Serving the community since 1903
WEEK OF FEBRUARY 27, 2025
VOLUME 122 | ISSUE 9
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Soopers NEW BRIGHTON OFFICES OPEN P2 King strike ends
with vow to work on deal BY TAMARA CHUANG THE COLORADO SUN
Court rules oil/gas company must pay $1.9M fine Operator of lowproducing wells had 148 violations since 2020 BY MARK JAFFE THE COLORADO SUN
Troubled oil and gas operator K.P. Kauffman was rebuffed by a state court judge in its bid to avoid a $1.9 million fine and the prospect of being shut down by Colorado oil and gas regulators. The Denver-based company has been plagued with violation notices — 148 since 2020, according to state records — and has been legally sparring with the Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission
for the past two years. In August 2023, the ECMC reimposed a $1.9 million fine that had been waived pending the cleanup of sites, and suspended the ability of the company, known as KPK, to sell its oil and gas. KPK said it could not pay the fine and suspending its socalled certificates of clearance would be “business-ending.” The company took the commission to court with a long list of arguments, including invoking the Eighth Amendment, which shields against excessive fines and cruel and unusual punishment. Denver District Court Judge Andrew Luxen rejected each of the half-dozen arguments KPK made.
VOICES: PAGE 6 | CULTURE: PAGE 8 | BRIEFS: PAGE 12
“The court finds that, under the circumstances and based on the record, the penalties imposed on KPK, while drastic, are not grossly disproportionate to the gravity of KPK’s underlying offenses,” Luxen wrote. Kristin Kemp, a ECMC spokesperson, said that “everything pre-lawsuit is back in effect, so KPK has to pay the fine and lose their certificates.” In a news release, KPK said it was “disappointed” in the decision and that it “intends to vigorously appeal the orders … and is evaluating procedural options for doing so in both the district court and court of appeals.” KPK operates 1,200 largely low-producing oil and gas wells, primarily in Weld, Adams
and Jackson counties. In 2024, KPK wells produced the equivalent of 14,836 barrels of oil and gas. That is equal to 12 barrels per well, though some produce more and some none. The ECMC has had repeated concerns with KPK operations. In April 2021, 87 wells were ordered shut and 29 sites cleaned up after a litany of violations, ranging from fouling farm fields to covering the road in front of a high school with oily waste. In November 2021, the ECMC issued another notice for additional violations. KPK and the commission struck a compliance plan agreement to clean up and remediate 78 sites over five years. SEE OIL, P7
More than 10,000 supermarket workers involved in a two-week labor walkout will return to their jobs at King Soopers stores Feb. 18 after the labor union and the Colorado grocery chain reached an agreement late Monday to stop picketing and get back to work. There’s no new contract yet, but the two sides plan to resume negotiations to work out their differences. They agreed to a “100-day period of labor peace, ensuring negotiations continue in good faith and without further disruptions,” according to King Soopers officials. The strike ended at midnight, two days earlier than the planned two-week walkout. “We have taken a big step forward and ensured that Kroger knows that staffing is a key concern to workers and customers alike,” said Kim Cordova, president of UFCW Local 7, in an emailed statement. “This strike was about thousands of everyday grocery store workers, collectively standing together and facing one of the largest corporations in America and saying ENOUGH. Our strike was just the beginning of this effort and elevated staffing in grocery stores to a national level with more workers and allies joining together.” SEE STRIKE, P2
2025
VOTING STARTS
MARCH 1!
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