In La Plata County
(And hopefully
Las Animas County)
February 7, 2003
By Tom Sluis
Durango Herald Staff Writer
Some of the most stringent regulations La Plata County
ever required of a gas well are in force in Grandview
as the county gets tough on methane production in areas
that will one day be annexed into Durango.
One well, being installed adjacent to the La Paloma subdivision
on County Road 233, is the first to comply with the new
rules.
Under a permit approved Jan. 3, the driller must: use
an electric pump, not the noisier gas versions typically
used; install a 10-foot wooden fence to shield the machinery
from view; test adjacent water wells for contaminants;
and install a low-profile pump.
The goal, said Joe Crain,
planning director for the county, is to allow producers
to extract their valuable commodity, while protecting
urban homeowners.
"This well is going into an area planned for annexation
by the city, so we told the (well company) that we expected
them to do special mitigation," he said.
The well is owned by a Midland, Texas, company, 44 Canyon,
a subsidiary of Pure Resources. John Lodge, Pure Resource's
land manager, said the permit contains more rigorous requirements
than he would normally accept.
"But we voluntarily agreed to them to demonstrate
our willingness to coexist in the community," Lodge
said. "We wanted to alleviate any concerns from the
city, county or landowners (and) we want to be good neighbors."
Durango has never had to deal with gas wells, which have
always been drilled in rural parts of the county. The
city's land-use code has provisions to accommodate gas
wells, but no wells previously have been drilled within
city limits, said Greg Hoch, Durango's planning director.
"We know we can't prohibit wells, but we also know
gas producers could do a better job building and screening
wells to avoid an overly negative impact on urban development,"
Hoch said.
Property owners in the upscale La Paloma subdivision
voiced concerns to the county about noise, water pollution
and potential effects on property values. Lots in the
subdivision are between 8 acres and 10 acres in size and
homes sell for $300,000 to $750,000, according to Mike
Suenram, a Durango Realtor who also lives in La Paloma.
Homeowners asked the county to impose various measures
to lessen the well's impact. Many requests, including
the fence, were granted.
Suenram said the key to any mitigation is whether the
well can be heard or seen, but he is wary of the final
product. As of Wednesday, the well was drilled and the
pad site cleared. The fence was not built and some trees
have been removed. "It's just a pit with black plastic
right now," Suenram said. "It really looks horrible.
Really, really ugly."
Crain said negotiations with 44 Canyon have been amicable.
But he also gave the company two stark options:
comply with the regulations;
or have the permit denied and be subject to a lengthy
public-hearing process.
For years, county officials and gas producers have had
an uneasy, if not outwardly hostile relationship. Each
side proclaims it has the final say in regulations governing
gas wells and mitigation efforts.
"It is still a battle over who has final regulatory
authority," said Steve Clay, the county planner who
specializes in oil and gas issues.
Increasingly, gas producers aren't willing to conduct
fights with neighbors in public and in the media, he said.
Property owners also understand that they can't stop the
wells from being drilled.
"No one is going to get exactly what they want,"
he said. "But there will be more wells drilled. There
is no doubt about that."
Reach Staff Writer Tom Sluis at tsluis@durangoherald.com.
Contents copyright © 2002, the Durango Herald. All
rights reserved.
Reprinted here with permission of Tom Sluis/Durango Herald.