Some Background:

The oil and gas fracking project in unincorporated Arapahoe county, known as the Lowry Ranch Comprehensive Area Plan (CAP) has been approved and is moving forward. As amended, this plan proposes up to 156 wells on 8 new and existing well pads. The project will allow drilling pads as close as 3,000 feet from local residences (with possible exceptions down to 1000 feet) and roughly 1,400 feet from the shorelines of the Aurora Reservoir.  The drilling and high pressure fracking operations will also encroach on the Lowry Superfund site – where millions of gallons of toxic waste sit in 78 unlined trenches.  One danger (of many associated with this project) is that seismic activity or leaks caused by fracking could cause the toxic waste to seep into the aquifer system that millions of Coloradans use for drinking water, rupture the dam or allow leaks into Aurora Reservoir where drinking water is stored for 390,000 people. 

How we got here:

• 6/3/19: Aurora City Council approved up to 300 new fracking wells on 45 pads. 
• 7/16/19: Aurora City Council approved another large-scale fracking project, 80 wells on 4 pads.
• 10/20/22: Civitas Resources submitted the Lowry Ranch CAP project to state regulators (ECMC) and revised it in 2023 and 2024.
• 4/11/23:  the Arapahoe County Commissioners voted 3 to 2 against an oil and gas moratorium that would have paused any new drilling permit submittals and allowed the County time to develop regulations to better protect public health, safety, air, and water quality. 
• 11/14/23: the Arapahoe County Board of County Commissioners approved 3,000 foot setbacks for new oil and gas wells from all occupied structures, in addition to maintaining the County’s recently adopted one-mile setback from all existing or planned/permitted drinking water reservoirs. 
• 2/23/24: the ECMC accepted a drilling application for the Lowry Ranch CAP from Civitas and deemed it complete.   
• 8/7/24: the ECMC approved a drilling permit for 156 new fracking wells of the Lowry CAP, despite years of vehement opposition from the community. For each of the proposed well pads, the operator still must get approval for their oil and gas development plan (OGDP). 
• 2025: ECMC hearings for individual well pads occurred and to date, all proposed wells were approved with the exception of a temporary “stay” for the Sunlight-Long pad.