Aurora reviews annual oil and gas update, cites inspections, limited methane plumes and $11M remediation grant

Jeffrey Moore, manager of Aurora's Energy and Environment Division, gave the committee the division's annual oil and gas update, outlining well counts, inspections, emissions monitoring and revenue sources.

Moore said Aurora counted about 203 wells in 2025 that were either drilling or producing, with a smaller number of shut-in and about 70 plugged wells. "We do expect in the future there will be some more wells drilled," he said, and staff reported a range of roughly 45 to 100 additional wells in operator agreements for the coming years.

The division emphasized its inspection program and monitoring efforts. Susan Sherman, senior oil and gas inspector, reported the city completed 1,134 inspections in 2025 across wells, pipelines and drilling operations and noted quarterly inspections and rapid reporting: "All inspection reports are sent to the operators usually within 48 hours," Sherman said. She added that Aurora requires four groundwater monitoring wells per new pad (one per aquifer) and uses a FLIR camera to detect methane and volatile organic compound emissions.

On releases and spills, Sherman said there were 16 spills in 2025 (five barrels contained, one outside containment) and 26 air releases noted during FLIR surveys. The Mustang compressor station generated more than 100 flaring notices in earlier years but the operator has since installed an enclosed flare and three continuous air monitors at that site, Sherman said.

Moore discussed revenue and remediation. He said inspection and permitting fees generated roughly $467,000 last year and that royalty receipts from in-city leases and some Weld County mineral interests contributed about $1 million to the Aurora Waters general fund over the past 12 months. Moore also said the city has secured $11,000,000 in grant funds to begin remediation work at the Highway 30 landfill, with field sampling and design-phase work underway.

The presentation included monitoring results from CarbonMapper, a nonprofit that uses aerial and satellite surveys to detect methane. Moore said CarbonMapperdata do not show large methane plumes associated with Auroraoil and gas operations; he noted the only nearby large emission points in their dataset were associated with the DATS landfill and the Tower landfill near Denver International Airport. "We're not seeing those large plumes" in Aurora, Moore said, while acknowledging the city does detect smaller releases in inspections.

On response procedures, Moore said operators typically detect and remotely shut in sites and are required to notify the city and the state for reportable events. He added that if an uncontrolled release remained active, the city would coordinate with emergency responders and state agencies on boundaries and community notification. Sherman noted staff maintain contacts at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment's Air Pollution Control Division for coordination.

The presentation also highlighted interagency collaboration with ECMC, CDPHE and neighboring counties and staffled field tours. Moore thanked the council for passage of a plugged-well setback ordinance in 2025 that creates space around plugged wells to preserve access.

The committee did not take formal action on the presentation; staff said they would continue monitoring, inspection, and remediation activities and return with updates as needed.