Boulder County government ended its workday late Friday afternoon without the county commissioners taking action to rescind their moratorium on accepting and processing new oil and gas development applications.
Earlier on Friday afternoon, a spokeswoman for Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman, who last month called on Boulder County to end the moratorium by Feb. 10, said that office would be making no further comments.
Meanwhile, the two Democratic senators in Boulder County's state legislative delegation marked Republican Coffman's deadline day by refusing to vote for an otherwise-routine measure adjusting the Legislature's budget appropriations for the Attorney General's Office.
Sens. Matt Jones, D-Louisville, and Steve Fenberg, D-Boulder, said in a joint statement after Friday morning's vote: "If the attorney general is going to use taxpayer money to sue taxpayers, we cannot in good conscience vote 'Yes' on a supplemental budget appropriation to the attorney general's department."
Coffman had notified Boulder County commissioners in a Jan. 26 letter that she would take "appropriate action" if the county did not rescind the moratorium by Feb. 10. Boulder County Attorney Ben Pearlman said in a Jan. 27 written response that the county intended to stick with its present timetable — keeping the moratorium in place through May 1 — and was prepared to defend itself if the attorney general pursues litigation.
After being asked on Thursday and again on Friday morning what the Attorney General's Office's plans were — and whether Coffman planned to file a lawsuit if the county didn't comply with her call to rescind the moratorium by Friday's deadline — Annie Skinner, the office's communications director, replied in a Friday morning email that "if we reach the stage where we are forced to go to court, that information will be made publicly available."
Skinner said, however, that "I do not anticipate any suit being filed today," Friday.
Michelle Krezek, the county commissioners' staff deputy, said on late Friday afternoon that "neither the commissioners' office nor the county attorney's office received any communication from the attorney general before close of business today."
When asked for comment about an Associated Press report that Jones had accused Coffman of acting on behalf of oil and gas companies in threatening to sue Boulder County, Skinner said in a separate email that "I won't have any additional comment today."
Jones and Fenberg said in their joint statement: "By sending her letter threatening a local community for just trying to protects its families' health, safety, and property, the attorney general is using the power of her office, and money belonging to the taxpayers, to threaten legal action against some of those very same taxpayers.
"What is worse, the attorney general is threatening this local community with legal action at the behest of oil and gas companies," the two senators said.
The Associated Press reported that Skinner declined to say whether Coffman had spoken with any energy industry representatives before deciding to challenge the moratorium.
Dan Haley, president of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, said in a Friday afternoon statement that "the attorney general has been clear on her time frame for Boulder (sic) to lift their illegal moratorium.
"We are waiting to see what happens next week and find it disappointing that Boulder has refused to comply with her request," said Haley, whose oil and gas industry organization successfully pursued court challenges against Fort Collins' voter-approved fracking moratorium and Longmont's voter-approved fracking ban.
According to the State Senate Democratic staff, the vote to approve the appropriations-adjustment bill was 25-9, with some Democrats joining the Senate's Republicans in voting for the measure, which now advances to the House of Representatives.
Jones, however, said in a Friday afternoon interview that "some Republicans" joined him and Fenberg in voting against the bill.
Fenberg said in an interview that "at the end of the day, there can sometimes be a marriage of the left and the right" when it comes to the spending of taxpayers' dollars in situations like the attorney general's threatened lawsuit.
Jones said he and Fenberg took their stand in Friday's vote in order "to send a message" about Coffman's dispute with Boulder County government's moratorium.
Fenberg said constituents raised the issue, as well, during recent town hall meetings he held in Boulder and Lyons.
"People in Boulder County are definitely aware" of the issues involved with resuming and locally regulating of oil and gas development in unincorporated Boulder County, Fenberg said, "and are concerned about it."
John Fryar: 303-684-5211, jfryar@times-call.com or twitter.com/jfryartc
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