Plans by Denver-based Crestone Peak Resources to drill for oil and gas in Boulder County have been delayed yet again, this time by a change in the definition of what land is at risk for flooding.
It is the third such delay of Crestone’s comprehensive drilling Pplan (CDP) for 10 square miles between Longmont and Lafayette.
The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission on Wednesday posted an update to its site that it was extending the timeline for Crestone to submit its fourth draft, originally due on April 30. A new date was not specified; “a new timeline and additional details will be posted shortly,” the update read.
“COGCC wants to see the best possible surface locations included in the CDP, so the agency agrees that it is wise to delay further submittals until we can fully evaluate the impact of the new floodplain classification,” agency spokesman Todd Hartman said.
The wellpad on Section 1, situated on an area referred to as Wheeler Open Space, also sits within a designated 100-year floodplain. The southeast corner of the potentially 56-well site overlaps a floodway.
The Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) in 2015 changed the definition of a floodway, triggering a review of flood-hazard areas across the state. Wheeler Open Space, however, was not reassessed, given the lack of residential buildings on the land, according to Boulder County Senior Assistant Attorney Kate Burke.
“The floodway issue is critically important to the County because of the public health and safety risks that stem from development in the floodway,” the county said in its comments, noting that during the 2013 floods, an existing well was “notably damaged” by water.
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