Just what sort of Environmental Standards do we want in Larimer County?

Upcoming virtual public meeting on new County draft oil and gas regulations set for  Thursday, May 6, at 6:00 PM 

The Larimer Alliance continues to track the County’s rulemaking process for oil and gas development in Larimer County. On April 28, the Planning Department released a new discussion draft as they proceeded with revisions to the Larimer County Land Use Code. The latest version of the rules has new provisions addressing Public Health, Welfare, and Environmental Standards.

 The County Commissioners will hold a Work Session to be briefed on the draft regulations on Monday, May 3, at 1:30 PM with Community Planning, Infrastructure, and Resources which can be observed online here. While no public comment will be allowed, the agenda of this meeting is public.

The Planning Department will then conduct a virtual public meeting on 

Thursday, May 6, at 6:00 PM where public comment will be allowed.

Larimer Alliance encourages all concerned residents to weigh in at this event on the critical issues embodied in “Public Health, Welfare, and Environmental Standards.” This covers everything from medical effects of oil and gas projects on nearby communities, safety concerns related to setbacks, and the effects of such development on our environment at large and wildlife habitat. Register to observe and comment at this event on this link. 

We also encourage continued comment to the Larimer County Commissioners at their Tuesday Morning Administrative Matters Meeting and to the Planning Department on their website.

 To say this stage of the rule revision process may be one of the most critical might be understating the case. We have noted in past messages key concerns such as:

• Deleterious health effects in nearby communities, as detailed here.
• Wide ranging effects on Larimer County’s air quality, reaching as far as Rocky Mountain National Park, as well as serious impacts on area wildlife and habitat.
• Safety concerns over the regulatory gap in managing oil and gas gathering lines, as seen in this presentation last year to the previous Board of County Commissioners, starting around 1:11 in the recording.
• We always encourage personal testimony regarding your own experience living near oil and gas projects, whether in development or in production, and how it has affected your community and health.

For information on signing in for public comment online or in person at the Commissioner’s Administrative Matters meeting, a weekly event every Tuesday morning at 9:00 AM, see this link for hints and guidelines. To register your comment online with the County Planning Department, follow the instructions on this link. “LUC2020” refers to the current Land Use Code which is being revised in this ongoing process.