Colorado Law Preempts Municipal Bans On Fracking, State Supreme Court Rules

摘要

Colorado's oil and gas law preempts local bans on hydraulic fracturing in Longmont and Fort Collins, the state Supreme Court ruled in separate decisions May 2 (City of Longmont v. Colo. Oil and Gas Ass'n, 2016 BL 138430, Colo., No. 15-SC-667, 5/2/16, City of Fort Collins v. Colo. Oil and Gas Ass'n, 2016 BL 138407, Colo., No. 15-SC-668, 5/2/16). The court ruled that a fracking ban in Longmont and a five-year moratorium in Fort Collins operationally conflict with the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Act and are therefore "invalid and unenforceable." The rulings affirm lower court findings in cases filed against the municipalities by the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, an advocacy organization for the oil and natural gas industry. The Supreme Court's findings resolve a significant question in an ongoing dispute over the extent to which local governments in Colorado can ban or substantially constrain the use of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in oil and gas extraction (46 ER 3768, 12/11/15).