Despite the objections of numerous Boulder County residents and elected officials, the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission on Tuesday voted to approve two drilling and spacing orders that will drain minerals from 4,000 acres in east Boulder County.
Applications filed by Extraction Oil and Gas affiliate 8North to drill a total of 52 wells — including 20 within the town of Erie — from two separate surface sites were moved forward by the nine-member state agency with votes of 8-1 on each application.
Commission member Erin Overturf cast the sole dissenting vote on each.
The proposed 8North projects will tap hydrocarbons on 1,280 acres that include land within Lafayette’s and Erie’s municipal borders just west of the Weld County line between Arapahoe and Baseline roads, as well as 2,720 acres north of there consisting of mostly Boulder County-owned open space, also along the county line between Quail and Mineral roads.
If the 8North projects come to fruition in their current forms, the surface well pad — dubbed the Lupine site — that the company indicated will drain the southern area between Erie and Lafayette would feature 20 wells located within Erie town limits on the Boulder side of the county line.
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