Crestone Submits Open Space Fracking Plans Despite County Lawsuit

BOULDER, CO -- Crestone Peak Resources has submitted 110 applications for permits to drill in unincorporated Boulder County, despite an October lawsuit from the county challenging the sites' legality. Boulder County received notice of the permits, all located within Crestone's Comprehensive Drilling Plan area, throughout the week of Nov. 16-20.

In September, Boulder County filed a lawsuit against Crestone, noting that the three proposed drilling pads would lie on Boulder County Open Space or county-owned conservation easements. The county alleged that the drilling operations would compromise the conservation value of the area, and that some of the mineral rights that Crestone claimed to own in the area had expired.

In light of the lawsuit, the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission indefinitely postponed a hearing on Crestone's site plans originally scheduled for Oct. 29-30, pending resolution of the lawsuit. Boulder County asked that Crestone refrain from submitting applications until the suit was settled, but Crestone disregarded that request.

“We are very disappointed that Crestone is jumping the gun with these permit applications when our lawsuit raises important legal questions underlying the entire CDP project,” said Commissioner Elise Jones in a statement. “These applications are clearly premature and waste everyone's time.”

Crestone disagreed with that assessment, and told the Daily Camera that the current applications are unaffected by the pending hearing. "This is not done with any sort of malice in mind. It's really just trying to move the process forward. We're just continuing to do what we can while we have the time to do that," Crestone spokesman Jason Oates told the Daily Camera.

Boulder County has requested a response from the COGCC as to whether it will put these applications on hold or reject them as untimely, and has explained that if the COGCC proceeds with the applications, the county will request a public hearing in front of the COGCC Commission.

In July, COGCC director Julie Murphy had issued a statement concluding that the proposed sites were suitable for production.

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