Court rules county must wait until permit processes proceed to file some claims

Boulder County, Colo. - On Feb. 14 a Boulder District Court judge entered an order in Boulder County’s lawsuit against Crestone Peak Resources. This order is related to a complaint filed by Boulder County in September of 2018 that included 27 claims for relief associated with Crestone’s plans to develop oil and gas in Eastern Boulder County. Crestone had moved to dismiss the lawsuit entirely.

In ruling on Crestone’s motion, the Boulder District Court noted that Boulder County may proceed with four of its claims but found that most of the remaining claims were premature. Specifically, the Court stated that “Crestone’s plans [may] be rejected or materially modified by either the COGCC or the County” during permitting processes and therefore the county would need to wait to file the remaining claims until these permit processes were completed.

“It is baffling to us that Crestone wanted to delay a court decision on these important issues,” said Commissioner Elise Jones. “We had hoped to sort out these fundamental issues prior to wasting time on proposals that Crestone may not legally be able to drill.”

“We stand behind our position that these leases and conservation easements will not allow for the proposed development,” said Commissioner Matt Jones.

The county will pursue its four remaining claims and prepare to re-file the others. “We’ll have to go to trial on some of the issues now, and some will have to wait until later,” said Commissioner Deb Gardner.