Critics: Oil driller hired guards to prevent them from attending meetings
Crestone Peak Resources promised state regulators it would hold public meetings with residents affected by the company’s plans to drill at least 180 wells on the eastern edge of Boulder County, but public officials and activists say the company purposefully excluded many critics of the drilling plans from those meetings.
In the face of mounting criticism, the company on Monday promised to hold another, telephone-only meeting on Nov. 2 so more concerned residents can weigh in.
Denver-based Crestone barred from the previous meetings individuals the company didn’t invite to attend, critics point out. The company sent invitations out to about 140 parcel owners within a half mile of the proposed drilling sites, leaving many who own property located outside that half-mile distance feeling they weren’t given a chance to participate.
The invitation-only caveat almost tripped up two state legislators when they tried to attend the company’s meeting on Wednesday evening. Sen. Matt Jones, a Democrat from Louisville, and Rep. Mike Foote, a Democrat from Lafayette, had to wait for about five minutes with a private security guard and also a Boulder County sheriff’s deputy providing backup before a Crestone official finally relented and allowed them to attend the meeting inside a church.
A large Crestone Peak Resources drilling operation, with large noise dampening walls, has Longs Peak in the background near Frederick, Colorado. Gas and oil development, exploration and fracking operations are colliding more and more with subdivision and housing developments as the front range continues to grow. Bulrush Park wetland park is home to many varieties of birds,mammals, amphibians and reptiles. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post)