DENVER — Colorado voters have rejected a proposal that would have tightly restricted where new oil and gas wells could be drilled statewide.
Proposition 112 would have required that new wells be at least 2,500 feet (750 meters) from occupied buildings and "vulnerable areas" such as parks, creeks and irrigation canals. It also would have allowed local governments to require even bigger buffer zones.
Groups backed by the energy industry pointed to a state analysis that determined the measure would make 85 percent of non-federal land in Colorado off-limits to drilling.
Supporters of the measure say the stricter rules will better protect people and the environment.
The state currently requires wells be 500 feet (150 meters) from homes and 1,000 feet (300 meters) from schools.