Thread by @shayshinecastle

Moving right along: Public hearing and adoption of rules for any fracking, should it occur in the city. Again, v unlikely, but Boulder doesn't have such regulations, so it's important.

Staff presentation: documents.bouldercolorado.gov/WebLink/DocVie…

And my story from a few weeks ago. boulderbeat.news/2021/11/13/bou…

As I said, Boulder doesn't currently have any fracking regulations. Oil/gas drilling hasn't happened here in decades; the last well was capped in the early 90s. (You can still see it at the Zero Diagonal community, or whatever it's called.)

So, Boulder didn't have regulations bc
1. It didn't have fracking
and
2. It's had a moratorium on fracking for 8 years while it developed these rules.

The reason for that is the city said it wanted the county to develop *its* rules first, so they could be consistent. There IS fracking in Boulder County... mostly in the east.

The current fracking moratorium expires Dec. 31. It was implemented June 4, 2013, and extended 3 times (once by voters; twice by council).

Not that you care, but here's a more detailed timeline of those moratoria:
First: Passed by council June 4, 2013-June 3, 2014
Voters in November 2013 extended it to June 3, 2018
Council on May 15, 2018 extended it to June 3, 2020
Last extension was in late 2020 to Dec. 31, 2021

In case you don't know... “Hydraulic fracturing is the process of creating small cracks, or “fractures,” in the rocks of deep, underground geological formations that have oil and natural gas. The fractures enhance the flow of oil and gas from the formation to the oil and gas well

... where it flows or is pumped up the well to the production equipment located on the surface of the site.”

Fracking has increased a lot in recent years. But, again, not in Boulder.

The city's code does kinda address drilling, under rules for mining, which is allowed in Ag and Industrial Manufacturing Zones only.

Rules will require use review, which requires Planning Board approval and is subject to call-up of city council

"It isn't v specific to oil and gas," says Planner Karl Guiler

(I'm both impressed and depressed that I can recognize multiple city planners by their voice)

“There are very few properties that are eligible due to the 2,000-foot setback derived from the state regulation." That's from homes and schools/daycares, etc.

A map:
The only areas where fracking *could* go are that little green area and that darker blue/purple area... both well outside the city proper

Why a 2,000-ft setback in state law? Bc a study found particulates 2,000 ft away from active drilling sites that could be harmful to human health.

The state also gave local municipalities more leeway to regulate drilling based on *surface* activity (trucking, emissions, etc.) Anything sub-surface is up to state regulators only.

One other thing Boulder has: a tax on oil and gas extraction, passed in 2018. Up to $6.90 per barrel and $0.88 per thousand cubic feet of natural gas extracted

That would apply if anyone drilled in either of those above areas. Again, v unlikely. I feel the need to keep stressing

Lots of things in Boulder's proposed rules, including:
- That 2,000-ft setback, as mentioned
- Required notice to all residents, business and property owners within 1 mile of a proposed site
- Adherence to the city’s noise ordinance

- A piece of municipal (city-level) legislation.
- A required neighborhood meeting following application
- $3,680 application fee, plus hourly and consultant fees

AND
- Submittal of plans required for other types of site review, including tree inventories, a landscape plan, shadow analysis, outdoor lighting plan, traffic study, master utility plan, weed control plan analysis on impacts to surrounded land, dust suppression plan and more.

I think a few folks have asked: Why doesn't Boulder just ban fracking outright? Bc it can't. State law doesn't allow it. And we've seen a ban (Longmont's, I believe) struck down by courts as well as moratoria being extended into infinity.

Bc that was a de facto ban. Boulder's was never challenged during its many extensions bc... no one wants to frack in Boulder, really.

Good info here from 2017: dailycamera.com/2017/03/17/bou…

Winer: Why would BoCo go with a 2,000-ft setback if there are still concerns AT 2,000 feet from wells? Why not go further?

Elizabeth Paranhos: It's v hard to figure out the distance at which there are no impacts or safe impacts. It's an industrial activity.

Paranhos is an outside attorney the city used to help write these regs.

