COMMERCE CITY — An advisory group charged with revamping the city’s land-use code to deal with hydraulic fracturing has been disbanded for being unwieldy and ineffective.
Instead, the city will work with small groups, including oil and gas interests and residents leery of fracking, to frame an agreement to safeguard the extraction of oil and gas in and around the community.
That route was deemed more effective than a six-month moratorium on fracking by council members, who said a ban would only alienate oil companies that want to work in Commerce City and could lead to a huge legal fight.
“When you slam the door on someone, it’s hard for people to listen,” said City Council member Jadie Carson.
She and other council members on Monday voted to shelve the six-month ban on fracking and end the work of the Oil and Gas Land Use Review Committee.
The committee was formed in December to learn more about fracking as well as to recommend changes to the city’s land-use code and come up with concepts for a Memorandum of Understanding with the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.
Hydraulic fracturing — or fracking — uses a mixture of sand, water and chemicals to free oil and gas deposits in rock formations about 7,000 feet below the surface.
Some have attacked fracking as dangerous to the environment and point to a recent EPA draft report that said water pollution in Pavillion, Wyo., could be linked to fracking.
Commerce City residents called for the six-month moratorium after Houston-based Hillcorp Energy applied for a permit with the state to tap an existing well at East 96th Avenue and Tower Road in Commerce City.
But officials Monday said the land- use review committee— which met six times — has not been productive. The 11-member committee included three residents, three oil and gas industry representatives, a representative each from competing interest groups, a member of the state regulatory agency and two council members.
“It just hasn’t been effective,” said council member Jim Benson, citing the size of the group as a big reason.
However, smaller meetings with individual groups have been useful, providing a “non-controversial atmosphere for ideals and suggestions to be discussed,” according to a staff report.
Commerce City is likely to frame its Memorandum of Understanding after ones written in Gunnison and La Plata counties. In Gunnison, a staff member or a third party conducts inspections at well sites rather than a state inspector. In La Plata County, each individual oil and gas operator has to enter into an MOU with the county.
City spokeswoman Michelle Halstead said a draft MOU would be finished in about six weeks for review.
Hillcorp, meanwhile, has indicated it wants to proceed with its plans, but the city could force a hearing with the state before the permit is issued, according to the staff report.
A shortage of drilling rigs could mean a 60- to 90-day delay, the report said.
Monte Whaley: 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com
