Groups suing over gas drilling near homes in W. Colorado town

GRAND JUNCTION – A group of residents has filed a lawsuit to stop a plan to drill for natural gas near mobile homes in the western Colorado town of Battlement Mesa.
The Daily Sentinel reports that Battlement Concerned Citizens and the Grand Valley Citizens Alliance sued the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission in Denver District Court.
They are asking that the court intervene on a plan by Ursa Resources to drill 24 gas wells and operate a wastewater injection well a little more than 500 feet from homes.
The groups contend that the location presents a hazard to the Battlement Mesa community, an unincorporated community of several thousand between Grand Junction and Glenwood Springs.
Travis Duncan, of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, declined comment.
Ursa spokesman Don Simpson said the company believes there is no basis for the suit.
