Air Monitoring Not Something We Typically Do

Extraction's Oil and Gas informational neighborhood meeting at Frontier Academy drew about 70 people, and several of those were from the industry itself. The vice president of Mineral Resources, Logan Richardson, and one of his brothers were in the audience too, but they or their company now partnering with Extraction, were not mentioned a single time. See the Tribune's article on this 'strategic' alliance.

Chief Financial Officer Rusty Kelley (left), listens to a parent.

Before the meeting I thought Extraction was a large operator and would use state of the art equipment; a stationary drilling rig versus the mobile, rickety kind that Mineral resources uses, but when president Matt Owens introduced himself, I realized that Extraction is only a marginally bigger company than Mineral Resources. According to info on Linkedin it has between 11 and 50 employees.

Extraction President Matt Owens

The young age of Owens, barely older than 30, should perhaps raise a red flag. He worked in the industry for three employers for a total of eight years. Is that really long enough to build the expertise necessary to start a company (founded in November, 2012) and, more importantly, taking on the job of drilling inside a city, near a school? 

One of the best questions asked was by a parent who wondered if Extraction would monitor the air quality near the school on a regular basis. Owens said that "Air monitoring is not something we typically do", then handed the microphone to John Tonello for a more in depth answer. See video below.

If an oil and gas installation was to be placed near my child's school I would certainly want to know if the air near the building and playground would be safe enough to breathe on a regular basis. This recent finding by Project Playground: Cleaner Air for Active Kids is of special interest to parents with children in close proximity to wells. For instance:

"Benzene was found at all but one sampling location, and it was found at levels above the TCEQ ESLand the AMCV at three locations. This particularly noteworthy as benzene is a known carcinogen (based on evidence from studies in both people and lab animals), AND because it exceeds both the TCEQ ESL and AMCV. Benzene has been linked largely to leukemia and cancers of other blood cells. Benzene can also cause excessive bleeding and can affect the immune system, increasing the chance for infection.

TCEQ ESL: Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Effects Screening Levels 

AMCV:  Air Monitoring Comparison Values

Source: Project Playground Report 

All the more reason to monitor the air. If the company is so sure no emissions of any kind from the pad will reach the school, they should be willing to prove it, and in doing so offer parents much needed peace of mind.

Greeley's Mineral Resources partners with Denver firm

Source: Greeley Tribune article by Sharon Dunn

Greeley’s hometown oil and gas exploration company just got a little less hometown. Officials from Mineral Resources Inc. announced on Monday it had formed a “strategic alliance” with Denver-based Extraction Oil and Gas, a private exploration and drilling firm. Word on the street for the last month has been that the Denver firm put out nine figures to acquire Mineral, but no specific numbers have been confirmed. It’s a move that’s privately getting mixed reviews. Some wonder if the addition of a Denver company will offer new blood to renegotiate proposed Mineral Resources drilling sites that have drawn the ire of some residents. Others wonder how local this new operation could be.

 “I’m glad to hear Extraction has acquired Mineral,” said Trisha Golding, a representative of the Frontier Parent Group, which has resisted Mineral Resources’ efforts to drill more oil and gas wells near the playground of Frontier Elementary in south Greeley. She said the acquisition was confirmed last month to her by officials from the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. “We’re looking forward to working with them,” Golding said of Extraction. “I’m thinking it’ll be better. They’re really looking forward to working with Greeley, and they are already fostering a better conversation with Frontier parents than we’ve had in the past.”

Word about a buyout had been circulating in the oil and gas community for the last month, but officials from both companies would not discuss the deal other than through a news release issued late Monday. Officials from the companies refused to comment any further than the release, and did not return calls from The Tribune or answer questions via email. According to the release, what the “alliance” means is a combination of assets that they say will strengthen a commitment to Greeley and “ensures the support and development of positive initiatives like the use of quieter drilling rigs, reduced traffic and continued environmental stewardship.”

