Judge says Colo. town can't ban fracking, but ban stays on appeal; state initiative efforts continue

A judge in Boulder County, Colorado, on Thursday struck down a 2012-voter approved ban on hydraulic fracturing in the town of Longmont, saying state law supersedes the ban, Steve Raabe reports for The Denver Post. The ruling was expected, primarily because "a pair of 22-year-old Colorado Supreme Court decisions upheld the primacy of state regulations on oil and gas activities when they conflict with local laws." The ban will remain in effect while the case is appealed. (Post photo by RJ Sangosti)

Earlier this month, Gov. John Hickenlooper, a strong supporter of fracking, said he did not have enough support to pass a compromise law that would give localities more control over it, likely sending the measures to the November ballot. Hickenlooper has said he will do whatever it takes to beat anti-fracking initiatives.

Advocates are trying to get two anti-fracking measures on the ballot — one that "would increase Colorado's existing 500-foot setback between wells and homes to 2,000 feet" and one that "stipulates that people have a right to "clean air, pure water, and natural and scenic values," Raabe writes. Meanwhile, two measures backed by the oil and gas industry are also circulating, one that "would keep communities that ban oil and gas development from receiving state oil and gas tax revenues" and onw that "would require future ballot measures to have a fiscal-impact statement." Both sides say they have gathered the necessary number of signatures to get their measures on the ballot. (Read more)