Plan to drill 155 oil and gas wells near Lowry landfill in Aurora gets endorsement of top regulator

The controversial Lowry Ranch oil and gas development project received a boost from state regulators Monday, but the residents in the drilling area are vowing to fight on, saying that it is far from a done deal.

Crestone Peak Resources is proposing to drill 155 wells from eight locations in the 32,000-acre area straddling Arapahoe County and the city of Aurora. Crestone is a subsidiary of Civitas, one of the largest oil and gas producers in the state.

Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission director Julie Murphy recommended that the proposal —  which is being done as a Comprehensive Area Plan or CAP — be approved.

The drilling plan has sparked strong community opposition with the grassroots group Save the Aurora Reservoir, or STAR, numbering some 1,000 residents, according to organizers.

An ECMC public hearing at the Arapahoe County Fairgrounds May 16 drew hundreds of residents and more than three hours of testimony from homeowners, teenagers and a mother with a toddler in her arms.

The CAP process was added to the ECMC rules to promote regional planning in the siting and development of oil and gas resources. 

A staff review “determined that this CAP complies with all applicable requirements of the Commission’s Rules and recommends approval by the Commission,” Murphy said.

Murphy cited the large number best management practices Crestone included in the plan, including using low-polluting engines, electrifying operations and drilling, and avoiding construction in Mule Deer Severe Winter Range between Dec. 1 and April 30.

On high ozone days the company said it would reduce truck traffic and eliminate the use of volatile organic chemicals on its sites.

“Over the past 20 months since Civitas first submitted its Lowry Ranch Comprehensive Area Plan to the ECMC, we’ve had robust discussions and meetings with stakeholders,”’ Rich Coolidge, a Civitas spokesman said in an email. “We feel this CAP application epitomizes the best-in-class standards.”

STAR members disagreed. “We are very, very disappointed with the decision,” said Randy Williard, who was speaking as a homeowner not a STAR spokesman. “Adding 166 wells in this area puts the ECMC in violation of its mission.” 

ECMC was formerly the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. The commission’s mission was changed in 2019 to protecting public Health, safety, welfare and the environment by Senate Bill 181.

What the original drilling plan contained

The plan originally called for 166 wells, but in Murphy’s recommendation it was down to 155. 

The full commission doesn’t necessarily follow the director’s recommendation. “So there is an opportunity to make our case,” said Brian Matise, another STAR member, also speaking for himself.

Matise noted that there are at least four cases where the commission rejected drilling plans, often over a director recommendation.

The commission, in 2022, rejected a plan by Kerr-McGee to drill 33 wells within 2,000 feet of homes in Firestone.

Last February, the commission rejected two plans: one because it was close to homes in Broomfield and Erie, and the other because it was in high-priority pronghorn habitat in Weld County. 

Another proposal in Weld County that had a director’s recommendation was also rejected over wildlife concerns in 2023.

“The commission hasn’t heard our expert testimony,” Matise said.