AURORA, Colo. — Neighbors trying to stop the drilling of oil wells near their homes along the Aurora Reservoir scored a small victory at the Arapahoe Planning Commission Tuesday night, but not the win they wanted.
The commissioners approved proposed oil and gas rule changes that increased to a mile the distance between oil wells and reservoirs like the Aurora Reservoir. The vote was 6-1.
However neighbors who have organized into a group called Save the Aurora Reservoir were hoping for more regulation. The proposed rules the planning commission greenlit allow for oil companies to apply for exceptions to the one mile standard. The county commission must vote to approve the new regulations.
Civitas Resources plans to drill more than a hundred oil wells on land east of the Aurora Reservoir starting early next year. Arapahoe County said Aurora has assured them the water in the reservoir will remain unaffected despite Civitas' plans for fracking nearby.
Neighbors like Kevin Chan worry spills could still be an issue. "You run a very high risk of runoff for 500 feet from wherever that pad is to a reservoir. And you know we’re talking about forever chemicals," he said.
Chan started Save the Aurora Reservoir with the goal of stopping the drilling entirely. He now believes it's likely inevitable, "For me right now, it's a matter of how," he said.
He's turned his attention to how the oil company will manage the wells. "We need to get in, we need to establish regulations."
His group wants, among other goals, to increase the distance from the wells to the water -- up to a mile -- to prevent pollution from spills or fires.
"That would give us buffer space between firefighting chemicals any spills that may happen and just put that ring of safety for me as a taxpayer," Chan said.
In a statement, Civitas said the proposed change is five times the state standard and isn't necessary because "in the unlikely event of a spill escaping pad containment, fluids cannot be expected to travel that distance."
Civitas spokesperson Rich Coolidge said the planned fracking won't pose a risk to the reservoir and called the planned safety measures "settled science."
"The redundant safeguards and subsequent monitoring have shown that oil and natural gas development can safely occur without impacting groundwater and surface water sources," he said in an emailed statement. "In fact, multiple layers of steel casing and cement separate the wellbore from our aquifers and is separated by over a mile of impermeable rock. This has been standard practice in Colorado for more than a decade."
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