 The release stated that Mineral Resources will continue to work on leasing operations, while Extraction will do the rest, maintaining its Greeley field office. “Extraction represents one of the most logical industry partners we could identify to help us further develop our Greeley area assets,” said Mineral Resources President Arlo Richardson in a news release.

“They are Denver-based with a Greeley office, are a well-capitalized, private company that shares our views on prudent oilfield operations and community responsibility. We value their operational expertise and experience developing horizontal wells in the Wattenberg field. The strategic alliance creates a stronger private-company presence in the Basin, and also provides assurance to our royalty owners, surface owners and the local community that they are working with a respected operator that is highly experienced in the Basin. We value strongly our community, and believe that Extraction aligns with our ideals.”

 Extraction Chairman and CEO Mark Erickson said in the release that many of its employees live in Weld County, “and understand the importance of best-practice operations in their communities. … Both companies understand the nuances of urban operations, and we believe our past operations have helped establish our reputation in the Basin as preferred operators.”

Mineral Resources has been one of two companies drilling inside Greeley city limits in the last couple of years, but they’ve met with resistance from residents, who don’t want such an industrial process so close to neighborhoods and schools. Kristina Bain, secretary of Weld Air and Water, a resident group formed to protect the county’s air and water from oil and gas drilling, said she was a mineral leaseholder on some of Mineral Resources’ proposed wells, and didn’t feel representatives of the company cared enough about residential concerns. She said she thinks Mineral officials “flipped” the company for quick profits. “It just doesn’t sound like a good neighbor,” Bain said, noting strange past dealings with the company changing their lease terms, and methods they used to convince residents to sign off on their mineral rights. “I’m looking at their past behavior, and I don’t know if they care enough to sell to a better operator.” Bain said she knew nothing of Extraction, so she couldn’t comment about what Greeley could see under the new ownership. 

Frontier Parent Group members already have reached out to talk with Extraction officials to find better Greeley drilling locations that are currently suggested by Mineral Resources. Some have said privately they feel that Extraction’s presence will be better; others have privately worried the mix of outside players could spell trouble. Golding said she is hopeful the new blood will be good news. With Mineral Resources being local, she said some parents felt inhibited to speak openly about the drilling plans. “Some of the problems we’ve run into with Frontier Parents is they have personal relationships with Mineral ownership which prevented them from speaking out,” Golding said. “We’re hoping people will feel a little more free, and we’re kind a hoping it’s a new day, and new way of doing business and we’ll have a bit better communication.”

 The process of approval of wells at the Mineral Resources site near Frontier has started from scratch, Golding said. With Mineral’s plan to move the wells, they had to reapply to the state. The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission requires companies to demonstrate they’ve tried all options on suitable locations of multi-well pads to comply with a portion of the law that says multi-well pads should be sited as far away as possible from homes and businesses.

OIL & GAS INFORMATIONAL MEETING

All parents and community members are invited to attend the public meeting regarding an Oil & Gas proposal for 19 Wells, 20 Tanks, 19 Separators and 2 Water Tanks to be located on the property located approximately 1,000 ft from the Frontier Elementary School Playground, and 581 ft from Walmart and in close proximity to neighboring businesses and housing.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30th

5:00 p.m. at Frontier Academy Elementary School 

2560 W. 29th Street

Greeley

The City staff will explain the review process, and the operator (Extraction Oil & Gas formerly Mineral Resources Inc.) will provide information about the development plan. Citizens may ask questions. If you need further information please email FPG - Frontier Parent Group at fpg.parentgroup@gmail.com

Parents Ask Community for Input Against Drilling Near School

A message from the Frontier Parent Group. Receive  their Instruction Letter Action Alert with more information by emailing:  fpg.parentgroup@gmail.com 

Please help us to protect our school and our community...

Our children deserve a safe, healthy, noise and pollutant free

 environment to study and learn!

