Energy boom spreads through region

The “Road Map for Energy Relief” is beginning to set roots in the Four Corners region. The Bureau of Land Management’s recently released inventory of untapped oil and gas resources has spotlighted Southwest Colorado. Large sections of Montezuma, Dolores and San Miguel counties could be the next front on the nation’s quest for cheap energy.

According to estimates, millions of barrels of oil and trillions of cubic feet of natural gas are still untapped in Southwest Colorado and Northern New Mexico, and the inventory has suggested taking drastic measures to access them to help ease the nation’s energy woes.

When the inventory was released early this summer, Assistant Secretary of the Interior C. Stephen Allred hailed it as a solution to high heating and fuel costs. “America has abundant energy resources,” he said “However, for a variety of reasons, many of these resources are not available for development. At a time when energy prices have reached record levels and Americans are feeling the impact, we must find ways to develop those key energy resources that are available to us right here at home, on our public lands.”

The phrase “not available for development” has been interpreted in a different light by conservationists. The “impediments” to development include critical wildlife habitat, steep and unstable slopes and “no surface occupancy” stipulations. The inventory also includes national monuments, designated roadless areas, wilderness and wilderness study areas, and national conservation areas as places that could be drilled.

“The whole tenor of the inventory is that we should justify more rollbacks of protection and open the door to drilling in places that should be preserved,” said Nada Culver, of the Wilderness Society. “The report implies that these are impediments that must be removed for the good of the nation.”

For Southwest Colorado and Northern New Mexico, home to one of the richest oil and gas deposits in the country, the BLM has identified abundant fuel reserves that have been “inaccessible” up to this point. The study suggests that as many as 1.35 million new acres in the San Juan Basin could be opened to energy development, and that nearly 115 million barrels of oil and 2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas could be accessed.

Drilling is also heating up northwest of Durango. The Dolores Public Lands Office recently released an environmental assessment for a seismic survey in Disappointment Valley. The Bill Barrett Corp. plans to search 22 square miles near the town of Slickrock for oil and natural gas reserves. The survey will determine if recovering the resource is financially viable.  

In addition, energy companies have identified areas within the Paradox Basin as viable for shale extraction. The new area targeted for development of shale gas consists of approximately 647,000 acres in Montezuma, Dolores and San Miguel counties. According to industry estimates, approximately 1,700 wells could potentially be developed within the area.

The regional boom is not going unchecked, however. Noting forecasted growth and likely impacts to air quality from new wellhead compressors, the San Juan Public Lands Center is going back into analysis mode. The agency will complete a more rigorous air-quality modeling study in line with a recommendation from the Environmental Protection Agency.

“Given the influence oil and gas development has on air quality, and the projected potential increases in oil and gas development, it was decided that a focused supplement should be prepared,” said Matt Janowiak, San Juan Public Lands Center associate center manager for physical resources.

The supplement should be released in the spring of 2009. Its addition is expected to delay the release of the new San Juan National Forest Plan until the spring of 2010.

LPEA takes another conservation step

The La Plata Electric Association is taking an innovative stab at energy conservation. The local power cooperative is betting customers will use less electricity if they can actually see what it costs as they use it. To this end, LPEA has organized a power cost monitor study and is seeking local volunteers who are willing to use a monitor in their homes for a year.

“They’re interesting little pieces of equipment,” said Ron Meier, LPEA manager of engineering. “Once installed, homeowners can literally watch the pennies tick away.”

With forecasts of energy shortages looming, LPEA is exploring a number of ideas for electric energy efficiency, including demand-side management, renewable energy projects and more. The power cost monitor study is the most recent.

The monitors will be distributed to volunteer members beginning in October. Those who participate must have lived in their current residence and been LPEA customers for at least one year. The initial study will involve 100 year-round households currently on the regular LPEA residential rate. If the study shows a trend toward increased conservation, LPEA will explore an expanded monitor program, said Greg Munro, LPEA CEO.

To volunteer for the program, sign up at www.lpea.coop.

State Supreme Court hears local case

A landmark case with local implications for Colorado’s oil and gas industry is currently being weighed by the Colorado Supreme Court. The dispute over pumping groundwater landed in the high court Sept. 10.

During natural gas extraction, groundwater is pumped to relieve pressure and open access to trapped gas. During the process, a company can pump millions of gallons of water from the water table to free up gas in just one well.

The case was brought by several Southwest Colorado residents who alleged that the practice threatens their limited water supplies. The suit argued that older water rights holders should take priority over gas companies and that companies should replace the water they use when it belongs to others, according to a report in the Denver Post.

Last year, a La Plata County district court ruled in favor of the water users. However, BP America and the Colorado Engineer, who administers Colorado water law, appealed the ruling to the Colorado Supreme Court. The pair countered that groundwater is a waste product of natural gas extraction.

The Supreme Court will rule on the case in coming weeks.

 McCombs goes back to square one

The Village at Wolf Creek has been reopened to public scrutiny. Once again, the Rio Grande National Forest has kicked off the public scoping process for the Wolf Creek Access Environmental Impact Statement, and three public meetings have been scheduled.

Former owner of the Minnesota Vikings Red McCombs has pitched the large-scale “village” near the base of the Wolf Creek Ski Area, which is unaffiliated with the project. The Texas developer wants to build 2,172 units and more than 220,000 square feet of commercial space, including 12 restaurants and several hotels.

However, McCombs’ private land is a Forest Service inholding and cut off from highway access. The current Forest Service process is in response to a new application from McCombs for transportation and utility corridors across public lands to their private property. McCombs’ first application and the resulting Forest Service approval were nearly rejected in court when the two entities agreed to go back to the drawing board.

The Forest will hold three public open house-style meetings in October to provide information and seek comments about the proposal. The agency will meet at: the Creede Mining Museum on Oct. 7; at the Rio Grande Annex in Del Norte on Oct. 8; and in the Pagosa Springs Community Building on Oct. 9.

Written comments can be submitted prior to Oct. 31. For more information, visit: www.fs.fed.us/r2/riogrande/projects/ forcomment/index.

– Will Sands