Oil & Gas

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Oil and gas is a top priority in the Town of Erie. We continue to work together and establish those priorities with Town staff, residents, legal teams, experts and professionals, other municipalities, the State, and the oil and gas industry as we protect Erie’s health and safety.

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Dec. 14, 2021 Approval of Amended Reciprocal Setback Standards
On Dec. 14, 2021 the Board of Trustees approved amended Section 10-6-14 of the Unified Development Code to adjust Reciprocal Setback requirements for oil and gas sites. The approved Ordinance can be viewed in its entirety and a recording of the meeting is also available for viewing.

Aug. 24, 2021 Air Monitoring Network Installation
The Town of Erie is pleased to announce the deployment of 10 air quality monitoring stations operated by Ajax Analytics and Colorado State University (CSU). The stations were deployed in phases between Aug. 4 and Aug. 17 near oil and gas well pads and in adjacent neighborhoods as part of the Town’s Air Quality Monitoring Program. View a map of monitoring locations.

June 21, 2021 Oil & Gas Setbacks Listening Session
The Town held a listening session for the public to discuss options for proposed oil and gas site setbacks.

Watch the recorded session.

Feb. 11, 2021 Oil & Gas Q&A /Listening Session
The Town hosted a Question & Answer/Listening Session in partnership with the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) and the Weld County Oil and Gas Energy Department. The Mae J site is located east of Colliers Boulevard and north of Weld County Road 10.

Reciprocal Setbacks

The following options for setbacks were created to allow Erie to develop new residential, commercial, or other property for human occupancy consistent with Town goals, plans, policies, and regulations while protecting occupants from negative impacts to public health, safety, and welfare from existing oil and gas well sites. 

On Dec. 14, 2021 the Board of Trustees approved amended Section 10-6-14 of the Unified Development Code to adjust Reciprocal Setback requirements for oil and gas sites. The approved Ordinance can be viewed in its entirety and a recording of the meeting is also available for viewing. 

Comparison of Reciprocal Oil and Gas Setback Standards

ProvisionPre-Jan. 2021 UDC RequirementsCurrent UDC Requirements
Applicability of setbacksNew plats containing residential lots and non-residential buildings, community parks, neighborhood parks and pocket parksNew plats containing residential lots, structures that require a certificate of occupancy, parks, sports fields, and playgrounds
Point of Measurement

Oil and gas wells and associated above ground production facilities (i.e. above ground equipment and well heads)

Working Pad Surface, meaning "the portion of an Oil and Gas Location that has an improved surface upon which Oil and Gas Operations take place" (i.e. the area within which an operator has or could at a future date place oil and gas facilities)

Setbacks from planned, yet to be completed oil and gas facilities (Form 2A submitted to COGCC)

350 ft2,000 ft
Setbacks from existing, active oil and gas facilities (PR, SI, or TA status)350 ft500 ft
Setbacks from plugged and abandoned wells (PA status)25 ft150 feet, to be reduced pending the amount and quality of information provided by the developer to ensure health and public safety to a setback not smaller than 50'x100'

Setbacks from flowlines, gathering lines, and pipelines

No residential lots within (minimum 30 ft) easements

No residential lots within (minimum 30 ft) easements, no occupied buildings within 50 ft of the centerline.
Notice to prospective buyersnilNotice of existing oil and gas facilities, oil and gas locations, plugged and abandoned wells within 2000 feet of a lot must be provided not less than 30 days before closing
Removal and remediation of abandoned pipelinesnilRequires a plan for removal of all abandoned flowlines and gathering lines known and discovered during construction