AURORA | Aurora will make changes to local oil and gas regulations to allow for taller vapor towers and to put the city on the same page as what the state requires, despite protests from residents who live near a growing number of fracking sites.
On Monday Aurora City Council voted unanimously to allow oil and gas companies to build 31.5-foot vapor towers, and to defer to the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission for regulations concerning setbacks, noise and spill containment. The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission has the authority to regulate oil and gas drilling, while the city can only regulate the land use impacts such as truck traffic.
Nicole Johnston, a resident of Aurora’s Adonea subdivision near Interstate 470 and Sixth Avenue Parkway where numerous well sites are being drilled by ConocoPhillips, said residents were upset that the city’s planning department granted the company waivers to build the vapor towers without going to the full city council for approval.
“I know there’s been some citizen input, but if we go down this road, it seems like it’s promoting more of the oil and gas industry agenda,” she said. “It’s not taking into account the citizens that vote for all of you.”
City regulations will still only allow companies to build storage tanks as high as 20 feet, said Jim Sayre, a manager with the city’s planning department.
“The bulk of a structure on well pads are tanks. The tank height should limit the bulk of development on a well pad,” he said.
He said though the recovery towers ConocoPhillips uses are 31 feet high, they’re only 18 inches in diameter. The towers are part of new technology created in response to meeting the Colorado Department of Health and Environment’s more stringent air quality measures.
Margaret Sobey, a resident of Murphy Creek, said she was not worried about the city changing regulations to comply with the state, but was concerned by what she saw as a “broken” public input process.
Another change to the regulations includes no longer requiring oil and gas companies to obtain building permits for well pads.
“The city doesn’t have many teeth as far as oil and gas industry is concerned. Some of these changes completely obliterate any control we have over anything,” she said. “Maybe right now people are thinking just vapor towers … If there’s enough oil, they’re going to suggest to build processing plants. I’m more concerned we’re going to look like Commerce City.”
The measure is requiring companies building a well pad within 1,500 feet of a platted building, school or park to include landscaping with automatic irrigation systems — when available — and chain link fences.
In complying with state law, well pads are now required to be 500 feet away from a building versus the 150-foot municipal requirement created in 2012. In addition, the measure requires that sellers of houses near a well site give notice and provide a record of the site in every sale of the property.
Aurora City Councilwoman Renie Peterson was unable to push through an amendment to the measure that would have created an oil and gas board with the power to weigh in on waivers given to oil and gas companies and also serve as an advisory board to city council.
The city council voted 7-3 to have the idea go back to the city’s planning, economic development and redevelopment committee. Council members Marsha Berzins, Sally Mounier, and Bob LeGare voted against creating the new board.
“We already have an oil and gas committee,” Berzins said.
no one knows that the City Council created an oil and gas committee!!! How are citizens to know such a committee
exists?
Aurora City Council states over and over and over
again, that all they can do is regulate what happens on the ground, not under ground when it comes to fracking. Yet, at the first opportunity,
they vote on waivers to amend rules about
landscaping and fences. Don’t think the oil and
gas companies would go broke if they built a
fence or two. Really. . .how much would a fence cost no matter where they were drilling.
The new language to only put height restrictions on “tanks” will allow a Commerce City looking treating plant to be built, and within 500 feet of a residence now. Don’t think it will happen? Look north to Weld County where just such a plant exists. And, the new law will allow compressor stations, like exists from the 1980s along I-70 West of Powhatan. Yet, the law exempts these buildings from obtaining a building permit, and complying with structural, electrical and mechanical codes. Hopefully, Conoco’s announced slowdown in Niobrara formation will stall these developments until the new law can be corrected (again).