Oil And Gas Firm Drops Plans To Drill Under Standley Lake

ACROSS COLORADO– By Staff Report for The Colorado Independent. “An oil and gas company that recently applied to the state to drill 14 wells that would extend underneath Standley Lake in Westminster, which provides drinking water to 300,000 people, withdrew its application Thursday amid rising outcry over the proposal,” reports The Denver Post. “Highlands Natural Resources Corp. also dropped its application for 14 proposed wells under the nearby 420-acre Westminster Hills Off-Leash Dog Park, which is just north of the lake.”

“In the weeks before the 2018 election, operators applied to drill 34 new oil and gas wells in Larimer County that would have violated the setbacks proposed in Proposition 112,” reports The Coloradoan in Fort Collins. “The wells, to be located south of Loveland and in the Johnstown area, represent a substantial spike in drilling applications in Larimer County. For comparison, operators applied for eight new wells in Larimer County between October 2017 and October 2018, five of which remain on indefinite hold.”

“The head of the Upper Colorado River Commission on Thursday told a Grand Junction audience that proposed new interstate agreements contain important provisions aimed at helping fend off the short-term threats that drought poses to the region,” reports The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. “Amy Haas, the commission’s executive director, says the centerpiece of the new deals from the perspective of Upper Colorado River Basin states is a provision providing for storage in Lake Powell and other Upper Basin reservoirs for water that might be conserved through any demand management program in the Upper Basin.”

“Rochelle Galindo has won the House District 50 race, beating Republican Michael Thuener 53.25 percent to 46.75 percent in race that set a district record for midterm turnout, according to unofficial final results released Thursday night,” reports The Greeley Tribune. “The result was far from certain on Election Night, when Galindo trailed Thuener as early results were released. As more results trickled in, into Wednesday, the race shifted for Galindo by just 70 votes, a margin she would hold throughout the day Thursday, culminating in a 1,468-vote margin of victory.”

“Boulder County commissioners in a 2-1 vote Thursday approved a one-year pilot program to study the use of e-bikes on trails throughout Boulder County Open Space,” reports The Longmont Times-Call. “Commissioner Cindy Domenico voted against the measure. There were plenty of people at Thursday night’s meeting who were concerned that allowing e-bikes on county trails would compromise safety and overcrowd the already well-used trails, but after nearly 40 public comments, commissioners ultimately determined that the ability of e-bikes to reduce the number of vehicles on the roads and to allow the elderly or disabled to use the trails more efficiently was of larger consequence — especially considering the low number of conflicts already and the fact that class 1 and 2 e-bikes top out at 20 mph, a rate of speed many traditional cyclists can hit under their own power.”

READ MORE at The Colorado Independent.