Kelly Farm Process to Drill

In a letter, dated July 12, 2011 the Board of Directors of the Kelly Farm Home Owner Association wrote: 

The Board has received a number of inquiries from homeowners regarding competing offers to lease each property owner’s mineral rights from Land Energy, Inc., and Waltel Minerals, LLC. Each property owner will need to make a decision regarding which Company to go with or in the alternative, not to sign any oil and gas lease. The purpose of this e-mail is informational only which may help individual property owners to reach a decision. 

 1.The Board has agreed to sign a Lease with Waltel Minerals, LLC, to lease the common areas for mineral exploration. Waltel Minerals is going to utilize Synergy Resources Corporation to complete the drilling. Synergy has a pad site near Kelly Farm which has been approved by the City of Greeley currently in place.

2.The Board’s attorney for this issue has checked with the City of Greeley and Land Energy, Inc. does not currently have a pad site near Kelly Farm which has been approved by the City of Greeley. That does not mean that an application may not be filed at a future date, but currently no pad site near the Kelly Farm been approved. 

 3.The Board believes the Waltel Mineral Leases may lead to the completion of a well and the receipt of royalties by both the HOA and individual lot owners if the individual Waltel Mineral Leases are signed and returned by property owners. 

 4.The Board has received information from its attorney that if an individual property owner does not sign either proposed Lease that under Colorado law the exploration company can still drill a well and each owner who elects not to sign will be subject to a forced pooling arrangement. The Board is not in a position to give legal advice regarding the provisions contained in the forced pooling statute. If an owner wants additional information about forced pooling, it would be necessary for the owner to contact an attorney who is experienced in oil and gas matters for additional information. 

The Board is aware other oil and gas exploration companies have received site permits from the City of Greeley and directional drilling has occurred in other areas of the City beneath common areas and residential lots. Because of the recent improvements in drilling technology, it is likely oil and gas exploration will continue to occur.  

Sincerely,
Board of Directors of the Kelly Farm Owners Association

The request (Form 2A) for a permit for Kelly Farm was submitted to COGCC on May 29, 2013, and so was the photo of the location for the wells, although it seems it may have been taken months before, in winter! 

The permit was approved on September 26, and construction will begin on December 1st.

Thanks to the efforts of Sara Barwinski and other residents, along with Weld Air and Water members, and advise/support from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Synergy (the company contracted to do the oil extraction) has agreed to several mitigations, or BMP's (Best Management Practices)

Synergy will use emission control equipment at the oil and gas location with a design rating of 98% reduction efficiency and will provide the COGCC with documentation from the manufacturer stating the design rating.

Noise suppression practices will be used to insure the best management of noise and light during drilling and completion operations. Synergy will install a thirty foot high temporary wall around eighty percent of the location, which will remain in place during drilling and completion operations. Synergy will provide a facility drawing to the COGCC that illustrates the layout of the thirty foot high temporary wall.  

Containment of silica dust: Synergy will use a state of the art vacuum system to contain silica dust during drilling and completion operations. Synergy will use dust abatement products to control dust created by the traffic on the road base access road and dirt operations location.  

Fugitive emissions monitoring: Synergy will conduct emissions monitoring inspections using a forward-looking infrared (FLIR) camera on a monthly basis. Synergy will maintain a log of the inspections and will retain the FLIR camera video records in accordance with COGCC Rule 205.f. Synergy will remediate any equipment failure or upset conditions identified by the inspections in a timely fashion.  

Conduct baseline samples and water monitoring: Synergy will conduct surface water sampling in Sheep Draw: 1) before construction commences; 2) one week after production starts; and 3) annually throughout production. At least one surface water sample will be collected upstream, adjacent to, and downstream of the oil and gas location.  

Total automation on site: Synergy will insure that all new equipment on site is automated. The automated equipment is the latest development in safety systems developed specifically for oil and gas industry equipment on the facility. No audible system or device will be on site. Automation will give Synergy the ability to monitor the location 24/7 remotely, and it will also insure in an event of any changes from the normal operations, the location will automatically shut itself in and notify Synergy personnel of the event. This automation will also allow Synergy to limit the number of times the thief hatches need to be opened on the production tanks, as the tank levels will be retrieved from the automated system. The hatches will only be needed to be opened during the pick-up of the oil.