Colorado’s largest oil and gas producer wants permission to drill closer than 2,000 feet from homes – By Mark Jaffe (Colorado Sun) / February 14, 2022
A subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum wants exclusion from the state’s 2,000-foot buffer to drill 26 wells near 87 homes in Firestone. Critics say it would render new oil and gas rules useless.
The buffer between homes and oil and gas drilling in Colorado is by rule 2,000 feet, except when it isn’t, and a move to drill in the middle of a residential area in Firestone is raising questions about how secure that buffer will be.
The state’s biggest operator, Occidental Petroleum, through its Colorado subsidiary Kerr-McGee, is seeking to drill 26 wells within 2,000 feet of 87 homes, with the closest residence 763 feet away.
The site, part of Kerr-McGee’s Longs Peak drilling plan, is also adjacent to a wetland, the Saddleback golf course and the Firestone Trail.
The 2,000-foot setback was the product of the 2019 law, Senate Bill 181, that reoriented state oversight from promoting oil and gas development to protecting public health, safety, welfare and the environment.
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