Flared tempers led Adams County commissioners at a Feb. 9 evening emergency session — which followed a morning public hearing — to approve temporary measures against new oil and gas development agreements within the county.

Unable to reach a long-term agreement regarding residential-area oil and gas development and production in Adams County, the frustrated and divided five-member board agreed to suspend all non-vested memorandums of understanding (MOUs) and permits within urban growth areas in the county, and within 1,500 feet of homes and public buildings.

Commissioner Eva Henry, who worked with Chairman Steve O’Dorisio to enter the motion after multiple failed attempts at a compromise, referred to the temporary halt as a “time-out.”

But opposing commissioner Erik Hansen and Colorado Oil and Gas Association president Dan Haley took exception with Henry’s language, with the former instead referring to it as a “moratorium” and the latter calling the motion a flat-out “ban.”

“We think bans are a lazy way to address a complex issue,” Haley said, following the emergency session. “The other concern is that their attorney did the same thing in Boulder (where the) temporary moratorium is now going on four years. Is Adams County open for business?”

http://northglenn-thorntonsentinel.com/stories/County-commissioners-approve-6-week-time-out-on-new-oil-and-gas-agreements,207217