Misinformation about a possible change to the oil and gas project known as the Draco Pad has circulated in the Erie community.
A Sept. 24 hearing is scheduled for the Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission to consider a request from SM Energy — the company at the helm of the Draco Pad — to remove a small amount of acreage from its drilling plan for the project. The company submitted that request in August 2025, months after the project got approval from the state commission.
The amendment the hearing is expected to address is not directly connected to the pending sale of Erie’s underground minerals to SM Energy. The Town Council voted to approve that sale in late June…