LONGMONT, Colo.—The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission has filed a lawsuit challenging the city of Longmont’s new oil and gas rules.
The lawsuit was filed Monday in Boulder. It contends that rules the City Council passed July 17 regulate areas that are meant to be governed by the state. The rules took effect Monday.
City officials contend the rules fall within Longmont’s land-use authority.
The Longmont Times-Call reports () the lawsuit asks a judge to kill several of the regulations, including a restriction against drilling in residential areas. An operator can ask for an exception to the ban on surface drilling in residential areas if the restriction would make it impossible to access the company’s mineral rights. The state commission says the rule is “pre-empted” by state authority.
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Information from: Daily Times-Call,
