The Energy and Carbon Management Commission heard more than three hours of public comment on Nov. 19 over the Sunlight Long oil-and-gas development plan, a proposed mega well pad on Lowry Ranch near the Aurora Reservoir that drew fierce opposition from residents, non‑profits and at least one state representative.

Representative Eliza Hammock urged commissioners to reject the plan, saying, "The state can and should deny this permit." She and dozens of others said placement of dozens of wells and associated truck traffic so close to a major drinking-water source, schools and neighborhoods poses unacceptable risks to public health and the environment.

The State Land Board submitted a written letter read into the record that recounted the Lowry lease history, stewardship stipulations and a tier map intended to steer development to previously disturbed areas. The letter said staff concluded the proposed Sunlight Long pad is consistent with the Lowry lease terms but emphasized that the State Land Board defers regulatory determinations to ECMC.

Speakers raised several recurring concerns: emerging Colorado research linking proximity to unconventional oil-and-gas development with higher childhood leukemia risk; the site’s location in an ozone nonattainment area; the potential for spills or hydraulic-fracturing-related impacts to groundwater or the Aurora Reservoir; predicted heavy truck traffic and strains on local emergency response; and operator compliance history.

Community members cited published and in‑progress studies and asked commissioners to wait for the panel convened by Commissioner Oth to complete its review of three Colorado‑focused public‑health studies before approving new residential‑area wells. Multiple commenters also asked the commission to require continuous air and benzene monitoring with clear stop‑work triggers and to consider alternate site locations farther from population centers.

Organized groups including local chapters of climate and public‑health organizations urged denial. A representative of the League of Women Voters asked the commission to use its rule 3‑01(a) authority to require sufficient protections and conditions, noting the commission may require conditions "necessary and reasonable to protect and minimize adverse impacts." Several public commenters pointed to specific recent state health‑agency guidance that flagged the Sunlight Long site as high risk within the Lowry CAP review.

The hearing also included stakeholder and local‑government materials: the State Land Board’s letter documented the Lowry stewardship process, a disturbance cap (650 acres, about 3.14% of the lease), tiered restrictions (tier 1 no‑surface occupancy through tier 4 preferred surface occupancy) and requirements for surveys and stewardship funds. Aurora Water’s Nov. 17 letter, summarized by the chair, emphasized topographic separation between the pad and the reservoir and described measures to reduce roadway and pipeline proximity to the reservoir.

Commissioners did not vote at the Nov. 19 public‑comment session. The commission adjourned and scheduled applicant and party presentations and cross‑examination for the next day, noting the record will include the State Land Board letter and hundreds of written comments.

What’s next: ECMC resumes the docket with applicant presentations and party testimony on the following day; commissioners indicated they will consider the written record, the State Land Board materials and the expert review work already underway when they take a decision.

(Reporting note: quotes and attribution are drawn from the Nov. 19 ECMC hearing transcript.)