AURORA, Colorado – Colorado’s oil and gas regulator has approved a massive fracking plan, known as the Lowry Ranch Comprehensive Area Plan, that had faced strong opposition from nearby residents.

Civitas, one of Colorado’s largest oil and gas operators, submitted the plan to the Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission (ECMC) two years ago. Since then, the operator has made changes requested by the ECMC and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The agency said it was concerned that fracking around and under a nearby Superfund site “could result in a significant unintended release of hazardous substances.”

State commissioners approved the plan on Wednesday by a 3-1 vote. The approval includes conditions designed to address public concerns, including requiring Civitas to use low-emission electric drilling equipment.

The Lowry Ranch plan calls for drilling nearly 160 wells east of the Aurora Reservoir, residential areas and schools. This is the fourth comprehensive land use plan approved in Colorado. The operator must still submit applications for each of its drilling sites. The state has approved all previous applications from CAP recipients. In this case, however, the commission has left open the option to deny some permits for drilling platforms proposed near residential areas.

The Lowry Ranch plan is named after the state-owned prairie lands where the drilling platforms are planned. Colorado’s State Land Board leases the land and mineral rights there to raise money for public schools. Civitas already operates on Lowry Ranch. In 2020, the company acquired an existing multi-well lease from energy giant ConocoPhillips and included the operating wells in its proposal to drill more wells on the property.

Many residents living near the proposed drilling sites have raised concerns about potential health risks and environmental damage. Their grassroots group, Save the Aurora Reservoir (STAR), attended the state hearings to protest the plan.

“We are devastated by the Commission’s decision to approve the Lowry Ranch Comprehensive Area Plan,” said STAR President Marsha Goldsmith Kamin. “This is without a doubt the wrong decision for the health, safety and environment of our community.”

“We will continue to monitor the project and address community concerns throughout the life of this comprehensive land use plan,” said STAR founder Kevin Chan.

Julie Huygen, a member of the Sierra Club in Colorado, said the ECMC’s decision to approve the plan ignores “the will of the people.” Instead of “protecting public health, safety, welfare, wildlife and the environment, they have chosen to put billions of dollars in the pockets of the oil and gas industry and take that money away from Coloradans who are now stuck with the cost of fracking our homes and schools and polluting our drinking water and air,” she said.

“This CAP approval is the result of thorough work by the Civitas team and extensive stakeholder engagement to ensure the safe development of Colorado’s important natural resources while protecting the environment and minimizing impacts to our communities,” said Hodge Walker, Chief Operating Officer of Civitas. “Watkins is a prolific development area in the DJ Basin and we look forward to commencing drilling in the Lowry Ranch area next year.”

More broadly, oil and gas industry officials, including the Colorado chapter of the American Petroleum Institute, are celebrating the approval.

“This decision to approve the Lowry Ranch Comprehensive Area Plan is an example of Colorado remaining open for business thanks to the hard work and diligence of our operators,” said Kait Schwartz, director of API Colorado. She said since Colorado lawmakers passed “one of the most stringent regulatory frameworks in the country” in 2019, “our industry has worked diligently over the past five years to meet these high standards.”

Schwartz said that throughout the review process of the Lowry Ranch Comprehensive Area Plan, it was “disappointing and revealing that despite meeting all the requirements of local and state laws, including Senate Bill 19-181, there was still significant opposition from the individuals and organizations that drafted that very legislation.”

“This application and decision should serve as a model for how we handle future projects, and we look forward to continuing to work with government agencies, stakeholders and the public to ensure we act responsibly and meet our state’s increasingly demanding standards,” she said.