by Tracy Chamberlin    

In a way, it’s still a waiting game. With studies from the federal government incomplete and Colorado concerns sitting in the courthouse, the debate on hydraulic fracturing roars on with no real definitive answers for either side.

In La Plata County, however, it’s a practice that has so far stayed off the front porch.
Coalbed methane has been the well of choice in this area. Now, for the first time, someone is looking at shale oil well development in La Plata County, igniting concerns over hydraulic fracturing, commonly called fracking. The process pumps water, sand and chemicals into a shale bed to crack the rock, releasing the oil and gas.

However, the Houston-based company looking to drill in the southern part of the county is not planning to use the practice as a means of drilling.

So, the fracking fights that are intensifying across the state and the nation might just sweep right past Southwest Colorado.

EPA move, DOE study shake up national debate
On the national level, the latest fracking news comes from two federal agencies studying the effects of hydraulic fracturing on humans and the environment: the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy.

The EPA began testing groundwater near Pavillion, Wyo., in 2009 after residents in the area reported unpleasant odors and tastes in well water. However, they were unable to make a connection to hydraulic fracturing.

“To date, after five phases of sampling, EPA’s domestic water well sampling results have documented constituents of concern; however a source of those constituents has not been determined,” the agency stated. “EPA efforts to evaluate potential migration pathways from deeper gas production zones to shallower domestic water wells in the Pavillion gas field are inconclusive.”

In June, the EPA suddenly announced it would be stepping away from the study, leaving it in the hands of Wyoming officials and Encana Oil and Gas Inc., the company drilling in the area.

The EPA stated that it stands by its work and data, but doesn’t plan “to rely upon the conclusions in the draft report.” A final report is expected to be released by the state in September of next year.

Walking away from Pavillion doesn’t mean walking away from the fracking debate all together.

The agency is currently conducting a major research program on the relationship between hydraulic fracturing and drinking water in different areas of the country. It began the study in 2010, but doesn’t plan to release a final report until late 2014.

The EPA isn’t the only federal agency igniting the debate. The Department of Energy is in the headlines, too.

The DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory has spent the past year monitoring aquifers in western Pennsylvania for signs of groundwater contamination 4 from   fracking. A final report is expected at the end of the year, but the lab recently released a statement on findings so far. “While nothing of concern has been found thus far, the results are far too preliminary to make any firm claims,” the statement reads.
But that was all it took.

The EPA’s decision to suddenly pull out of Pavillion, combined with the recent news that the DOE lab found no signs of groundwater contamination in Pennsylvania, has given both sides fodder for their fight.

Banning boom in Colorado
Colorado is making its own headlines when it comes to fracking. Regardless of ongoing studies, statements or samples, some communities and individuals are taking the “Just Say No” approach.

U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Boulder, filed a lawsuit in Denver District Court in July to stop a drilling operation that cropped up near his 50-acre property in Weld County. The legislator has spoken out against hydraulic fracturing in the past, and this time it was too close to home.

Polis has since withdrawn the suit but has the option to refile if he chooses. Even if he doesn’t, the fracking debate in Boulder is far from over.

The Front Range city is in the process of putting a five-year fracking ban on the ballot this November, and has already approved a one-year ban.

Several other communities are also considering banning the practice, including Broomfield, Loveland, Fort Collins and Lafayette. And while these municipalities consider joining the banning bandwagon, it remains unclear if they even have the authority to do so.

A fracking ban approved by voters in Longmont last year has been challenged by the state, including the governor’s office, and is currently making its way through the courts. The state’s argument is that only it has the authority to regulate drilling and siting operations, not local governments.

So, both sides of the fracking debate in Colorado are waiting for the gavel to drop.

Fracking not on the local to-do list
For residents of La Plata County, hydraulic fracking in not something they are likely to suddenly see pop up next door.

Swift Energy Operating LLC, the Houston-based company looking to start drilling an exploratory well in the southern part of the county this month, said it has no plans to use the controversial practice.

“Currently, Swift plans to test the Waters exploratory well without hydraulic fracturing stimulation,” said Bob Redweik, corporate manager for Swift Energy.

The Waters well site is the first of two that the company plans to drill into the Mancos shale, part of the Niobrara Formation which runs underneath most of Colorado. The other is the Kikel Ranch well site, also in southern La Plata County.

When Swift first came to the county, the board of commissioners discussed issuing a moratorium on shale-oil drilling since shale-oil development is a new practice for the area, where most of the wells are coalbed methane.

In the end, however, the board voted against the moratorium, and Swift began the process of applying for a land use permit. The county ultimately approved the permit for the Waters well site on Tuesday and construction began that afternoon.

“We anticipate that actual drilling operations could start around mid-August; however, this date could get pushed back by several days depending on weather or other factors,” Redweik said.

He added that once the drilling operations are under way, it’s estimated to take three weeks to reach the total depth.

As for the second exploratory well, the Kikel Ranch site, Swift plans to begin the permitting process shortly. “However, timing for the Kikel Ranch well will be dependent on the results from the Waters exploratory well,” Redweik said.

As are many other things.

The permits Swift receives for the exploratory wells does not extend to production. If the company finds something it thinks is worth drilling for, it must start the process all over again.

And, the debate door would be wide open in La Plata County.