API: Colorado Petroleum Council responds to Broomfield City Council imposing moratorium on new energy development

DENVER -- Broomfield City Council approved a six-month moratorium on new natural gas and oil development in the city, becoming the seventh Colorado community to impose a ban since the introduction of Senate Bill 181 in March.

The moratorium passed unanimously on second reading, halting the municipal approval process for energy development until December.

Colorado Petroleum Council Executive Director Lynn Granger released the following statement in response to the decision:

“We are disappointed that Broomfield City Council has chosen to impose a moratorium on new energy development. Its decision is misguided and harmful to our state.

“Our industry prioritizes public health and safety and continues to take proactive measures to ensure that energy development is done safely and responsibly in collaboration with the priorities of Colorado communities. Nothing about Senate Bill 181 has changed our industry’s leadership role in environmental stewardship.

“We have and will continue to stand ready to engage in good faith discussions about Colorado’s energy future. We remain hopeful that Colorado’s local and state governments will do the same as the many elements of Senate Bill 181 are implemented in the months and years to come.”

The Colorado Petroleum Council is a division of API, which represents all segments of America’s oil and natural gas industry. Its more than 600 members produce, process, and distribute most of the nation’s energy. The industry supports 10.3 million U.S. jobs and is backed by a growing grassroots movement of more than 47 million Americans. API was formed in 1919 as a standards-setting organization. In its first 100 years, API has developed more than 700 standards to enhance operational and environmental safety, efficiency and sustainability.