A moratorium on permits for the disposal of production water from oil and gas wells is now in the works, Grand County Council members said this week. On Tuesday, the council directed staff to prepare a resolution creating the moratorium.

Two weeks ago the council appeared satisfied that simply initiating discussion of the need to establish regulations to govern oil and gas exploration and the disposal of production water by other means than evaporation was sufficient.

State code, as interpreted by the Grand County Attorney, allows the county to subject new applications to those regulations even if the applications are submitted before the regulations are implemented.

But this week, council chairman Bob Greenberg reported that, while state code does support the council’s previous action, research by Grand County Council Administrator Melinda Brimhall indicates a moratorium is regarded as the “best practice” among land use professionals.

“A moratorium gives a more formal document to track,” Greenberg said, referring to the resolution creating the moratorium.

Council member Chris Baird suggested two weeks ago that a moratorium would aid the county staff in tracking progress of preparation and implementation of new regulations.