The Flower Mound Town Council settled with EagleRidge Operations LLC more than three years of litigation to challenge the town’s annual gas well inspection fees and drilling ordinance, according to a town news release.

The town agreed to accept a 60% reduction in the amount of past-due annual fees EagleRidge, an oil and gas exploration and production company, for the past three years, according to the March 14 news release.

In return, EagleRidge will plug and permanently close 26 of its 35 wells within the town over the next 12 months, according to the release, in total closing four of its seven pad sites and approximately 75% of its wells in Flower Mound.

“This settlement is an exciting and important achievement for the town, driven by council’s leadership,” Flower Mound Mayor Derek France said in the release. “The lawsuit was only about the amount of our inspection fees, but it led to the closure of the majority of gas wells in our community. The town would not have been able to achieve those closures through separate litigation or negotiations, so the end result of this lawsuit is extremely favorable for the town of Flower Mound.”