Show Page 2 October 27 1994 Viewpoint Methane gas wells are like Dennis lloshiko stands on a hare section of his farmland in Grccllcy Colo where eight years ago a natural gas well was placed "The soil is just so compacted and so contaminated with drilling fluids that nothing nothing will grow not even a weed We'e tilled this area we've fertilized it we've seeded it just like we have the rest ol die Held that joins it every year for eight years This has been the result consistently year alter year" Needless to say lloshiko is not an advocate of gas drilling In fact as National Public Radio recently reported he is as well as a local farmer an outspoken critic of drilling in Weld County In 19X6 lloshiko organized a statewide effort to represent some l2(X) land o w ners i n I hei r pi iglil agai list companies w ant i ng to place methane wells on their properl) Cnfortu-nalellor those now over 12(H) land owners the entire community of Grccly and other areas in the stale the SnyderOil Company plans todrill2(NX)new wells just this year What do we have in common with Grccllcy Colorado a town roughly three limes the size of Price? In die area of natural gas drilling everything The Sun Advocate on (X't 20 reported on (lie details of Price's Snvdcr Oil Company River Gas of Utah ‘The local River Gas field located around Price now has 71 wells planned to he producing hy the end of the year To dale only 11 are producing This company is leasing the mineral rights on 100 square miles of area “Many individuals in this area are surface property owners which means they own the surface level of land w hile the state or c other persons own the mineral rights or property These parties can lease the mineral rights to companies putting even the private land owners at a disadvantage “Almost all of the present wells are located on slate land hut the company desires to start drilling on private ami federal land in the future" (Sun Advocate) flight states will compensate land owners for losses caused hy the drilling hut in Colorado land owners are offered a one time payment of $ 15(H) to $l(XK)only if they agree to make no claims against the company Farmers understand that oil companies have the right under certain circumstances to drill on their land for natural gas hut they argue they should not have the right to lake advantage of property owners (National I’uhlic Radio) The Adunate continues “Water and gas are (lie two products pumped out of the ground with the gas measuring percent mcthanca high quality gas "Well locations are determined hy assessing the environment w ildlile and accessibility to roads power and delivery pipelines A permit is necessary from the state before construction can begin' The original permits obtained hy River Gas of Utah ironically based in Northport Ala were granted out of Salt Lake with minimal local feedback “Well spacing at this point in lime is set at one well per I 60 acres or four wells per square mile “Wells are drilled 14(H) to lX(X) feet deep The well is drilled through the coal bed that averages a thickness of 20 to 25 feel Casing is set around the shaft and concrete is poured to completely seal off the shall "Moles are shot into the coal bed fracturing the coal A slurry solution is forced into the fractures where a deposit of sand is tillered into the coal "It lakes about four days to drill the well After the pumping unit is installed water is pumped from the well which brings (lie gas with it out of the ground Average production of the wells to dale is 225 barrels a day “After the water and the gas are separated llie water y below-surfac- is king pumped back into Ik ground in an approved injection well Tk gas is gatkred to a compression facility then pumped onto Qucslar's gas line that serves Finery and Carbon Counties "Well life in oilier areas averages 20 years hut the determined" (The Sun life of wells here has yet to k Advocate) Hie Carbon County Chamkr of Commerce Octokr 994 Cham-be- r Newsletter reports that this could tk single largest oil and gas project in Ik history of Utah with 1(H) wells proposed to he 1 k in-la- once they are here they are never leaving ws: built hy River Gas each year in western Carbon northwestern Fmcry southwest Duchesne and southwestern Utah consecutively for the next decade lroponents of natural gas drilling according to CFU professor Fric Fwert are taking too much of a d approach to this short-sighte- issue by focusing on tk immediate knefils such as employment for good reason Tk BLM released informative documents in August 994 concerning the I lei per Coalkd Methane Pilot Project 1 headed by the Anadarko Petroleum Corporation The subject matter while going in detail as to what tk Anadarko company is proposing includes extensive concerns in relation to wildlife and land preservation Tk assessment points out that the w ildlife habitats potentially affected by proposed action include "high value and critical value winter range for both elk and g habitat (golden eagle and mule deer and falcon) prairie potential habitat lor special status Colorado squaw fish humpback