"The new Mineral Resources proposal [to drill near Frontier Academy] is for 19 wells, 20 tanks and 19 separators. Plans show the site to be 1,512 ft from the school building and a little over 1,000 ft from the playground. On 6/16/14 Mineral Resources filed a location assessment permit (form 2a) with the COGCC – Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. This file is being reviewed by COGCC and is currently open for public comment.

We are asking parents, concerned community members, grandparents, local business owners, people who shop at local businesses (the proposed well site is 586 ft away from Walmart), anyone concerned, to VOICE their CONCERNS to COGCC via their online comment form.

The only way we will be able to be effective is if people show their involvement and worries for this location. Please, if you have any concerns with this location, now is the time to voice it! Your comment will become part of the public record of the application. Your name and e-mail address, if entered, will not be visible to other public users.

The deadline for comment is July 28.

Click on South Greeley Directional File # 400604803 to access it. After a few seconds you will be redirected to the correct page, then click on comment on the right, and then New Comment to add your own.


On 7/1/14 Mineral Resources filed for the USR (Use by Special Review) with the City of Greeley. The file is under review and a hearing date will be determined.

Oil and Gas Well Drilling: "Very Loud, Very Dirty"

This informative half hour video tour shows the industrial scope of a drilling site. The narrator says "It's very loud, very dirty" and "there are lots of ways to get hurt out here". When he's under the platform to show the Blow Out Preventer, or BOP, he says that's a dangerous place to be. 


 


Under the yellow link below, is a video of the Windsor frack water blowout that happened in February 2013. It spewed for 30 hours before it was finally shut off. The Windsor rig used by PDC Energy is not nearly as solid and professional looking as the one shown in the video tour, and perhaps we should be concerned about that! 

• 80,000 gallons of frack water spilled at oil well east of Fort Collins Full story: http://tinyurl.com/lwepzlv

If we cannot stop wells from being drilled, we should at least expect that it is done with top notch equipment to make it as safe as possible. It's usually the smaller operators like Mineral Resources in Greeley that use small, mobile rigs. 

See this one at Island Grove in the summer of 2013 

Largest well site in Greeley city limits gets approval

There's no doubt in my mind that the planning commission approved the site for the 57 wells, because almost half of that number is already in operation, near the intersection of U.S. 34 with U.S. 85. What the members must have forgotten to consider is that this site will now emit an even higher concentration of VOC's so the area will be much more hazardous to the health of many people, and especially young children, living nearby!

Plus, there is Union Colony elementary school within one mile of it! Those parents now should be as outraged as the ones of Frontier are, and show up in droves at the City Council meeting to share their outrage before the council, as they have always done so far, will unanimously give the expansion its seal of approval!

Take a look here to view the site (A) in relation to the school (B): http://goo.gl/maps/RZN7O

These storage tanks are already in place, as are 28 separators representing the same number of well heads.

Here's the Greeley Tribune article: Largest well site in Greeley city limits gets approval from Planning Commission

Mineral Resources Pulls Out Near Frontier,... For Now!

A note from Greeley City Planner Mike Garrott 

"..Mineral Resources has formally withdrawn the South Greeley Directional Project... [T]he hearing will not occur tomorrow [April 22nd] as scheduled. 

If they choose to move forward with another application in the future, they will be required to submit a new application in its entirety."  

This is good news indeed, but Mineral Resources keeps lurking in the background, and the concern for future drilling remains! I just read the following on the Facebook page (FPG) of concerned Frontier parents:

"FPG has been receiving a lot of emails of concern regarding the Tribune article just released. I spoke with Brad Mueller (City of Greeley) and he confirmed Mineral Resources plans on refiling a new application...
This statement is from Tyler Richardson in the email sent to the city withdrawing the proposal.

"...Mineral Resources will explore the concept of altering the configuration of the proposed use in order to increase the distance to the southerly property line of Frontier Academy to a minimum of 1000 feet. If the reconfiguration approval cannot be accomplished, we will reapply under the original USR criteria." . 

Stop Greeley from Endangering Kids!

“Would you want to live here? Want your kids to play here?"

