Colorado's regulators on Wednesday approved an application to drill for oil and natural gas, including fracking, near the Aurora Reservoir — under certain conditions.
Commissioners from Colorado’s Energy and Carbon Management Commission voted, 3-1, to green-light what's called the Lowry Ranch Comprehensive Area Plan following hours of testimony from opponents and critics, as well as from Civitas, the oil and gas company that sought the application, in three meetings, including Wednesday's hearing.
This Wednesday morning, the commissioners heard statements from two more witnesses and closing statements from both sides.
Commissioners Mike Cross and Brett Ackerman, along with Chairman Jeff Robbins, voted in favor of the plan, with Commissioner John Messner casting the lone "no" vote after a two-hour deliberation.
The approval came with the caveat that Civitas agree to certain requirements that the commission will yet outline, though the regulators already said the mandates will include electrifying the oil well facilities and well pads.
The plan from Civitas includes 32,000 acres of proposed subsurface mineral development. The company is proposing eight locations with a total of 166 new wells and 14 existing horizontal wells. The development includes drilling about 7,000 feet under the Aurora Reservoir.
Wednesday's vote is the culmination of a two-year effort by Civitas — a Colorado-based oil and gas company whose fields can be found across northern and central Colorado, as well as in New Mexico and Texas — to obtain approval from the state in order to develop the area for oil and gas drilling.
In the last few months, state regulators faced pressure from activists and a group called Save the Aurora Reservoi r, which sought to stop the plan from moving forward. Commissioners recently granted the organization “affected party” status, which allowed the group to officially participate in official state hearings.
The fight erupted even as policymakers are aggressively seeking to transition the state away from fossil energy.
Indeed, while Colorado is one of the country's top energy producers — in 2022, the state ranked No. 5 in crude oil production and No. 8 in natural gas — there has been a persistent effort to limit the industry's footprint, a campaign that has intensified in the last several years.
Proponents of the transition argue it benefits the environment, creates a healthier environment for people and saves Coloradans money, anticipating that, over the long term, renewable energy would be more economical to produce. Critics, meanwhile, say the transition is happening too quickly, that it would be financially costly to people and businesses alike and that a diverse energy portfolio that incudes fossil-fired and renewable energy is more reliable and sustainable.
Against this backdrop, several Aurora residents said they are primarily worried about the proposed wells' proximity to homes and argued the project poses environmental and health problems. Civitas countered that the project offers unequivocal benefits to the surrounding areas and to the county and it would would yield an estimated $235 million in tax revenue for Arapahoe County.
Company officials also promised to adopt a wide array of precautions, including building wells farther away from homes and adding air monitoring and sound barriers to protect residents and ensure the project does not negatively affect the area.
The company welcomed the decision.
“This CAP approval is the result of thorough work by the Civitas team and extensive stakeholder engagement to ensure the safe development of Colorado’s important natural resources, while protecting the environment and minimizing impacts to our communities," said Civitas CEO Hodge Walker. "Watkins is a prolific development area within the DJ Basin, and we look forward to beginning drilling in the Lowry Ranch area next year.”
Critics panned the state approval.
“We are devastated by the Commission’s decision to approve the Lowry Ranch Comprehensive Area Plan,” said Save the Aurora Reservoir President Marsha Goldsmith Kamin. “This is without doubt the wrong decision for the health, safety, and environment of our community.”
During the hearing, commissioners deliberated over whether the plan should include more protections for wildlife and water, as well as noise mitigation.
Civitas officials argued that the company followed all the necessary requirements for oil and gas drilling and for land use, while Save the Aurora Reservoir insisted that the plan did not provide enough details for those protections.
Mike Foote, the attorney for Save the Aurora Reservoir and who presented his closing statement first, asked that regulators to deny CAP on the grounds that it is not protective enough.
“The CAP is not protective when it comes to noise, water, wildlife, and emergency response and wildfire. It’s following the bare minimum land use requirements,” Foote said.
Attorney Jamie Jost, who represented Civitas, summarized her previous arguments and urged the commissioners to approve the application, saying the company's application fulfilled all the necessary requirements. Jos also said the plan will guard against environmental impacts by installing sound barriers and limiting emissions.
Government agencies at local and federal levels, such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, raised concerns about the wells' proximity to a Superfund site, where about 138 million gallons of liquid industrial waste was disposed of in unlined pits between 1965 and 1980. But neither the EPA nor the Colorado Department of Health and Environment objected to the proposal.
Commissioners reminded everyone that, if the plan fulfills all requirements outlined by the Energy and Carbon Management Commission, they must approve it, while they would deny the application it if they found evidence it did not follow the requirements.
Messner said he could not support the proposal, arguing it did not meet the submittal requirements. Cross, Ackerman, and Robbins initially said they were undecided and requested more time to deliberate. Robbins made a motion to approve the CAP with a few caveats to address worries.
All the commissioners said their main concerns revolved around the cumulative impacts that the wells would have on public health, safety, wildlife, and the environment, and they wanted a more specific plan regarding those cumulative impacts.
“I do think that there is an approval for this CAP nearby," Ackerman said. "This one was close, but I do have concerns that not enough cumulative analysis has been done.”
Echoing those concerns, Robbins said that a plan for such a large area should have addressed comprehensive impacts with more depth.
Ultimately, Ackerman, Robbins, and Cross backed the motion, while Messner did not.
Civitas has to obtain approval for each proposed well site from the Arapahoe County commissioners before it is allowed to move forward, according to the county's website .
Industry watchers praised the commission's decision.
"This decision to approve the Lowry Ranch Comprehensive Area Plan exemplifies that through hard work and due diligence from our operators, Colorado is still open for business," said Kait Schwartz, Director of the American Petroleum Institute Colorado. "Our operators are proud to produce in Colorado, yet it is disheartening to encounter such opposition even when the regulations and requirements are strictly adhered to."
Denver Gazette Reporter Kyla Pearce contributed to this article.
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