{"id":221737,"date":"2026-06-17T22:30:25","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T22:30:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/221737\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T22:30:25","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T22:30:25","slug":"split-vote-of-erie-town-council-rejects-deal-tied-to-draco-oil-and-gas-project-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/221737\/","title":{"rendered":"Split vote of Erie Town Council rejects deal tied to Draco oil and gas project"},"content":{"rendered":"

With a\u00a0split vote of the Erie Town Council on Tuesday night,\u00a0a potential deal<\/a> with oil and gas operator SM Energy to hand over underground, town-owned mineral rights within the drilling area for the company\u2019s planned Draco Pad project has failed.<\/p>\n

The vote was 3-3, with Erie Mayor Andrew Moore, Mayor Pro Tem Brandon Bell and Councilmember John Mortellaro voting in favor of the agreement.<\/p>\n

Councilmembers Emily Baer, Brian O\u2019Connor and Anil Pesaramelli voted against, while Councilmember Dan Hoback was absent from Tuesday night\u2019s meeting for, he said, a family obligation.<\/p>\n

\"CouncilmemberCouncilmember Brian O\u2019Connor speaks during a special Town Council meeting in Erie on Tuesday. (Matthew Jonas\/Staff Photographer)<\/p>\n

The proposal\u2019s defeat capped months of debate over a potential deal. Opposition to the agreement with SM Energy \u2014 including some council members and Erie residents \u2014 has argued<\/a> that too much of the negotiation process with the oil and gas operator occurred in executive session, a type of meeting closed to the public.<\/p>\n

In a written statement from Hoback that appeared in a document tied to Tuesday\u2019s meeting, he said: \u201cFor the last six months, Erie Town Council has been negotiating behind closed doors for the sale of its mineral rights.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking toward Erie residents, Hoback\u2019s statement added: \u201cYou came out in person both in council chambers and on the street, in emails, and in social media. The message has been clear. Residents are broadly and strongly opposed to the sale of the town\u2019s mineral rights.\u201d<\/p>\n

Draco is expected to still move forward. But with the failure of the potential deal to win a council vote, the project will have to adjust its drilling plan to avoid the town\u2019s minerals, the town said in a news release Tuesday night.<\/p>\n

\"ResidentResident Carol Campbell speaks at a special Town Council meeting in Erie on Tuesday. (Matthew Jonas\/Staff Photographer)<\/p>\n

A plan for the Draco Pad was approved in March 2025 by the Colorado Energy & Carbon Management Commission, designed to include 26 wells drilled from a pad in unincorporated Weld County, before extending over 7,000 feet underground, turning horizontally and running west for more than 4 miles beneath portions of Erie and unincorporated Boulder County.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

But before drilling can begin, SM Energy must demonstrate it has access to the underground mineral resources included within the approved plan to secure a drilling permit from the commission.<\/p>\n

\"ResidentResident Emily Brecht speaks at a special Town Council meeting in Erie on Tuesday. (Matthew Jonas\/Staff Photographer)<\/p>\n

The town has said it was first approached in 2025 by Civitas Resources \u2014 which earlier this year merged with SM Energy Company \u2014 about acquiring Erie\u2019s mineral rights within the proposed drilling area for Draco. Mineral rights allow their owners to access and extract underground resources or lease and sell that access.<\/p>\n

Had the potential deal gone forward, SM Energy would\u2019ve acquired what the town has said are about 180 acres of the town\u2019s unleased mineral rights within Draco\u2019s about 4,000-acre planned drilling area.<\/p>\n

In return, Erie could have received more than $21 million in combined cash and future revenue, including a $4.5 million cash payment and 3% of production revenue for the life of the Draco project; Erie officials had estimated that revenue share could exceed $17 million over the next 20 years or more, according to earlier town information.<\/p>\n

The deal would have also seen Erie take ownership of three parcels of land totaling about 160 acres on County Line Road, according to earlier town information.<\/p>\n

Erie spokesperson Gabi Rae said the town was given \u201cevery indication\u201d that the SM Energy agreement \u201cwas the \u2018best and final\u2019 we were going to get from the company.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked whether there is a possibility of negotiations continuing, Rae said: \u201cI mean\u2026 in theory, the Council could vote to try to start up new negotiations, but then SM Energy would also have to be on board with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, whether or not any future conversations happen is a policy decision for Council to make,\u201d Rae told the Camera in an email Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Under recently enacted state law<\/a>, SM Energy will now have to avoid Erie\u2019s mineral rights. According to the state ECMC, that could require an amendment to the Draco plan, and new review by the commission before the project can move forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Draco plan approved in 2025 is in the pre-construction stage; it\u2019s not uncommon for operators to file amendments before the surface pad has been built and the site has obtained additional ECMC approval for drilling,\u201d John Brown, a spokesperson for the commission, told the Camera in May.\n<\/p>\n

June 16, 2026 \u2013 Town Council Special Meeting<\/p>\n

Watch recorded Town Council Special Meeting<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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