Longmont, Fort Collins get split legal decisions on drilling regulations

Photo: Oil pump jack (AP Photo)
In this Dec. 5, 2012 photo, the sun sets behind an oil pump jack and the Rocky Mountains near Fredrick, Colo.

Longmont and Fort Collins got differing legal decisions Thursday in their efforts to set local regulations for oil and gas drilling.

State oil and gas regulators in Denver said they would drop a lawsuit against the city of Longmont, which enacted local drilling regulations.

Later in the day, a judge in Fort Collins ruled that that city's ban on the drilling procedure known as hydraulic fracturing violates state law.

The towns get the decisions days after a compromise between the oil and gas industry and anti-fracking advocates to drop ballot measures related to drilling in exchange for a commitment from state officials to look at new regulations on the industry.

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Information from: Daily Times-Call, http://timescall.com/