Sadly, in Greeley drilling rigs like in the video will soon become reality in Fox Run, and unless stopped, near Frontier Elementary School, and near 16th Street - U.S. 85. too; all sites too close to people, and especially children!

Residents could not stop the permit for Fox Run or the additional wells at Northridge High School and the Sheep Draw Nature Trail. There simply was not enough outrage! Unless all of Frontier's parents show up, and many other Greeley residents as well, chances are that the permits will be granted. Don't let that happen! Get people to show up for the sake of Greeley's children!

Show up in large numbers to speak out against it!

April 22 at 1:15 p.m.
Council Chambers of the Lincoln Park Annex building,
919 7th St.

 "There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul 

than the way it treats its children."

 ~Nelson Mandela ~

 

Hearing for drilling project near Frontier elementary postponed two weeks

Greeley parents, environmentalists to speak out against well site near school

Chance to Speak out Against Drill Site Near Frontier!

Mineral Resources, Inc. wants to place a large oil and gas drilling operation just 478 feet away from the Frontier playground, but the explosion near Lucerne proves that oil and gas wells near homes and schools are a recipe for disaster! Even if there is no calamity, there are still fumes emitted from the tanks and separators that are harmful to all in close proximity, especially young children!


In April, the Greeley Planning Commission will very likely grant the permit that will impact you and your children’s health and safety, unless parents and residents show their outrage, and show up in large numbers to speak out against it!

April 22 at 1:15 p.m.
Council Chambers of the Lincoln Park Annex building,
919 7th St.

The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission already gave their approval to place up to 67 wells with 32 oil tanks, and 30 separators on the site! Click here. Make sure Greeley does not lend theirs!

Learn why you should be concerned about Oil & Gas drilling in your neighborhood, or by your children’s school, and speak out against drilling at the upcoming public hearing!

The proposed South Greeley Directional Project at 27th Ave. & 30th St. next to Frontier Academy and Walmart. Marker A is the location of the well bore.

19 wells
24 oil storage tanks (red dots)
19 separators (yellow stripes)

This photo left shows only 8 oil storage tanks. The pad near Frontier will have three times as many!

 

There will be 19 separators, about the same number as can be seen on the photo right. They all emit harmful VOCs that anyone in such close proximity will inhale.




Also see: Where Do the Children Play
               67 Gas Wells Planned Near Frontier School and Walmart

Last but not least, a recent health study shows:

"an association between density and proximity of natural gas wells within a 10-mile radius of maternal residence and prevalence of Congenital Heart Defects and possibly Neural Tube Defects. [Most children with neural tube defects die or experience serious disability.] Access the report here.

Notice on the photo below that even the kids at Brentwood Middle School are still only half a mile away from the toxic emissions!

How With Stealth the Well is Won!

Residents who do not own their mineral rights, but who will be directly affected by the drilling near their homes, are kept in the dark for a long time after the first steps to drill have been taken by the stake holders. Take a look at how this process of planning a well site (and getting it approved with minimal interference from residents) works! In Greeley's 2020 Comprehensive Plan it states:

"Advise residents of rezoning and development applications in areas close to their homes and encourage citizen participation in the public review process to express support or concern for a given project in an informed and constructive manner. Encourage developers to work with area residents early in the development of a land use proposal to identify concerns, incorporate suggestions, and provide accurate information on the scope of an intended land use request." ~ LU2.18 Page 191

In the case of the (Fox Run) Sheep Draw Directional Drilling Project, that did not happen!  The location for the 'proposed well head' was staked out and photographed on February 17, 2012. The 2A application was filed with COGCC four days later, on February 21st.  So, when do you think the Fox Run residents were notified? A full year later!

[A similar situation happened with the Kelly Farm permit to put 12 additional wells with 20 condensate tanks near Northridge H.S. A lease was signed on July 21, 2011 between the Kelly Farm Home Owner Association and Waltel Minerals, LLC . That's almost two years before people in the vicinity were notified! Read more here: Kelly Farm]

Says resident Karen Janata:

"On February 26, 2013, I received the letter from Greeley City planner, Brandon Gossard, attached in an email from our Home Owners Association. It was the first I had heard of this!"

