Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission Acting Director Thomas Kerr last week declared Ranchers Exploration Partners' oil drilling site in unincorporated Larimer County near Windsor a public health hazard because the company is not qualified to handle potential toxic waste the rig was drilling through.

After the drilling rig became unstable and a state field inspection of the site came back unsatisfactory last week, Kerr issued a cease and desist order to Ranchers, requiring the company to move the rig or face a hearing before the full commission next month in Denver.

The rig came down Wednesday afternoon.

"It is going to be moved and we're just going to another site," Ranchers Exploration office administrator Glenda Betz said Wednesday.

Read more of Bobby Magill's story in The Coloradoan.

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