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City staff brief council on oil, gas and mineral-leasing authority and local risks
Summary
Jeffrey Moore, Aurora's energy and environment manager, told council that the state regulates subsurface drilling and well path but the city retains control over surface impacts and mineral-leasing decisions; he presented production figures, inspection practices, and scenarios for how declining city leases can affect drilling configurations.
Jeffrey Moore, manager of Aurora's Energy and Environment Division, presented an overview of oil and gas operations and the city's role at the Feb. 23 study session.
Moore said state regulators (the Energy and Carbon Management Commission) retain authority over subsurface matters — including well path and depth — while the city’s legal authority is limited to surface impacts and related permitting when the well pad sits inside city limits. "The state, of course, has all authority over oil and gas operations in the state through the ECMC," he said, adding that local code (Chapter 135) and operator agreements cover inspection and surface-operation standards.
Moore gave production figures for local wells: roughly 73,000 MCF…
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