Colorado Petroleum Council Responds to Adams County Commission’s Moratorium on New Natural Gas and Oil Development

DENVER, March 20, 2019 – Today, the Adams County Board of Commissioners voted to immediately halt any new natural gas and oil development projects. The vote came just 24 hours after the commission announced plans to hold the hearing, the minimum amount of time that is legally required to inform the public. The moratorium comes as state lawmakers continue to debate Senate Bill 181 at the Capitol and follows the same commission’s enactment of an identical ban just four months ago, during the statewide debate over Proposition 112.

“Adams County’s commissioners have just given Coloradans a glimpse of the consequences that Senate Bill 181 will have in the state,” said Ben Marter, Colorado Petroleum Council spokesman. “Again and again, proponents of this bill have explicitly denied any suggestions that the measure would permit municipalities and counties to do exactly what has happened in Adams County today.

“This is the second time in four months that Adams County’s commissioners have voted to ban natural gas and oil development,” continued Marter. “As was the case during the debate over Proposition 112 last fall, the commission’s decision is clearly and explicitly reactive to Senate Bill 181, highlighted in the actual language of today’s moratorium.”

The countywide moratorium was passed by a 5-0 margin, with Commissioners Eva Henry, Charles “Chaz” Tedesco, Emma Pinter, Steve O’Dorisio and Mary Hodge each voting to once again circumvent current state law.

“Either Senate Bill 181 allows local governments to ban energy development, or it doesn’t,” said Marter. “We request that the authors of Senate Bill 181 immediately clarify this apparent discrepancy relative to their prior assertions.”

The Colorado Petroleum Council is a division of API, which represents all segments of America’s oil and natural gas industry. Our more than 600 members produce, process and distribute most of the nation’s energy. The industry supports more than ten million U.S. jobs and is backed by a growing grassroots movement of millions of Americans. API was formed in 1919 as a standards-setting organization. In our first 100 years, API has developed more than 700 standards to enhance operational and environmental safety, efficiency and sustainability.