There are other tools in the toolbox, Paranhos says, like requiring noise monitoring, zero emissions, etc. "You have to look at the regulations in their entirety."

Benjamin: Does the city have the final word on any cleanup from spills and/or pollution? Or the state as well?

Paranhos: Depending on where the contamination is, a couple state entities and the EPA could have jurisdiction and would be the primary orgs handling this.

RE: light pollution, Benjamin says OSHA rules typically get followed instead of local rules. Is that the case here? (OSHA is related to workplace safety and is federal so... prob yes)

Paranhos: "The city absolutely has authority to regulate light pollution." As does the state. But city rules can be more strict.

"I've never heard of OSHA preemption of local or state lighting standards," Paranhos says.

(Paranhos to Benjamin just now, a dramatic reenactment)

Wallach: If we do a greater setback, like 2,500 ft, would that fly legally? "Are there other areas where that envelope could be pushed" beyond just setbacks?

"In my opinion, BoCo did a great job of adopting extremely robust regulations," Paranhos says. (City mostly following BoCo's lead here.) "It is always possible with hindsight or additional review to find some standard that can be stronger."

"However," Paranhos says, "I cannot today identify an area where I can recommend the city go further. We are putting before you the most protective set of regulations that we can that also comport" with current law.

Wallach also wants to shorten the time between application and re-application (currently 10 yrs). "I'm just trying to see how far the envelope could be pushed before we have legal jeopardy."

Paranhos: That's very hard to estimate. There's always legal risk.

"It's a v comprehensive, strong" set of rules, Paranhos says.

Friend: Did the Environmental Advisory Board weigh in on this at all?
No, Guiler says.

Friend: For future reference, this seems like a good thing for that board to be invited to advise on.

However, council needs to pass these rules on emergency so they are in place before the moratorium expires

RE: that map I showed earlier, those blue bubbles are the setbacks from recreation facilities, which also can't have drilling around them (bc THINK OF THE CHILDREN)

Friend asks if the setback is increased to 2,500 ft, would that remove the two areas that are currently eligible?

Just the one by IBM, Guiler says.

"There's nothing that stops us from making changes to this legislation in the future," Guiler says. BoCo already updating their rules, which they adopted in 2020.

There *is* already a 2,500 ft setback required for sites with more than one well, per these proposed rules

OK, public hearing time!

A whopping 2 ppl. The perennial Lynn Segal and then I believe Alejandra Major from the American Petroleum Institute.

"While we appreciate the city implementing regulations
after an eight-year moratorium," Major says, "we are disappointed with the lack of outreach to industry during the process."

Yeah, bc Boulder don't give AF what you think.

Not cool with the 2,500-ft setback for multi-well sites, and the process to apply for an exemption.

Welcome to Boulder, sis.

Also not cool with the extraction tax and the fees in the new rules. "We believe fees need to be reasonable and considered within the broader context," Major says.

I was helpfully emailed those comments by an API spokesperson, who also gave me this absolutely amazing review of my work: "I know more about prairie dogs than I’d ever imagined."

Top 3 fave review of all time, right behind:
"Shay is a little annoying" - Todd Root
and the new U.S. citizen who used my election content to vote for the first time ever

Anyway, back to fracking.
Folkerts suggests a slight tweak to language around air quality.

Since we're already not meeting our air quality standards, I don't want it to be argued that these rules don't matter, Folkerts says.

Lawyer OKs that.

Friend: Let's pass these tonight, but let's also schedule another look at them "under a less pressured situation."

Plus only 2 ppl testified tonight... "maybe outreach wasn't robust, or we could do it better."

My first-ever council meeting had an extension of the fracking moratorium, and there was similarly scant public participation. Prob bc no one is fracking in Boulder!

Benjamin: Can we check in on these regulations during our comp plan updates?

Staff says we can.

Brockett also in favor of passing these rules tonight, noting the 8-yr moratorium. "We're doing as much as we can" with these rules, he says.

Folkerts makes the motion: "I look forward to having something in place for our community."

Speer seconds and the vote is unanimous. Boulder has new fracking regs after *many* years.

@threadreaderapp please unroll. Thank you!