Driving up I-25 through Weld County towards Fort Collins, you see plenty of rigs. But compared to a coal mine, power plant, steel mill; they are trivial.
The people in these areas welcome the work and enjoy the balance. It’s the people in Lo-Do,Cherry Creek and Boulder who are alarmed.
Still there can be compromise. Say no rigs west of I-25? Then they can live out their dream of an unobstructed view of the Front Range.
East of I-25, meh. There’s nothing until Kansas.
And it’s not like people are going to complain that you obscured their view of Kansas.
The article says the bill would put fracking decisions in the control of cities and counties. Why would this be a problem? We don’t believe in local decision making? I’ve driven across the state of Colorado from the east. Your’re right, nothing until the Front Range.
95% of last year's drilling was in Weld County, so your idea appears good. However, areas just east of the Front Range axis are prime, and they are west of I-25. That encroaches on Boulder, Longmont and Loveland. Though the issue is heated, it is focused on a much smaller area than the article implies. Loveland has set a fracking moratorium vote for July 29th, which is unlikely to pass (perhaps that's why they set the vote) and would be beyond the city's powers if it did. The local rights fracking issue is limited to Boulder County: Boulder and Longmont.