Two anti-fracking advocacy groups will have their day in court to argue the legality of Longmont’s voter-approved fracking ban.
Boulder District Court Judge Nancy Woodruff Salomone moved Friday to reopen the case examining the legality of the ban without hearing any of the plaintiff’s objections, though a date for opening arguments has yet to be set.
“It’s pretty unusual,” said Joseph Salazar, the executive director and attorney for Colorado Rising, the anti-fracking advocacy group leading the charge. “But it signifies that the court wants to look into this a lot further… This is an important first step in the long fight to protect Longmont residents and the environment from the harm associated with fracking activities.”
Though the Colorado Supreme Court ruled in 2016 that the ban, which voters approved with a 60% majority in 2012, was in conflict with the state Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Act, Colorado Rising and Our Longmont believe the recently approved Senate Bill 181 — which provides local governments with regulatory authority over oil and gas development within their municipality — supercedes the Supreme Court’s ruling.
“The state of the law has changed and the injunction should be lifted,” Salazar said when the motion was filed. “It’s just that straight forward.”
The Colorado Oil and Gas Association could not be reached for comment Friday evening after the motion to reopen the case was approved.
However, when the motion was filed Aug. 14, representatives from the Colorado Oil and Gas Association said that though Senate Bill 181 does provide additional power to municipalities to regulate oil and gas operations, it was never intended to allow for outright bans.
“We agree with SB 181 sponsors House Speaker KC Becker and Senate Majority Leader Steve Fenberg and Governor Jared Polis, who have all said repeatedly that the legislation does not allow for a ban on oil and gas development,” Dan Haley, president, and CEO of Colorado Oil and Gas Association, said then. “There is a rational path forward that allows for protecting Colorado’s environment, protecting Colorado communities, and protecting the hard-working men and women who make it possible and produce the energy that every single one of us relies on each day. We choose to walk that path.”
While the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission is working to implement “the most sweeping oil and gas reforms the state has ever seen,” according to Senate Majority Leader Steve Fenberg, doing so is expected to take at least a year.
Salazar noted then that there is no specific language in SB 181 that prohibits municipalities from imposing fracking bans or moratoriums.
“If the legislature intended to prohibit local governments from banning oil and gas operations within their jurisdictions, it would have clearly said so,” he said. “Courts will not interpret a statute to mean that which it does not express.”
In the meantime, the members of Colorado Rising and Our Longmont feel a ban is needed to protect their health and that of future generations — especially considering the fact that the Environmental Protection Agency recently proposed reclassifying Denver and the northern Front Range as a “serious” violator of federal health standards after ozone levels failed to meet air quality standards.
Colorado Rising and Our Longmont hope this case sets a precedent for other municipalities to enact their own bans and stop air pollution from being blown into Longmont and from spreading throughout the Front Range. For example, in May 2018, Boulder City Council extended its fracking moratorium for 2 years, while Fort Collins’ voter-approved moratorium still is dormant after being struck down by the Colorado State Supreme Court in May 2016.
