Oil and gas company sues Erie over odor ordinance violation

ERIE, Colo. – Crestone Peak Resources, the oil and gas company that owns more than 100 wells in Erie, is suing the town over its ordinance allowing complaints over fracking odors.

The company filed the lawsuit in Weld County on Thursday after it was given notice of a violation of the code earlier this month, the company said.

Erie’s board of trustees approve the ordinance in July. The company calls the ordinance “unconstitutionally vague and overbroad” and says that it was “plainly directed” at the company “due to the vocal opposition by a portion of Erie’s residents.”

The company said the ordinance violates its due process over what it says are vague rules and muddy terms. The lawsuit claims that when the officer who responded to the original complaint went to the site in question, “the officer could not substantiate the complaints.”

Though the well the company was cited for is not the same one close to the Aspen Ridge School, Erie residents in the Vista Ridge neighborhood have complained about fracking for months.