COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) – Colorado’s second-largest city has signed off on oil and gas drilling regulations in city limits.

The Colorado Springs city council decision Tuesday came after a spirited debate from environmental activists worried about potential harm from drilling.

Colorado Springs is the first major Colorado municipality to act on drilling since Longmont voters voted three weeks ago to ban hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. Some drilling opponents hoped Colorado Springs council members would be swayed by public concerns about fracking, where water, sand and chemicals are blasted underground to free oil and natural gas.

About two dozen held anti-fracking signs outside city hall. Inside the meeting, drilling opponents argued against oil and gas supporters who argued the drilling would bring needed jobs and tax revenue to Colorado Springs. The vote was 6-3.

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