The Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission, which regulates oil and gas development statewide, ran out of time to complete deliberations on the proposed Draco Pad during a public meeting on Nov. 13. The agenda was prolonged by presentations and questioning, requiring the commission to schedule additional time for a decision.
The controversial Extraction Oil & Gas project proposes drilling 26 horizontal wells using fracking beneath Erie, with wellbores extending into Boulder County. If approved, it would mark the first fracking activity beneath the county in over a decade. While Weld County has already greenlit the project, Boulder County lacks authority over the site, as the well pad lies outside its jurisdiction.
Final approval now rests with the state energy commission, with deliberations set to resume on Friday, Nov. 15, at 9 a.m., available via livestream.
The project has sparked strong opposition and led to grassroots organizing, largely because of its proximity to homes, including within 2,000 feet of Erie’s Westerly neighborhood. Additional concerns include wellbores reaching 8,000 feet deep and extending five miles west, with up to 2.5 miles crossing into Boulder County. Erie Protectors, a group opposing the project, said Colorado has never seen drilling of this length.
About 20 people, mostly residents, spoke before the commission at the Nov. 13 hearing, while around 400 others submitted written comments. Nearly all speakers opposed the project, urging commissioners to intervene due to health concerns over air and water pollution, high water use, potential interactions with Erie’s legacy wells and impacts on property values. Peer-reviewed research links living near fracking sites to elevated health risks, including respiratory issues like asthma, increased odds of preterm births and low birth weights and greater cancer risks in children exposed to toxins like benzene.
The hearing also included presentations from Weld County Oil and Gas, which approved the proposal in February; Southern Land, the developer of Erie’s Westerly neighborhood; and Extraction Oil & Gas, which requires commission approval to build the Draco Pad. All parties faced extensive questioning from commissioners, who pressed them on the drilling schedule, proposed safety measures, existing development plans, Extraction’s experience with similar projects and the permit approval process.
Boulder County Commissioner Ashley Stolzmann was among the public commenters, warning that the Draco Pad could worsen air quality in the Front Range. County research shows that oil and gas emissions are the largest single contributor to the county’s ground-level ozone, which is linked to respiratory issues, heart attacks and strokes. She also raised concerns about Draco’s wellbores potentially interacting with a legacy well in Boulder County, which could cause a spill.
“We’re extremely concerned that the Draco wellbores could interact with the improperly plugged Prince well and cause gas or fluid leaks,” Stolzmann said. The Prince well, plugged decades ago before current regulations, has leaked in the past. If Draco is approved, she urged the commissioners to require Extraction to properly plug the well.
This process has highlighted the limited authority municipal governments have in approving new oil and gas developments. Even though the Draco Pad is within 2,000 feet of some homes in its Westerly neighborhood, the Town of Erie — which has its own rule requiring wells to be at least 2,000 feet from homes — has limited power, with Weld County and the state commission holding most of the control.
Erie has been negotiating with Extraction and Westerly’s developer, Southern Land, to limit the pad’s impact on residents. Southern Land has agreed to withhold issuing certificates of occupancy for the 77 planned homes within 2,000 feet of the Draco Pad for three years, and Extraction has agreed to complete drilling operations within a similar time frame.
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