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September 13, 2017

Boulder County Raises Concerns About Oil and Gas Development Plans Submitted to the COGCC

8 North LLC has filed paperwork to begin the state permitting process for oil and gas development in two areas of Boulder County

(Boulder County, Colo.) -- On Monday, Sept. 11, Boulder County learned that 8 North LLC, a subsidiary of Extraction Oil and Gas, LLC, filed paperwork with the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (“COGCC”) to begin the state permitting process for oil and gas development in two areas of Boulder County. The company has not directly communicated to Boulder County about their plans.

8 North applied to the COGCC for a “drilling and spacing unit order” in a 1,280-acre area between Arapahoe and Baseline Roads at the far eastern edge of the county along East County Line Road and a 2,720-acre area between Oxford and Quail Roads also along East County Line Road. The applications are the first step in the state process. If the State approves the drilling and spacing orders, 8 North would still have to apply to the COGCC for an Application for Permit to Drill that would include specific plans and proposed locations. In addition, the company will need to go through Boulder County’s local government regulatory process before any development could occur.

Boulder County is very concerned about the development contemplated in 8 North’s applications and has reached out to the officials in the affected cities of Longmont, Lafayette and the Town of Erie to discuss a coordinated response. Boulder County will oppose the drilling and spacing applications when they come up for a hearing before the COGCC, which has not yet been scheduled, and urges concerned residents to do the same. The county will post 8 North’s applications and other information and updates on our oil and gas webpage at: http://bit.ly/BCoilgas including information explaining the process for public involvement in the COGCC‘s consideration of the applications. Members of the public can sign up on our oil and gas webpage to receive updates from Boulder County via email or text message.

The 8 North application was not the only recent development regarding oil and gas proposals in Boulder County. Last week, the Boulder County Parks and Open Space Department received letters from Crestone Peak Resources, LLC, requesting consultation on the use of four specific open space properties to locate well pads within the area of its proposed Comprehensive Drilling Plan (“CDP”). Boulder County has been closely monitoring the CDP since it was filed in February, but these letters are the first indication of actual wellsite proposals from Crestone. Crestone is proposing approximately 126 wells on the 1) east end of Alexander-Dawson bordering N. 119th St. and Jasper Rd.; 2) ERTL, 3) Haley; and 4) Wheeler open space properties.

Under the state CDP process, Rule 306, Crestone is required to consult with potential surface landowners; other landowners besides Boulder County may also have been contacted regarding surface use of properties in the CDP area. However, since Crestone has not received approval for any drilling location from either the COGCC through the CDP process or by the County through its Article 12 process, these requests are premature. In fact, the county’s regulations recommend that applicants only finalize surface use agreements if and when the required approvals have been received from both the state and Boulder County.

Statement from the Board of County Commissioners

We are gravely concerned by these two recent drilling and extraction proposals to develop oil and gas within unincorporated Boulder County.

We have reached out to the mayors, councils, and staff of Lafayette, Longmont, and Erie to alert them to 8 North’s unanticipated actions. We want to make sure that everyone who may be impacted by this development is aware, has the opportunity to express their concerns,
and might participate in the state process.

As proposed, these operations would have significant and massive impacts on residents on the east sides of Lafayette and Longmont, around Erie, and in the unincorporated areas of east Boulder County. Additionally, impacts on county open space lands would be enormous, and would include intensive well development on the newly purchased Wheeler property along East County Line Road.

We will oppose the drilling and spacing applications when they come up for a hearing before the COGCC, and urge concerned residents to do the same. We are keeping our website up-to-date with all information we have related to oil and gas development in Boulder County. Please check back often for updates at: http://bit.ly/BCoilgas.

Cindy Domenico. Deb Gardner, Elise Jones
Boulder County Commissioners

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