Colorado’s top court throws out municipal bans on fracking

Actions by two Colorado cities to ban or delay fracking were thrown out by the state’s supreme court, which concluded that local government couldn’t override state law.

A ban in Longmont and a five-year moratorium in Fort Collins were challenged by the Colorado Oil and Gas Association on grounds they conflicted with state law permitting hydraulic fracturing. Colorado’s highest court said Monday both are “invalid and unenforceable,” agreeing with trial judges who earlier struck down the measures.

Attempts to curtail fracking in Colorado have failed in the state legislature, the courts and at the ballot box. Gov. John Hickenlooper has defended the practice, saying in 2014 that it was generating $30 billion a year for the state’s economy.

The ruling follows a similar case in Texas, where the Legislature last year passed a bill to sharply limit the ability of municipalities to regulate oil and gas drilling, nullifying a fracking ban passed by voters in the city of Denton.

Colorado is home to one of the biggest shale oil and natural gas plays in the U.S. The Niobrara formation, which yields more than 400,000 barrels of oil and over 4 billion cubic feet of gas a day, helped the state produce the most crude ever last year, according to U.S. government data.

“The case did not end as the city hoped, but we respect the Supreme Court’s decision,” Longmont Mayor Dennis Coombs said of Monday’s ruling.

Fort Collins City Attorney Carrie Daggett said the city is still reviewing the ruling.

“These issues are complex, and we’ll thoroughly examine the decisions relative to Fort Collins and Longmont,” she said in an e-mailed statement. “However, it is clear that the Supreme Court has found that the Fort Collins moratorium on hydraulic fracturing is in operational conflict with Colorado law and is therefore preempted.”

In court, the oil and gas industry challenged Longmont’s citizen-initiated prohibition on fracking within city limits that voters passed in November 2012. That measure also prohibited disposal of fracking waste in Longmont.

This story was originally published May 2, 2016 at 4:07 PM with the headline "Colorado’s top court throws out municipal bans on fracking."