The letter stated that the city,

"received a formal application from Mineral Resources, Inc. for approval of a Use By Special Review to allow up to twenty-three Oil & Gas wells on a property located north of 13th Street between 59th and 65th Avenues..Due to the nature of the surrounding area, a neighborhood meeting has been scheduled prior to the scheduling of a public hearing with Planning Commission.

This neighborhood meeting will be planned on Thursday, February 28th at 6:00 pm at the Family Fun Plex...No formal decisions about the project are made by the City of Greeley at the neighborhood meeting....Planning Commission will hold a public hearing to consider the request".

Karen says: "As you can see, we received the notification 2 days prior to this meeting. It was held at the FunPlex in a small room where there was standing room only. Mineral Resources had colored, professional, diagrams of "how beautiful" the area would look with trees/fences etc. We were assured that the fracking would be state of the art and no health risks.

Several people brought up their concerns but of course, Mineral Resources either said they didn't have the necessary statistics or gave vague answers. [City Planners] Brad Mueller and Brandon Gossard were there to represent Greeley and answer questions. I remember one young mom leaving the meeting at the end and crying.

Bob Winkler [see: Frack Files on Facebook] told me at the time that this would be a major impact on us all. Many asked why we were never notified of this meeting -- only through the Home Owners Association. Brandon said they only had to notify homeowners within 350 feet. He then took all of our email addresses.

I received an email stating there would be a planning commission with public hearing on March 12 at 1:15 pm. We had just about 2 weeks to gather information and learn more about this industrial site. Several neighbors started to go door-to-door to get people involved and to attend this hearing. However, with only 2 weeks and having the meeting in the afternoon of a work-day, we only had about 30 people at the meeting.

Also at this time, ..[a neighbor] had contacted Matt Sura, a lawyer to ask for assistance. By a slim margin, the planning commission agreed to postpone their final decision on this project for 2 weeks. Mineral Resources was asked to meet with residents to address their concerns. Matt Sura also began meeting with Mineral Resources to get the site moved to behind King Soopers [on west 10th street], where there are wells already. I myself began researching more and more about the process, accumulating all of the data on spills for a 60 day period.

The Planning Commission approved the Fox Run/Sheep Draw project on March 12 despite the many, many pages of documentation sent to them, and despite all the comments of those who attended. It was agreed upon by Fox Run residents to appeal this decision to the City Council and our appeal was delivered and paid for ($200.00).

Of note: Even though drilling companies are required to adhere to specific setbacks, waivers can be given by nearby property owners. In the Fox Run case one such party even agreed to a setback of only 40 ft to her property line instead of the required 150 (signed May, 2011) See all 15 under: Waiver Exhibit.

To Sign or Not to Sign a Mineral Lease.

If you are a homeowner who received a letter from 
Mineral Resources with the request to lease your mineral rights for their next horizontal drilling and fracking project, you may want to read what attorney Matt Sura has to share on the subject. 

As a service to the community, Weld Air and Water hosted a presentation by Sura who on Saturday gave an overview of the dangers of fracking near homes and schools, and explained what options people have. Here some key points. You can download two fact sheets by clicking here.

Forced pooling is often threatened by landmen to persuade reluctant mineral owners to lease their minerals. But the threat of forced pooling should not be used to pressure a mineral owner to hastily sign a lease. Forced pooling is only used as a last resort for operators who have already acquired leases to the vast majority of acreage they are planning to develop. In 2010, the COGCC received 62 forced pooling applications. Operators want to avoid the additional time and expense of going through the COGCC process to force pool a mineral owner.  

..Once the drilling unit has been established, an affected mineral owner, who has not leased his minerals, has four different options: He can choose to sell his minerals, lease his minerals, consent to voluntarily pool his mineral interest with the others and participate (financially) in the drilling operation, or be a “non-consenting” owner and be “force pooled”. 

