as though the court is in disbelief that the law significantly changed in 2019. Municipalities were expressly granted authority to regulate in the interest of public health and safety, including regulating the surface impacts of hydraulic fracturing (fracking).
Dan Haley, president and chief executive officer of the Colorado Oil & Gas Association, however, said LaBuda’s ruling reinforces the illegality of fracking bans in the state.
“This ruling, again, affirms what everyone except a handful of activists seem to understand: Fracking bans are illegal in Colorado. The legislators who passed SB 181, and Governor Polis who signed it into law, all agreed that it did not enable bans on oil and natural gas development. Those who want to appeal the decision and continue to pursue reckless energy bans are only further backlogging our courts and wasting hard-earned taxpayer dollars.”
