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Lafayette to stay new oil and gas development until May

Posted at 11:25 AM, Nov 07, 2017
and last updated 2017-11-07 13:25:12-05

LAFAYETTE, Colo. (AP) — The Lafayette City Council approved its fracking moratorium.

The Daily Camera reports the stay, amended down from a year, will now bar new oil and gas development within city limits until May.

Activists say the drilling stay will conflict with the city's current "Climate Bill of Rights and Protections," passed earlier this year, and represents the city's pivot to do business with the oil and gas industry, rather than pre-empt it outright.

The Colorado Oil and Gas Association disagrees, offering instead to threaten dissenting communities with lawsuits when they have inserted itself in the drilling process. And precedent for past cases has shown Colorado courts consistently ruling on the side of the industry.