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County staff warn Weld County well pad laterals could extend beneath Boulder County, limiting local authority
Summary
County Parks and Open Space staff told the advisory committee that approved and proposed Weld County well pads (notably the DRACO project) include long lateral wells that may pass under Boulder County lands, and that state law and split-estate leases substantially limit the county's ability to block subsurface development.
Boulder County staff told the Parks and Open Space Advisory Committee on March 27 that several large oil-and-gas projects approved or proposed in neighboring Weld County could send horizontal wellbores underneath county open space, leaving the county with limited legal tools to stop subsurface development.
"We have no legal legs to stand on with a project like this," said Kate Burke, an attorney with the county attorney's office who focuses on oil and gas, describing the recently approved DRACO project and other pads whose laterals appear routed to avoid county-owned minerals. County presenters said the DRACO pad includes on the order of two dozen laterals, some planned to travel multiple miles and to enter under Boulder County near Erie.
Michael Sylvester, the county's oil-and-gas regulatory specialist with Parks and Open Space, explained that the county currently has 161 wells, the majority on county open space, and that 68% of those are shut-in or temporarily abandoned. Staff described plugging-and-abandonment work the county has overseen and said the county's well inventory has fallen in recent years as older wells were retired.
County staff emphasized why the county's authority is limited. Burke described the split estate doctrine, in which surface rights and mineral rights can be owned separately, and noted many leases were signed decades ago and remain live while minimal production continues. She said operators must still obtain permits from state agencies, and that the county regulates surface impacts through its land-use code, but that state law gives the state primary authority over subsurface activities.
Rusty Crane, the county's oil-and-gas inspector in Public Health's air-quality division, described local inspection results for 2024: 505 facility visits, 113 emissions detected, 17 of which exceeded the county's enforcement threshold (500 parts per million VOC), and 15 fines imposed. Crane said the statutory cap for fines is $300 per violation per day under state law, limiting the county's monetary leverage. "We imposed 15 fines... the total we've seen for the year is $4,500," he said.
Staff also highlighted a recent state legislative win: a forced-pooling prohibition that prevents the state from authorizing forced pooling of minerals owned by local governments. Burke said that change helps protect unleased minerals owned by the county but does not undo existing leases; minerals already leased remain vulnerable to development unless the county can show a lease is invalid.
County staff said they have submitted comments and participated in hearings at the state level on these projects. They urged residents and advisory members that their leverage is strongest on surface impacts and in negotiating reclamation and plugging-and-abandonment plans; where subsurface laterals originate outside Boulder County, staff said their legal options are constrained.
The county declined to propose new local prohibitions that would conflict with state authority, instead emphasizing continued engagement in state permitting and targeted enforcement of surface- and air-quality rules. Staff said they will continue to analyze options and keep the advisory committee and public informed as projects move through state permitting.
