The battle continues for Longmont’s fracking ban

Photo of Longmont CO by Bo Insogna https://www.flickr.com/photos/thelightningman/5449074813/in/photolist-9ivW6K-bB14tr-9iGKZN-9A3zC6-7f4GMs-o3grM7-7qTNUa-98Utwk-bet36F-jPdGSB-ffcRZF-aabvBi-b3wLNn-b45S5i-6REKUw-a8XB3Q-5kwww1-98knaT-31stj-W82c-aHbZFa-4htioV-aHbZvT-4hxnDs-4hti5n-4hxngU-4hxn6C-bdV692-bBkBkp-6smvkX-nkJrxY-hAqaWs-fc1hP6-6GMxC3-7qDUzP-98aw1K-99bRk3-6stdw2-ekkqfN-aD8yy7-cAyvPE-6sxp4j-6Q3CSB-7CU62J-nUD5PK-fpCG2w-nJBnG6-ec1Zep-f9p1WB-e1gpsQ

 
As reported by the Times-Call on Tuesday night, the Longmont City Council voted unanimously to appeal Judge D.D. Mallard’s ruling last July that prohibited the town from banning fracking within Longmont city limits.

In an interview with the Times-Call, Councilwoman Bonnie Finley said she intends to take this issue all the way to Colorado’s Supreme Court. “There’s a need for clarity on the issue. That’s why I am supporting this, and that’s why I believe we should go all the way.”

The controversy began in 2012, when citizens voted to ban fracking in Longmont as a part of the city’s charter. Since the vote, Longmont has faced law suits from the oil and gas industry and state regulators.

Longmont hopes to serve as a catalyst for other communities to challenge local fracking. The continued litigation would still need to pass the Court of Appeals and the state Supreme Court, and the Times-Call estimates that the process would cost over a quarter-million dollars.

 

[Photo of Union Reservoir in Longmont, Colorado by Bo Insogna via Flickr/Creative Commons]