City Attorney’s Office
Reference: WASTE DISPOSAL INJECTION WELL MORATORIUM
To: Mayor Kenneth J. Kreutzer and Members of City Council
Through: Philip Rodriguez, City Manager
Prepared By: Matthew Sura, Esq.
Date Prepared: May 24, 2018
PURPOSE
To consider an Emergency Ordinance, establishing a temporary, six-month moratorium within the City of Brighton (until December 4, 2018), to prohibit the City’s acceptance, review, processing, or approval during such moratorium, of any application to permit, license, or otherwise approve and entitle for development or operation, any “waste disposal injection well” as defined in the Ordinance; declaring an emergency and setting forth other details related thereto.
STRATEGIC FOCUS
• Recognizable and Well-Planned Community
• Safe, Active, and Engaged Community
BACKGROUND
City Staff have received inquiries and information, related to the possibility of locating industrial waste disposal injection well facilities, in or near the City Brighton. Such underground disposal wells are used by the oil and gas industry (and perhaps other industries), to inject underground, store, and dispose of, fluid waste material and other industrial by-products generated in connection with oil and gas drilling, fracking, and other industrial operations. The exact chemical composition of these fluid waste materials is unknown, but generally the fluid contains oil and gas, by-products and other hydrocarbons, drilling and hydraulic fracturing fluids, and related industrial-grade chemicals and fluid waste.
The Municipal Code does not directly regulate such underground industrial waste storage facilities in (or near) the City, and Staff is understandably concerned. The City’s groundwater resources and other watersheds and resources could be put at risk of contamination. Streets and other public infrastructure could be damaged by increased heavy trucking and equipment operations. Air quality could be negatively impacted. Seismic activity has been known to increase due to injection wells. There is increased potential for industrial accidents including spills of hazardous materials. The waste is flammable and can be a source of fires and explosions.
Under such circumstances, it is the recommendation of Staff and the City Attorney’s Office, that Code Amendments addressing such facilities should be researched, studied, analyzed, drafted, prepared and reviewed by City Council, in order to determine whether and how best to reasonably and lawfully regulate such industrial waste facilities in and around Brighton. The goal is to protect and preserve the public health and safety, against any adverse impacts from such facilities, and any related industrial activity.
Reasonable time is needed, and a 6-month moratorium on the City reviewing or approving any such facility (and its related impacts) is recommended. During such time, Staff shall study these issues and report back to Council regularly, for further instruction and direction.
CRITERIA THAT COUNCIL SHOULD CONSIDER
Whether an Emergency Exists
Council should carefully read the draft Ordinance (attached), where Staff and the City Attorney have outlined specific concerns around these important public safety issues. Since the Municipal Code does not currently regulate waste disposal injection wells directly and specifically, the immediate concern is that there is no established application process, no substantive review or approval criteria, no safeguards and no standards for the approval, construction, operation, use, regulation, closure, or clean-up of such facilities.
It is Staff’s opinion, that the public health and safety is threatened and in jeopardy, without such standards, safeguards and regulations being in place to protect the City, its citizens, water resources, clean air, and public infrastructure. Should the Council concur with Staff’s assessment of urgency and importance, then Council should discuss the facts and determine whether an emergency exists. A two-thirds majority is required to make that finding.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that City Council approve the attached Ordinance.
OPTIONS FOR COUNCIL CONSIDERATION
• Approve the Ordinance (A 2/3 MAJORITY IS REQUIRED)
• Approve the Ordinance with Modifications
• Deny the Ordinance