A big win for the oil and gas industry, as the Supreme Court rules against a Western Slope couple in a drilling permit case.

The case determined who has the ability to request a hearing when the state is looking at issuing a permit.

The court affirmed and agreed with the state of Colorado that not just anyone is entitled to those types of hearings.

The West Slope Oil and Gas Association says, recently there's been an aggressive strategy to erode Colorado’s ability to regulate their own oil and gas operations.

David Ludlam, executive director for the West Slope Oil and Gas Association, says, “It’s critical that we have permits approved and reviewed and issued in a timely fashion so that we can be competitive and so we can plan for operations in the future.”

The West Slope Oil and Gas Association says the ruling is a big win for the industry.

It says it creates a clear permitting strategy for the industry.

But the opposition views this as an opportunity to slow down the permitting process in Colorado.