An industry-led lawsuit against Longmont’s fracking ban will jump to the head of the line and be decided first, ahead of a state suit against the city’s oil and gas regulations.

City officials announced Friday that they had “reluctantly” agreed to postpone the regulations case so that the Boulder County District Court could first decide whether Longmont can keep its ban of hydraulic fracturing, a means of using high-pressure water, sand and chemicals to crack open oil and gas deposits. Longmont residents banned “fracking” in a 2012 initiative, drawing a lawsuit from the Colorado Oil and Gas Association.

Both COGA and the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission — the state’s chief regulatory body — asked for the “stay” on the regulations lawsuit, brought by the COGCC earlier in 2012. That case challenges a new set of oil and gas rules that Longmont adopted that year, including restrictions against drilling in residential zones.

Mayor Dennis Coombs said he would have preferred to see the regulations case resolved first, since “we were in a winning position — we had better facts.” But, he said, taking action on the fracking case first shouldn’t hurt anything.

“The facts aren’t going to change on this case,” he said, referring to the regulations lawsuit. “If, God forbid, we lose the fracking, I think the regulations case is our insurance policy. We worked really hard on those regs and we think they’re in harmony with the current (state) oil and gas regulations.”

The COGCC regulations lawsuit had been set for August. Both cases will be decided by Judge D.D. Mallard.

The fracking ban was passed as an amendment to the City Charter, requiring city officials to defend it in court. The regulations were adopted by the Longmont City Council; in the same meeting, the city signed an agreement with TOP Operating — the only drilling company operating in Longmont at the time — under which TOP agreed to support the new rules and not to challenge them in court.

TOP has joined the lawsuit against the fracking ban, which was not covered by the agreement.

Contact Times-Call staff writer Scott Rochat at 303-684-5220 or srochat@times-call.com