Upcoming Special Board Work Session: Drilling in Superior

Upcoming Special Board Work Session: Drilling in Superior4 min read

95% of the votes are now tallied, so I feel confident in saying a fervent THANK YOU for definitively electing me as your Town Trustee! Out of the 6,556 ballots returned by Superior voters, I received 3,297 votes – or 50.3%! I’m ecstatic to have earned so much support from the community, and am honored to become your Town Trustee.

Throughout this campaign, there were so many ups and downs. With no polling, I truly had no idea how I was doing until the first results came in at 7pm on Tuesday. I’m thrilled that so many of you share my vision for Superior: smart development and partnerships to provide the services and amenities our residents want, complemented by community-focused gatherings that help us preserve our small town spirit.

Speaking of that small town spirit: my absolute favorite part of all this has been getting to know so many amazing neighbors. I could never have done this without the support of so many wonderful people, many of whom I didn’t meet until I started campaigning. We live in a community of incredible generosity, warmth, and talent – and I’m looking forward to engaging our residents and harnessing those ideas and skills to make our town even better.

And as far as engaging residents goes, I’m going to need to put that into action even sooner than expected. I’m writing this post to ask you to please engage ASAP on a very important issue.

On Monday, Highlands Natural Resource filed an application to set up drilling operations (including a total of 93 wells, oil tanks, and water tanks) on the corner of McCaslin and 128 – just 1400 feet from our homes in Rock Creek.

Drilling_Site_Near_Rock_Creek

This site is also only 2/3 of a mile away from Eldorado K-8 School, and less than a mile from the South Pool. Furthermore, it is only 300 feet away from the Town of Superior’s own 500,000 gallon potable water tank.

The application includes not only plans to drill on that spot, but also diagrams showing horizontal drilling that would extend under Superfund site Rocky Flats – see picture below, from the Broomfield City Council meeting packet.

Horizontal_Lines_Drilling_Under_Rocky_Flats

I know there is a lot of debate over whether Rocky Flats has been adequately cleaned up, but I for one do not want drilling or fracking happening this close to our homes – and I know the rest of the Town Board is in agreement with me.

Yesterday, Trustee Kevin Ryan and I spent several hours reviewing the application and comments, and drafting a fact sheet summarizing what we know so far and how residents can voice their opinions on this. You can download the fact sheet here, which includes links to the public comment forum for Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) as well as contact info for various elected officials. Please reach out to as many people as you can to express your concerns with this application!

Today, Trustee Ryan organized a rally at the drilling site itself. I had a previous commitment I was unable to change, but after catching up with several Trustees afterwards, I understand that nearly 75 residents attended. Everyone in attendance seemed to be against the application, particularly given the site location on a popular vista for running, biking, and enjoying the views of the Flatirons. While today had limited visibility due to the snowstorm, I think it’s very telling how adamantly our Town is against this, given the number of people who came out in the freezing snow to take a stand.

November_11_Rally_At_Drilling_Site

Tomorrow, the Town of Superior is hosting a special Town Board Work Session at 5:30pm to meet with the attorney we have contracted who specializes in oil & gas; the goal of the meeting is to get his input and develop a plan to address this application. Although our Town Board believes we are acting in the best interest of our Town by opposing this application, we are looking to hear from residents to officially confirm that view. It is also likely that there will be members of the media present, so I would encourage you to come to the meeting and express your concerns with this application.

Above all else – please download the fact sheet and make your voice heard by contacting as many people from the second page as possible. While we have engaged an attorney, our best chance to defeat this application will be through grassroots advocacy by our residents.

I believe this proposed drilling pad is WAY too close to our homes for comfort, health, and safety – to say nothing of our property values. I’ll see you at tomorrow night’s Work Session.

2 Responses so far.

  1. Nick Crothers says:

    Thank you for this Laura and to all that are generating the groundswell to help oppose this. Very important for us to take a stand.

  2. Susan McNamara says:

    Thanks Laura for capturing the detail of the meeting. I watched via live stream and completely support the town’s efforts.

Leave a Reply to Susan McNamara Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *