The clock is ticking in Arapahoe County, where residents have one last official shot to weigh in on a proposed oil and gas facility at Lowry Ranch before a June 10 deadline. County officials opened a final public comment period on an application from Crestone Peak Resources, now operating as SM Energy and formerly known as Civitas, that would place a multi-well pad on state trust land east of the Aurora Reservoir. Staff says the plan includes new access roads, phased drilling and a suite of mitigation measures, and a final decision will come after the comment window closes.
According to Arapahoe County, the State Blanca West pad application (Record AE25-004) calls for 18 wells on a 16.82-acre working pad set within a 21.52-acre agricultural parcel roughly a half mile south of East Quincy Avenue and a half mile north of East Reservoir Dam Road. The county notes the site sits in the Box Elder watershed tributary but outside the floodplain. Public comments must be submitted exclusively through the county’s online comment form by 11:59 p.m. on June 10. Final application materials, including air quality, traffic and emergency-response plans, are posted on the county portal for anyone who wants to dig into the details.
What’s proposed
The operator lays out a phased buildout for State Blanca West. Eight wells would be drilled and completed in the first phase, followed by the remaining 10 wells, and construction of the initial pad is expected to take about eight weeks. Civitas Community Relations highlights mitigation measures across the broader Lowry Ranch program, from continuous air monitors and closed-loop fluid systems to groundwater testing and wildlife-friendly fencing, and notes that locked gates and security fencing will be installed after construction wraps up. The company presents these operational commitments as best-management practices that also appear throughout its other Lowry Ranch filings.
Regulatory background
Projects at Lowry Ranch move through a two-track review process. The Energy and Carbon Management Commission handles area-level plans, while Arapahoe County evaluates the specific surface sites. State COGIS records list related OGDP filings for the area, and county files and public comment packets document earlier disputes over expansions such as the State La Plata South application, which commenters described as proposing a 10.5-acre pad, roughly 23 acres of disturbance and up to 17 additional wells. The ECMC facility records and the county’s public comment materials lay out those filings and the objections in full.
Neighbors push back
Neighborhood groups and activists argue the proposed pads sit too close to homes, schools and the Aurora Reservoir, and they have raised alarms about air quality, water use, truck traffic and noise. Local reporting has chronicled tense hearings and narrow votes around Lowry Ranch proposals, and organizers say they see this latest county comment period as another crucial chance to get their concerns on the record. Coverage by Save The Aurora Reservoir, a report urging locals urged to speak up, and reporting from KUNC all illustrate how closely watched the Lowry Ranch filings have become.
How to weigh in
Arapahoe County stresses that final comments on the State Blanca West application must be submitted only through its online comment form by 11:59 p.m. on June 10. County staff will review those comments as part of the permitting analysis. The county’s oil and gas portal hosts the full application packet along with the link to the comment form, so residents can both study the source documents and submit feedback in one place.
