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City Council <br />Meeting Minutes <br />July 30, 2019 <br />Page 5 of 8 <br />Kelly noted the legislation requires operators to get local siting requirements approved <br />first before applying to the COGCC for a permit, however the legislation is not clear <br />She noted many neighboring communities have enacted temporary moratoria There are <br />some concerns that while there has not been much activity in this area for years, new <br />technologies have made it easier for operators to reach their resource from a surface <br />location quite a ways away This could mean a company may be able to use a surface <br />location in Louisville to reach into another jurisdiction <br />The risk of not enacting a moratorium is that an application could be filed At that time <br />Council could enact a moratorium but it would not apply to that application <br />She reviewed some options available for consideration <br />1 Conduct a comprehensive review of the City's current regulations and <br />determine if they adequately address and identify additional local government <br />authorities granted under SB 181 that are not currently addressed in the City's <br />Oil and Gas code <br />2 Work with neighboring jurisdictions to understand the need for consistency and <br />alignment around local oil and gas regulations, particularly related to the <br />protection of unincorporated lands adjacent to the City, City and jointly owned <br />Open Space lands, and other natural resources including but not limited to <br />streams and waterways <br />3 Modify the current permitting process through a code ordinance change to <br />require a pre -proposal application or registration process Then, if and when the <br />City becomes aware that a permit application is likely to be filed, a moratorium <br />can be considered to ensure the regulations with regard to the particular type of <br />application sought are up to date and reflect the most recent rulemaking, <br />research and data, and best practices <br />4 Update the City's regulations to incorporate new local government regulatory <br />authority granted under SB 181 that is not currently addressed in the City's <br />code <br />5 If updates to the City code are deemed necessary, consider a moratorium on oil <br />and gas permits, so that future applications will be subject to such code <br />updates <br />Kelly noted Boulder County has a process with a pre -application which is required 30- <br />days in advance of a pre -application meeting That gives staff the opportunity to evaluate <br />the registration information they have received and give a timeframe in which to enact a <br />moratorium by emergency ordinance if needed, before an application is accepted <br />Staff is looking for direction on if Council would like to enact new regulations and if so, <br />does Council want to consider a temporary moratorium If not, are there other measures <br />Council may want to add to existing regulations Alternatively, the Council can choose to <br />do nothing at this time <br />