British Energy Company Applies To Drill Near Rocky Flats

BOULDER, CO -- Colorado voters will weigh in Tuesday on whether to increase drilling setbacks, but according to a report from the Denver Post, one energy company isn't waiting to find out what they have to say. Highland Natural Resources Corp, an energy company out of the United Kingdom, applied this month to drill up to 31 wells by the former Rocky Flats nuclear weapon plant.

Rocky Flats was reopened to recreation this fall amid controversy as some residents and experts claimed lingering radioactive materials could still cause harm to visitors. Highland released a statement saying that they did not intend to drill on the refuge itself, but according to the Post, they would not comment on whether their wells would extend below the area underground.

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In a post on its website, Highland cited the impending vote on state ballot measure Proposition 112–which seeks to increase the required setback for oil and gas drilling operations from residential areas–as the reason for the application's timing. The company further states that it intends to file permits for up to 104 wells before next week's vote.

"Although similar propositions have failed in the past, the Company has been advised that by filing the permits prior to the ballot it has minimized the potential risk posed by been advised that by filing the permits prior to the ballot it has minimized the potential risk posed by Proposition 112," reads Highland's statement.

Read more from the Denver Post here.

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