species including chub bonytail chub razorback sucker flannel mouth & sucker and loggerhead shrike" report points to the fact that four of the si x llsh listed above are threatened or endangered A great concern of ours and other professors like Curits Iccard Don Burge and Fric Fwert is the simple kauly of this area and what drilling will do to its aesthetics which attaches visitors Frica Kardelis an and revenue while ignoring the sustainability of such a project assistant professor on campus new here from Chicago expresses Granted local individuals will concern “I attended tk Chamkr of Commerce meeting on employed initially to build roads connecting tk wells set up electrical and pipe lines and drilling Tky (River Gas of Utah) are over estimating the financial construct the wells but this process is a short lime frame in e knefils of the drilling They said six jobs at least two will w life of Price will each of ells see a tksc predicted span imported people The only local work will he the construction of quick sporadic increase in prosperity during initial building and the mad power lines and pipeline Tkse will unmanned for 20 IX reclamation but time the of again during lag years years Taxes will go to all Utah schools not Carbon County only is what has many individuals concerned The numkrs of how many I feel thescdrills these platforms pipelines and roads will kagreat w ill construction and needed maintain to detriment to the tourism of this area Wkn people sec employed during facilities depends on who you talk to Randy Allen of River Gas miles of drills and pipeline they are not going to make Price a place predicts around 1(H) and I have to stop" If tourism is a business that Price wants to heard predictions as low as si x ( four commit to then placing “noisy" wells throughout of those king persons from within and gaming areas docs not hiking mountain-bikin- g the state) from citizens who atseem like tk smartest choice in planning If travelers tended the Chamkr of Commerce cannot get it in Price Iky can get it in Green River this issue meeting concerning Despite the fact that passers through have to deal with In regard to revenue for Utah and the gas wells residents have to live with them Pat particularly the counties directly Bryce Colorado has lived more than a month with a affected the Sun Adnnate reports ll neighbor She complains that the noise is 24 that "so Tar S5(K)(XX) of royalty hours a day seven days a week Tk air sk says has a money goes to Utah's school trust rank smell and tk drilling sometimes keeps her awake fund and II5()(MX) to Carbon at night (National Puhlie Radio) As of yet Price In 1995 these amounts County residents do not have to deal with tk wells “directly" should increase to $X(X)(XX) and But if we can learn from Colorado and from talking to SKX)(XX) respectively" Dennis lloshiko directly is that “what you originally Bruce Atwood of Wellington sec is not always what you get" According to I loshiko and advocate of drilling says “tk Snyder Oil started out exactly like River Gas hy placbottom line is we live in a place ing four “simple" wells per square mile to kgin with where we can afford to encroach on but as they saw Grecllcy as a viable source of methane Ik environment to some degree to tk wells kgan to proliferate until now in some areas provide jobs We mine coal and we tkre arc 16 to 25 wells per square mile "If ikrc is have not seen any negative imroom for a well Ikrc is a well" We have wonderful a gamAlso in Grccllcy Steve Machaniara and his wife pacts ing area Carbon County has been organized neighbors to slanu off SnyderOil Company's presented with the idea and I think proposal to place a well near a bus slop where kids are decision left should to Ik up picked up for school Machamara rcmemkrs a natural them and not to people who don't gas leak some nine years ago which caused an explolive here” sion that destroyed a lumkr company in a small town Although at first glanccthc project nearby recalls two drill rig fires in 1991 and a natural gas tank fire this year “I've ken around tksc oilgas officer and I've ken on Ik rigs I am an scene of tksc explosions wkn wells have caught on fire I know what goes on around tkm It's mil activity that you would want your kids around The truck traffic is not conduccnt to this neighborhood I mean tkrc’s loo many safely factors involved kre" 3 (National Public Radio) The hindrance of River Valley Gas making the jump 1222 from state or public trust lands to private and federal seems very appealing it is important that the otkr side the side of land is a comprehensive environmental impact statement conheard this issue where Ik Colorado communities lie ducted hy tk Bureau of Land Management “Impacts of this type Fwert like Ik Bureau of Land Management agrees that of industry affect visual hunting recreation air quality and water See Gas Wells page 3 and And main over land wildlife concerns are public's preservation Ryan Hoglund viewpoint editor raptor-nestin- Ik Heidi Anderson viewpoint writer k tk kr tk full-tim- k 20-ye- ar k k tk rc gas-we- k k tk |