Arapahoe County Commission forgoes oil and gas drilling moratorium
Kevin Chan, the founder of the grassroots movement "Save the Aurora Reservoir" says they want to protect the people of Aurora and the environment in Arapahoe County.
"We want people to realize that this is more than just you know digging up oil and selling it to people," said Chan.
He and group of neighbors are united in stopping the proposed Lowry Ranch oil and gas drilling project which would be located next to the Aurora Reservoir.
"We think it's reckless," said Chan.
They have been imploring Arapahoe County Commissioners to help them, and Tuesday night at the County Commissioners' meeting, neighbors made clear their opposition.
"It's a shame what's happening to Arapahoe County," said resident Ruth Sobol.
"Seventy-nine thousand 500 cars driving 15,000 miles on our 70 square mile area is the amount of emissions they're going to put out," said Mark Davidson.
"Allowing fracking near and off the Aurora Reservoir would be a grave mistake," said Cherokee Trail High School Senior Emilia Beltran.
The commission was voting on a 6-month oil and gas project moratorium. While that would have been great for Save the Aurora Reservoir, opponents say it was unnecessary because the industry is well-regulated and safe.
"Colorado has some of the strongest oil and gas regulations the strongest of any state in the country," said resident Lynn Luhmann
Some said that stopping oil and gas in Arapahoe County would take a huge financial toll.
"I wanted everyone here to know how important that kind of money flowing through our systems works for the betterment of each other's that everyone's life," said Boulder County resident and oil industry expert Reed Williams.
In the end, the Commission voted to forego the moratorium.
"Everybody was disappointed in the outcome that the moratorium didn't get passed," said Chan.
He says they are now working to be involved in making future oil and gas drilling decisions in the county so they can stop fracking near the reservoir or at least make sure it is strictly regulated.
"We would like a seat at the table. Everybody who is not represented in these meetings should have a voice," said Chan.
Civitas, the company behind the Lowry Ranch project, hasn't submitted any applications to drill.
In October 2022 they released a statement about the safety of the project that reads: "Civitas has a strong commitment to the communities where we operate and we meet or exceed the State's laws and regulations, which are among the strictest in the world. We continually safeguard our water supplies by utilizing redundant environmental protections, adhering to regulations, performing consistent monitoring, and through use of our own operational best management practices. In addition to this multitude of safeguards, it is important to note that more than a mile of impermeable rock will separate these wells from the Aurora Reservoir."