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City of Boulder Five Year Fracking Suspension, Question 2H (November 2013)
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A City of Boulder Five Year Fracking Suspension, Question 2H ballot question was on the November 5, 2013, election ballot for voters in the city of Boulder in Boulder County, Colorado. It was approved.
This measure extended the current moratorium on new oil and gas exploration and the new use of fracking for oil and gas.[1]
This measure converted the current one year moratorium on fracking to a five year ban.[2]
Election results
Below are the election results:
| Boulder Question 2H | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
 Yes | 23,390 | 78.13% | ||
| No | 6,548 | 21.87% | ||
- These results are from the Boulder County elections office.
Text of measure
Ballot language
The question on the ballot:
| Shall Ordinance No. 7907 be amended to extend the current moratorium on new oil and
gas exploration until June 3, 2018 and to set legal standards and the council voting requirements for lifting the moratorium amended pursuant to Ordinance No. 7915?[1][3] |
Ordinance
The full text of Ordinance 7915 is available here.
Support
Supporters
- East Boulder County United [4]
Arguments in favor
Supporters of fracking bans argued that the fracking process allows methane gas and carcinogenic and toxic chemicals to be released into groundwater. And in general they claimed that fracking is harmful to the nearby air and water and that citizens have a right to ban it in populated areas like cities and towns.[5][6]
Opposition
Boulder resident Ben Binder defended fracking at a city council meeting, saying the city attorney's analysis was biased and one-sided. Binder said, "The fear of fracking is based on a lot of false and exaggerated information."[7]
Legal concerns
Some, although opposed to fracking, were worried that a long-term ban such as Question 2H could make Boulder the focus of a legal battle as in Longmont, potentially removing the city's power to regulate the gas and oil industry.[7]
Media endorsements
Support
The Boulder Weekly: Concerning Quesiton 2H, the staff of the Boulder Weekly wrote:
- "This five-year moratorium, while a bit long as far as moratoria go, is needed to allow the science — and our publicly elected policymakers — to catch up with the possible deleterious effects associated with oil and gas exploration, from air and water pollution to massive drains on our water supply to earthquakes caused by injecting wastewater into the earth.
- Five years from now, several key studies — including a $12 million one at the University of Colorado funded by the National Science Foundation — will be completed, and we’ll know a lot more about whether the risks associated with practices like fracking are worth the gain. We’ll be voting for 2H."[8]
Related lawsuits
Longmont lawsuit
On May 2, 2016, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that state hydraulic fracturing laws preempted local laws. As a result, fracking bans in Longmont and Fort Collins were rendered "invalid and unenforceable." According to Mark Matthews, an attorney for the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, because this issue only involved state laws, the case could not be brought to the Supreme Court of the United States, despite earlier pledges by anti-fracking lawyers and activists to do so. Dan Haley, the president and CEO of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, called the court's ruling "a win" for Colorado residents. Lauren Petrie, the Rocky Mountain region director with Food and Water Watch, which supported the fracking bans, said, "Today's decision deals a devastating blow not just to Longmont residents, but to all Coloradans."[9][10][11]
Three other cities in Colorado banned fracking through the initiative process—Boulder, Broomfield, and Lafayette. On May 19, 2016, Boulder County Commissioners lifted that county's fracking moratorium and imposed a new six-month moratorium to allow officials time to update the county's oil- and gas-related statutes. The five-year moratorium on fracking in Broomfield was suspended during the Longmont trial. The Lafayette fracking ban was invalidated by a judge over voting process issues; the city did not appeal the ruling.[9][12]
Background
In 2012, Longmont voters approved a citizen-initiated charter amendment to ban hydraulic fracturing. The measure was approved by approximately 60 percent of voters. Two lawsuits were filed against Longmont over this ban, one of which involved the Colorado Oil and Gas Association (COGA) and the state's Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission as plaintiffs. According to a Colorado Open Records Act request, both lawsuits cost the city of Longmont almost $69,000 in legal fees as of March 31, 2013. On July 24, 2014, Boulder District Court Judge Dolores Mallard struck down the ban, finding that the city of Longmont "does not have the authority to prohibit what the state authorizes and permits." Mallard cited Voss v. Lundvall, a 1992 court ruling that gave states, rather than cities, control over oil and gas extraction regulations and bans. The ban, however, remained in effect, as Mallard's ruling was immediately stayed due to an appeal by the ban's supporters.[13][14][15]
On September 21, 2015, the Colorado Supreme Court agreed to hear the case. The court stated that it would rule on lawsuits related to fracking bans passed in both Longmont (2012) and Fort Collins (2013). Groups on both sides of the issue—Our Longmont, which supported the city's ban, and the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, which opposed such bans—welcomed the court's decision to make a ruling on the legality of local fracking bans in Colorado.[16]
Similar measures
Local
Longmont City Fracking Ban, Question 300 (November 2012)
Broomfield Five Year Fracking Suspension, Question 300 (November 2013)
City of Lafayette "Community Rights Act" Fracking Ban Amendment, Question 300 (November 2013)
City of Boulder Five Year Fracking Suspension, Question 2H (November 2013)
City of Fort Collins Five Year Fracking Suspension Initiative, Question 2A (November 2013)
City of Loveland Two Year Fracking Suspension Initiative (June 2014)
Statewide
Colorado Distribution of Oil and Gas Revenue Initiative (2014)
Colorado Environmental Rights Amendment (2014)
Colorado Local Regulation of Oil and Gas Development Initiative (2014)
Colorado Mandatory Setback of Oil and Gas Wells Amendment (2014)
Colorado Right to Local Self-Government Amendment (2014)
Michigan Fracking Ban Initiative (2014)
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Boulder County elections office, November 5, 2013 ballot content, accessed October 10, 2013
- ↑ Coloradan.com, "Fracking moratorium passed by Boulder City Council," June 5, 2013
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ East Boulder County United website, accessed October 10, 2013
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedArticle - ↑ Dangers of Fracking website, accessed October 10, 2013
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Daily Camera, "Boulder approves one-year fracking moratorium," June 4, 2013
- ↑ The Boulder Weekly, "Election Guide 2013: Yes on Boulder Ballot Question 2H," October 17, 2013
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Denver Business Journal, "Colorado Supreme Court rules on local fracking bans," May 2, 2016
- ↑ The Supreme Court of the State of Colorado, "No. 15SC668, City of Fort Collins v. Colo. Oil and Gas Ass’n—Moratoria—12 Preemption," May 2, 2016
- ↑ The Supreme Court of the State of Colorado, No. 15SC667, City of Longmont v. Colo. Oil and Gas Ass’n—Preemption—Inalienable Rights Provision," May 2, 2016
- ↑ Daily Camera, "Boulder County ends fracking moratorium, imposes another," May 19, 2016
- ↑ Coloradan.com, "As Fort Collins awaits similar fracking lawsuit, Longmont racks up $69,000 in legal fees," May 2, 2013
- ↑ Inside Climate News, "Colorado: Judge Strikes Down Town's Fracking Ban," July 25, 2014
- ↑ Times Call, "Longmont seeks reversal of ruling that overturned city's fracking ban," January 17, 2015
- ↑ Tri-City Herald, "Colorado's high court to decide if cities can ban fracking," September 21, 2015
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