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Oil & Gas
Oil and gas is a top priority in the Town of Erie. We continue to work together and establish those priorities with Town staff, residents, legal teams, experts and professionals, other municipalities, the State, and the oil and gas industry as we protect Erie’s health and safety.
The Town of Erie sends Oil & Gas Operations email and text alerts to subscribers. Subscribe with the Notify Me menu or view the archive of all oil and gas notifications that have been sent to the Town of Erie Oil and Gas subscribers.
Dec. 14, 2021 Approval of Amended Reciprocal Setback Standards
On Dec. 14, 2021 the Board of Trustees approved amended Section 10-6-14 of the Unified Development Code to adjust Reciprocal Setback requirements for oil and gas sites. The approved Ordinance can be viewed in its entirety and a recording of the meeting is also available for viewing.
Aug. 24, 2021 Air Monitoring Network Installation
The Town of Erie is pleased to announce the deployment of 10 air quality monitoring stations operated by Ajax Analytics and Colorado State University (CSU). The stations were deployed in phases between Aug. 4 and Aug. 17 near oil and gas well pads and in adjacent neighborhoods as part of the Town’s Air Quality Monitoring Program. View a map of monitoring locations.
June 21, 2021 Oil & Gas Setbacks Listening Session
The Town held a listening session for the public to discuss options for proposed oil and gas site setbacks.
Feb. 11, 2021 Oil & Gas Q&A /Listening Session
The Town hosted a Question & Answer/Listening Session in partnership with the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) and the Weld County Oil and Gas Energy Department. The Mae J site is located east of Colliers Boulevard and north of Weld County Road 10.
The Town of Erie is pleased to announce the launch of a public data portal to view data collected by the air quality monitoring stations operated by Ajax Analytics and Colorado State University (CSU). The stations were deployed in phases between July 6 and Aug. 17 near oil and gas well pads and in adjacent neighborhoods as part of the Town’s Air Quality Monitoring Program. A map of the monitoring station locations is available here.
The Ajax/CSU monitoring network, which consists of 10 real-time monitoring station locations, measures total Volatile Organic Compounds (TVOC), Particulate Matter (PM), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and meteorological data. The real-time and previously collected data are available at: www.ajax-analytics.com/erie
Residents can also request at-home air sampling canisters. See more information about this program.
The Town of Erie is committed to providing responsive and effective leadership by supporting an open, transparent, and accountable government.
- View Town of Erie Oil & Gas notifications
- Register for emergency notifications (Boulder and Weld counties)
- Submit comments on State oil and gas permits
- Access the Town of Erie Emergency Operations Plan
- Contact Town of Erie with oil and gas questions
- Operator Contact Information
- Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC)
- COGCC Complaint Filing
- Colorado Department of Public Health & the Environment (CDPHE) - Oil & Gas and Your Health
- Health concern data by zip code
- Air Quality Data
Note: The Local Government Designee is notified by the State anytime a permit for oil and gas activity is requested within the Town of Erie.
Reciprocal Setbacks
The following options for setbacks were created to allow Erie to develop new residential, commercial, or other property for human occupancy consistent with Town goals, plans, policies, and regulations while protecting occupants from negative impacts to public health, safety, and welfare from existing oil and gas well sites.
On Dec. 14, 2021 the Board of Trustees approved amended Section 10-6-14 of the Unified Development Code to adjust Reciprocal Setback requirements for oil and gas sites. The approved Ordinance can be viewed in its entirety and a recording of the meeting is also available for viewing.
Comparison of Reciprocal Oil and Gas Setback Standards
| Provision | Pre-Jan. 2021 UDC Requirements | Current UDC Requirements |
|---|---|---|
| Applicability of setbacks | New plats containing residential lots and non-residential buildings, community parks, neighborhood parks and pocket parks | New plats containing residential lots, structures that require a certificate of occupancy, parks, sports fields, and playgrounds |
| Point of Measurement | Oil and gas wells and associated above ground production facilities (i.e. above ground equipment and well heads) | Working Pad Surface, meaning "the portion of an Oil and Gas Location that has an improved surface upon which Oil and Gas Operations take place" (i.e. the area within which an operator has or could at a future date place oil and gas facilities) |
Setbacks from planned, yet to be completed oil and gas facilities (Form 2A submitted to COGCC) | 350 ft | 2,000 ft |
| Setbacks from existing, active oil and gas facilities (PR, SI, or TA status) | 350 ft | 500 ft |
| Setbacks from plugged and abandoned wells (PA status) | 25 ft | 150 feet, to be reduced pending the amount and quality of information provided by the developer to ensure health and public safety to a setback not smaller than 50'x100' |
Setbacks from flowlines, gathering lines, and pipelines | No residential lots within (minimum 30 ft) easements | No residential lots within (minimum 30 ft) easements, no occupied buildings within 50 ft of the centerline. |
| Notice to prospective buyers | nil | Notice of existing oil and gas facilities, oil and gas locations, plugged and abandoned wells within 2000 feet of a lot must be provided not less than 30 days before closing |
| Removal and remediation of abandoned pipelines | nil | Requires a plan for removal of all abandoned flowlines and gathering lines known and discovered during construction |