Wells near Tierra Amarilla ruled too close to wetlands, surface water sources
7/18/2008 - 7/19/08
The state Oil Conservation Division on Friday canceled a permit it had approved for an oil and gas well in Rio Arriba County, saying the proposed location was too close to water sources. The OCD also suspended three other permits it had granted to Approach Operating LLC for wells in the Tierra Amarilla area.
The suspended permits and five others Approach had applied for will be reconsidered by the state Oil Conservation Commission, a three-member board that makes rules for OCD and decides on disputed permits.
Rio Arriba County and Tierra Amarilla-area landowners had challenged the permits on the ground the places Approach wanted to drill were ill-considered and too close to creeks, irrigation ditches and drainages.
According to a statement issued by OCD on Friday, the canceled permit was rescinded because the company had indicated the well would be more than 100 feet from groundwater and more than 1,000 feet from the nearest surface water, when the proposed location was "within a wetland and approximately 40 feet from surface water sources."
"The evidence that was given at the hearing about the Woolly well was pretty compelling," said OCD Director Mark Fesmire. "That is not where a well should be sited." Fesmire said he didn't think Approach had deliberately tried to deceive OCD but it may not have had a clear picture of the area's hydrology when it chose the well site. He said there seemed to be enough confusion and questions about the sensitivity of the other three sites for which Approach had been approved to re-examine those permits as well.
Approach Operating voluntarily pulled one of six other permit applications it had pending with OCD, according to the statement. The other five will be considered by the commission along with the three that were suspended Friday at a hearing that will include public comment. No date for the hearing has been set." More>>>>
The suspended permits and five others Approach had applied for will be reconsidered by the state Oil Conservation Commission, a three-member board that makes rules for OCD and decides on disputed permits.
Rio Arriba County and Tierra Amarilla-area landowners had challenged the permits on the ground the places Approach wanted to drill were ill-considered and too close to creeks, irrigation ditches and drainages.
According to a statement issued by OCD on Friday, the canceled permit was rescinded because the company had indicated the well would be more than 100 feet from groundwater and more than 1,000 feet from the nearest surface water, when the proposed location was "within a wetland and approximately 40 feet from surface water sources."
"The evidence that was given at the hearing about the Woolly well was pretty compelling," said OCD Director Mark Fesmire. "That is not where a well should be sited." Fesmire said he didn't think Approach had deliberately tried to deceive OCD but it may not have had a clear picture of the area's hydrology when it chose the well site. He said there seemed to be enough confusion and questions about the sensitivity of the other three sites for which Approach had been approved to re-examine those permits as well.
Approach Operating voluntarily pulled one of six other permit applications it had pending with OCD, according to the statement. The other five will be considered by the commission along with the three that were suspended Friday at a hearing that will include public comment. No date for the hearing has been set." More>>>>
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