In November 2013, the 55% of the citizens of Fort Collins, Colorado voted to ban hydraulic fracturing from their city for five years. On December 3, 2013, the Colorado Oil & Gas Association filed a lawsuit against the city, arguing that the city has no constitutional or statutory authority to implement regulations on oil and gas development techniques, such as hydraulic fracturing. The environmental groups represented by the University of Denver Environmental Law Clinic want to intervene to uphold the fracking ban, stating that the city cannot adequately represent their interests because the city council opposed the ban during the election and is now concerned about the cost of defending the lawsuit.
Citizens for a Healthy Fort Collins see the lawsuit as a “blatant attempt…to bypass the will of the voters and possibly jeopardize public health, safety and property values in our community.” A representative from the law clinic urged that “there is no good reason not to wait and see the results of ongoing health and safety studies before the City decides whether or not to allow this industrial practice into its residents’ backyards.”
This post was written by Barclay Nicholson (barclay.nicholson@nortonrosefulbright.com or 713.651.3662) from Norton Rose Fulbright's Energy Practice Group.
This post was written by Barclay Nicholson (barclay.nicholson@nortonrosefulbright.com or 713.651.3662) from Norton Rose Fulbright's Energy Practice Group.
