Colorado Hometown Weekly: Erie and Lafayette may soon require oil and gas operators to map their pipelines throughout the cities, officials say, signaling the potential for heightened local control months after similar legislation fell along party lines at the state Capitol.

Such measures — and similar legislation aimed at curbing the industry’s reach over the past few months — could lead eastern Boulder County to become a haven for more strenuous oil and gas regulation efforts, advocates say.

The communities are at different moments of implementing their respective ordinances; Lafayette officials announced their intentions for such a measure earlier this summer and gave an update on a potential ordinance’s status on Tuesday, while Erie’s Planning Commission has already approved the language.

Details on how such a proposal could be granted exist under the respective municipalities’ land-use powers, according to Lafayette City Attorney Dave Williamson and Erie’s special counsel, attorney Barbara Green.

The language was fashioned after similar wording used in La Plata County code, Lafayette Councilwoman Merrily Mazza said. According to La Plata County Attorney Sheryl Rogers, its measure requires operators to hand over maps of pipeline locations to officials if an emergency response is necessary.

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