If the COGCC issues a force pooling order, there are four consequences for the non-consenting owner; 

1) oil and gas operations in that drilling unit are allowed to proceed, 

2) the mineral owner will get a 1/8 (12.5%) royalty payment, 

3) the other 7/8 of the mineral interest payments are withheld to pay-off the costs of the well (plus penalties), 

4) if the mineral owner owns 100% of the minerals under a parcel of land, the operator will not be able to locate the well or facilities on that parcel.

Note that, "Mineral owners who are forced pooled will still receive a 12.5% royalty interest", but the total amount will likely be less than if a lease was negotiated and signed voluntarily. That is because royalties will not be paid until costs have been recouped and by then the production of the well may have declined. But, if (like me and many others) you find the practice of drilling and fracking inside a city reprehensible, this option is the only moral one. Signing the lease is really condoning the practice.

Note also that as the mineral right owner (and you do want to lease) you (especially when joining with many of your neighbors) can request mitigations that will help reduce pollution, noise etc. which is not only beneficial for the people directly affected by the drilling process, but for our whole community! If you want to know more about how to negotiate your lease, please contact Weld Air and Water.

With enough interest, a follow-up meeting with Matt Sura will be planned, so also let your neighbors know about this opportunity! 

Where Do The Children Play?

“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than
 the way in which it treats its children." 

 ~Nelson Mandela~

Remember that old Cat Stevens song, 'Where do the children play?' written in the 70s when urbanization devoured the natural spaces where kids used to play? A similar thing, but much worse, is happening now with the industrialization of towns, as multiple gas wells are drilled near homes, and schools!

Greeley already has over 400 gas wells and many more are planned. These installations with flares, gas separators and condensation tanks, emit noxious fumes that are unhealthy to breathe, and the 'flowback' water from fracking that needs to be disposed of contains harmful substances as well.

Dr. Theo Colborn and others found that 37% of the chemicals used during drilling, fracturing and production were found to be volatile, with the ability to become airborne.

Of those:

• 81% can cause harm to the the brain and nervous system
• 71% can harm the cardiovascular system and the blood
• 66% can harm the kidneys

So, where then will the children of Frontier Academy play  if the Greeley Planning Commission, and Greeley City Council allow 67 gas wells to be drilled just 350 ft away from their playground and garden?

Overview of the Frontier Academy playground and garden.  In the distance 

(center in photo) is the Walmart building.

Will it be safe for them to be outdoors during the 24/7 drilling process which involves fumes from diesel engines, lots of truck traffic, and later also the dangers of silica exposure from the many tons of sand needed for the fracturing?

Diesel engine at Island Grove .

After the wells are completed, 32 oil tanks and gas separators will be located only 500 ft away. It is shocking to think that our city council members condone this, and willfully ignore a study by Dr. Lisa McKenzie, that shows that people living within half a mile of just a single gas well are at higher risk for health issues, including cancer, than people living farther away.

Frontier gardening shed decorated with children's hand prints.

Frontier's kids and staff will be spending several hours a day within just one tenth of a mile radius of 67 wells, and so will many Walmart employees. Half a mile out from the site still reaches many residents who live in the Evans neighborhood, south of 32nd street, people shopping at the Greeley Mall, and even students attending Brentwood Middle School..

The Greeley Geographic Information Systems map below shows the proposed drill site as a red X and the half mile distance to Brentwood Middle School..

See what such a mega site will look like if we do not protest it!

• 67 Gas Wells Planned near Frontier School and Walmart

As a community we should do what we can to safeguard kids from the harm that can come from being too close to gas and oil wells.  Join Weld Air and Water to stay informed and take action.

Greeley Gas Well Sites

These are producing, and planned gas well sites of Mineral Resources, Inc., our 'locally, privately held oil and natural gas producer'. Other companies have drill sites too. For a closer look, click on this link. Then, when you click on a red icon you can read how many wells are, or will be, there.