BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. -- Oil and gas operations increasingly closer to housing are something communities across the Front Range are taking a new look at in the wake of the tragedy in Firestone last April.
Boulder County leaders are concerned about two new applications for drilling. It's a battle the county has been waging for years against an industry that also provides thousands of jobs in northern Colorado.
One of two newly proposed sites in Boulder County spans more than 2,000 acres and includes farmland and homes. The other site is more than 1,000 acres near the Erie municipal airport.
8 North LLC has started the application process through the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission and notified the county, which is worried about the impacts drilling could have on residents and open space lands.
In a statement, a spokesperson for 8 North LLC says it is “focused on engineering developments that protect our environment while safely producing the energy resources we all use each day.”
Boulder County is working with nearby towns and is asking concerned residents to also join in their fight to keep the company from drilling.
