Colorado's Democrat-led House has defeated a bill to reassert local government control over the siting of oil and gas drilling.
The bill became another platform for debate Monday over how to regulate fracking in Front Range urban and suburban areas.
Democratic Reps. Mike Foote of Lafayette and Su Ryden of Aurora co-sponsored the House bill. They argued it would allow local governments to regulate the location of drilling rigs using their noise, traffic and visual impact codes.
Opponents said those powers already were outlined by a gubernatorial task force on fracking and that the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission considers local impacts in siting rigs.
Opponents also said it wasn't time for the bill because the state Supreme Court is considering the legality of a city of Longmont fracking ban.
