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GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo. — Garfield County's citizen planners recommended that a set of natural gas wells that have been operating without the proper permits for years be granted those permits and allowed to keep operating.
The county planning and zoning commission voted unanimously Nov. 18 to recommend the board of county commissioners approve two special-use permits, for two well pads inside the boundaries of the Battlement Mesa Planned Unit Development.
The wells are now owned by Williams Production RMT Co. The wells were originally started by Barrett Resources Corp. in 1990, under an agreement between Barrett, Battlement Mesa Partners and Battlement Mesa Realty Partners, according to research by the county planning department.
One of the pads is now the site of drilling operations, while the other pad is currently limited to production only, although future drilling from the second pad apparently is possible, according to testimony at the zoning hearing.
The hearing, which lasted more than three hours, drew a number of Battlement Mesa residents — members of the Battlement Concerned Citizens group.
The BCC, according to cochairman Dave Devanney, has been collectively “distressed” by the announcement last summer of plans by Antero Resources to install 10 well pads, with up to 200 wells in all, within the boundaries of the planned unit development.
“Our feelings of outrage and frustration were further heightened” by the news of Williams' 19 years of drilling and pumping without the proper permits. The lack of permits came to light as county staffers were conducting research into the planned unit development and the extraction of minerals within its boundaries.
“We see this as a serious failure of the regulatory system,” said Devanney regarding the lapse of 19 years without permits. He urged the county to impose “a significant … monetary penalty” on “both the applicant and the operator” of the wells.
Members of the public were limited by Chairman Philip Vaughan to three minutes for their statements, but some gave up their time to permit Devanney to speak longer and enumerate a list of conditions that the BCC hoped would be imposed by the commission.
Another Battlement Mesa resident, Ron Galterio, termed Williams' gas drilling to be “illegal operations” that for years were ignored because they were in remote parts of the planned unit development and not near human habitation.
The application for special use permits is to go before the board of county commissioners Dec. 14.
The county planning and zoning commission voted unanimously Nov. 18 to recommend the board of county commissioners approve two special-use permits, for two well pads inside the boundaries of the Battlement Mesa Planned Unit Development.
The wells are now owned by Williams Production RMT Co. The wells were originally started by Barrett Resources Corp. in 1990, under an agreement between Barrett, Battlement Mesa Partners and Battlement Mesa Realty Partners, according to research by the county planning department.
One of the pads is now the site of drilling operations, while the other pad is currently limited to production only, although future drilling from the second pad apparently is possible, according to testimony at the zoning hearing.
The hearing, which lasted more than three hours, drew a number of Battlement Mesa residents — members of the Battlement Concerned Citizens group.
The BCC, according to cochairman Dave Devanney, has been collectively “distressed” by the announcement last summer of plans by Antero Resources to install 10 well pads, with up to 200 wells in all, within the boundaries of the planned unit development.
“Our feelings of outrage and frustration were further heightened” by the news of Williams' 19 years of drilling and pumping without the proper permits. The lack of permits came to light as county staffers were conducting research into the planned unit development and the extraction of minerals within its boundaries.
“We see this as a serious failure of the regulatory system,” said Devanney regarding the lapse of 19 years without permits. He urged the county to impose “a significant … monetary penalty” on “both the applicant and the operator” of the wells.
Members of the public were limited by Chairman Philip Vaughan to three minutes for their statements, but some gave up their time to permit Devanney to speak longer and enumerate a list of conditions that the BCC hoped would be imposed by the commission.
Another Battlement Mesa resident, Ron Galterio, termed Williams' gas drilling to be “illegal operations” that for years were ignored because they were in remote parts of the planned unit development and not near human habitation.
The application for special use permits is to go before the board of county commissioners Dec. 14.
