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HomeMy WebLinkAboutResponse To Constituent Letter - Mail Packet - 4/4/2023 - Letter From Mayor Jeni Arndt To Air Quality Advisory Board (Aqab) Regarding Oil And Gas Regulations [Pertaining To April 4, 2023 City Council Agenda] Mayor City Hall 300 LaPorte Ave. PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 970.416.2154 970.224.6107 - fax fcgov.com March 30, 2023 Air Quality Advisory Board c/o Cassie Archuleta, Staff Liaison PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 Dear Chair Houdashelt and Board Members: On behalf of City Council, thank you for providing us with the March 27, 2023 memorandum wherein you summarized the Board’s appreciation that many of AQAB’s recommendations on the proposed oil and gas regulations were included in the March 6 version, and wherein you also outlined various items the Board feels are missing from the proposed regulations and which would require changes and additions to City Code. Upon complete review of your memorandum, we understand the Board’s position is that Council not adopt the current oil and gas regulations at second reading on April 4. We encourage you to watch the proceedings of the April 4 Council meeting either in person at City Hall at 6:00 p.m. or online via fcgov.com. Thank you for the expertise and perspectives that you bring to the Board and share with City Council. Best Regards, Jeni Arndt Mayor /sek cc: City Council Members Kelly DiMartino, City Manager 1 Environmental Services 222 Laporte Ave PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 970-221-6600 fcgov.com MEMORANDUM DATE: March 27, 2023 TO: Mayor and City Councilmembers FROM: Air Quality Advisory Board; Chair, Mark Houdashelt RE: AQAB Oil and Gas Recommendations The Air Quality Advisory Board has reviewed the latest version of the City's proposed oil and gas (O&G) regulations (dated March 6, 2023), and the Board would like to thank City Council and staff for acting upon many of the recommendations that we provided in our December 12, 2022, letter to Council. However, we feel that there are important items that remain missing from the currently proposed O&G regulations that require further changes and additions to City code. In terms of the current version of the code, the AQAB recommends: • revising §3.12.4(A)(2)(a)(1) such that, for any existing or platted building approved or to be approved as occupiable space, the required setback for new, enlarged or expanded O&G facilities be 2000 feet from the property line, not the nearest wall - this would be consistent with the Larimer County O&G regulations; • adding explicit language to the code that states that no exceptions are allowed to the industrial zone requirement for O&G facilities; • adding explicit language to the code that states that applicants proposing O&G facilities and/or pipelines are not allowed to add permitted uses; seek text amendments, variances, or standards modifications; or make similar requests to expand allowable uses not contained in the current code; and • removing the qualifier "as appropriate" from §3.12.5(C), which requires leak detection, secondary containment, or other mitigation for O&G pipelines passing within 150 feet of residential or non-residential buildings or the high-water mark of any surface water body. While the AQAB understands that the currently proposed code primarily deals with zoning and setback requirements for new O&G facilities, which are critical to regulating O&G development within the City, we continue to believe that the following regulatory options need to be included as well (as described more fully in our previous memo): • financial assurance requirements, • cumulative impacts analysis and natural habitat/natural features review, • proof that a sufficient water supply has been obtained by the operator, • a schedule of impact fees, • inspection, enforcement and penalty provisions, and • industry standard control, control system, and monitoring requirements. 2 The AQAB understands that some of these regulatory options may require amendments to Municipal Code and that City staff is working with the State and with Larimer County to address any gaps in their respective regulations. However, given the history of State inaction or its slow pace of action in this arena, the AQAB feels that the City would be better protected by having local control measures available in these areas. Since many of these options apply to new O&G facilities, the AQAB believes that it would be prudent to address these issues at the same time that the zoning and setback provisions are adopted. Therefore, the AQAB recommends that City Council NOT adopt the current O&G regulations at their second reading on April 4. We recommend that Council instead instruct City staff to hold the public outreach necessary to include the additional regulatory options listed above in City code. This should take no longer than six months, at which time staff can bring back to Council a more comprehensive set of O&G regulations. We also recommend that the last step in any code revision is a public vetting of the code to be considered by Council. This should prevent further public objections and delays in adopting the finalized code. Thank you for considering these recommendations from the Air Quality Advisory Board. The AQAB would again like to thank City Council and staff for their hard work on these O&G regulations.