Fort Collins city council members decided late Tuesday night to allow the sole oil and gas operator, Prospect Energy LLC, to continue operating inside city limits despite a recently passed ban on hydraulic fracturing.
The ordinance passed on a second vote, and terminates the moratorium for Prospect Energy, which is the only company operating wells inside city limits northeast of town. The majority of council members were concerned that completely cutting off access to Prospect’s resources could result in legal action and large settlement sums.
“I’d prefer to be on offensive in dealing with that than being put in the defensive of trying to defend ourselves in a lawsuit,” said newly elected Councilmember Gino Campana, who voted for the measure that passed 4-3.
The decision will allow Prospect to explore for new oil and gas wells outside of the area where it’s currently operating. That area is on land owned by Anheuser-Busch. Prospect will be required to get additional insurance coverage in the amount of $10 million per occurrence to cover pollution.
Earlier Tuesday in Boulder county commissioners decided not to extend their moratorium on drilling and fracking.
