American Oil and Gas Reporter - March 2017 - 21

granted Feb. 10 on an unopposed
motion filed by the defendants in State
of Alabama et al v. National Marine
Fisheries Service, Secretary of
Commerce, and U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service to allow the Trump
administration time to become familiar
with the issue.
IPAA explains that in February 2016,
USFWS finalized rules that enabled it
to designate as critical habitat, areas that
did not at the time, and might never be,
necessary to conserve a species simply
by determining that "it is reasonable to
infer from the record that (the
unoccupied areas) eventually will
become necessary to support the
species' recovery."
IPAA says USFWS's order also:
* Redefines "habitat destruction and
adverse modification" to protect not
only existing habitat features, but
features that someday may develop; and
* Essentially adopts as policy a de
facto moratorium on ever excluding
federal lands from critical habitat
designations.
Eighteen states led by Alabama and
Arkansas challenged the rules in
November in the federal district court in
Alabama, arguing they violated the
Endangered Species Act and were
arbitrary and capricious under the
Administrative Procedure Act. ❒

Colorado AG Files Suit
Against Boulder County
For Activity Moratorium
DENVER-Colorado Attorney
General Cynthia Coffman is suing
Boulder County, Co., for its moratorium
on new oil and gas development within
its jurisdiction. Press accounts indicate
the board of county commissioners
characterizes the moratorium as a
necessary interval in which to update its
oil and gas regulations.
Coffman cites a May 2016 Colorado
Supreme Court ruling that pre-empts
local bans on oil and gas development
that conflict with the Colorado Oil and
Gas Conservation Act, which regulates
all aspects of oil and gas development
within the state (AOGR, June 2016, pg.
14). After that case, which arose
because the Colorado cities of
Longmont and Fort Collins attempted to
ban hydraulic fracturing, most other
local governments lifted similar bans,
Coffman indicates. In the lone
exception of Boulder County, officials
twice extended its moratorium, she
notes, which began in February 2012.

According to the AG, she put
Boulder County on notice on Jan. 27
that failure to lift the moratorium by
Feb. 10 would prompt the state to take
legal action. However, she says, county
commissioners responded with a claim
that more time was necessary to draft
regulations and prepare to accept new
applications for oil and gas
development.
The Colorado Oil & Gas Association
applauds the AG's move to compel
compliance by filing suit in Boulder
County District Court. "It's not about
drilling, or fracturing or pipelines, it's
about the law, and the law is clear,"
states COGA President and Chief
Executive Officer Dan Haley. "Longterm moratoriums-and this one is more
than five years now-are illegal. Boulder
County shouldn't be surprised that the
AG cares about the rule of law in
Colorado."
Coffman indicates Boulder County's
opportunity to update its oil and gas
oversight has been more than sufficient.
"It is not the job of industry to enforce
Colorado law; that is the role of the AG
on behalf of the people of Colorado,"
she says. "Regrettably, Boulder
County's open defiance of state law has
made legal action the final recourse
available to the state."
According to media accounts, county
officials uphold the moratorium's
legality as necessary to complete their
regulatory update. ❒

Texas Court Of Appeals
Rules Twice For Industry
WICHITA FALLS, TX.-Texas' 5th
District Court of Appeals sided with oil
and gas industry interests in two
February rulings, according to a report
from the Texas Alliance of Energy
Producers.
The Alliance says a three-judge
panel of the 5th District overturned a $3
million judgment in a nuisance claim
against Aruba Petroleum Inc. In the
second ruling, the Alliance continues,
the appeals court overturned a lower
court ruling against Trinity East Energy
LLC in that company's claim that the
city of Dallas reneged on million-dollar
drilling leases.
In Parr v. Aruba Petroleum Inc. and
Encana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc., the
Alliance says the appeals court issued a
"take-nothing judgment" after finding
the Parr family's claims did not meet the
standards for a private nuisance claim.
The Parr family sued Aruba in 2013,
alleging spills, emissions and discharges

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American Oil and Gas Reporter - March 2017

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