An oil well sits in a field south of the new Frederick High School. ( LEWIS GEYER )
FREDERICK -- As Longmont struggles over how to regulate oil and gas drilling, the nearby town of Frederick can sympathize.
Frederick, of course, sits in the southwest corner of Weld County -- or perhaps that should be "Welled County." About one-third of the state's active oil and gas wells sit in Weld, more than 17,000 at last count. Of those, 440 are in Frederick, according to town officials.
So the town's no stranger to the industry, or to attempts to deal with it. In fact, Frederick is a legal landmark in the field. Ten years ago, the town and North American Resources Co. (NARCO) were locked in a courtroom battle, waiting for Division IV of the Colorado Court of Appeals to have its say on just how far a town could
Frederick had regulations requiring each well site to be at least 350 feet from an occupied building. Division IV of the Colorado Court of Appeals judges struck down the setback regulations. ( LEWIS GEYER )
regulate a driller.
The results, to say the least, were mixed.
"The court in essence said, 'We're not going to tell you what to do. We're going to say you can do it, just not the way you have done it,'" said Cyril Vidergar, an attorney for the town.
A taxing issue
The issue really started even 10 years before that. Back in 1991, Frederick used to levy an "occupation tax" on oil and gas operators, a specific levy on anyone wanting to bring up oil and gas in the town limits. That got challenged in court and eventually settled -- but in the aftermath, state authorities made occupation taxes illegal in 1996.
The following information was developed by Town of Frederick and the State of Colorado Oil and Gas Commission to help the public understand the general parameters of oil and gas development in this area of Colorado. The responses are general in nature and can only serve to broaden the understanding of the oil and gas extraction process and site maintenance. For specific circumstances please contact the State of Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, the oil and gas operator, or the Town of Frederick Planning Department.
The Town of Frederick, Colorado is an Oil & Gas Cheerleader! It's sad to report that there is no mention for safeguarding their citizens from pollution nor are the people provided with adequate information to become a voice in the community. Have we missed something?
We are certain the citizens don't know that most of the Federal Environmental Regulations have been exempt for the oil and gas industry! Exemptions like the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Clean Air Act, and many others.
What about the toxic waste? What about toxic emissions? The town never mentions the oil and gas waste generated, toxic air releases from volatile organic combustion stacks, diesel engines and so many other sources that vent chemicals, not to mention the probable well and groundwater contamination.
Someone wake this community up from the false hopes provided by the snake oil salesman that have sold their health and safety. Wake up Frederick, Colorado! Use this site's unaltered State information to make sound decisions that your city is not offering or telling you. We know you mean well, but the people need information. Real, factual information that illustrates the potential harmful effects from oil and gas drilling so close to their homes.
Watch this, then look at all the gas wells around you. Monitor your water. The volatile organic compounds that are flared are invisible, you can't see them, they are potentially lethal.
* History
For more than 30 years, the Wattenberg field has been one of the country’s most important oil and natural gas fields. It generates a significant revenue base for Colorado, including jobs, tax revenues and royalties. It supplies vital energy to local communities. More than 15,000 royalty owners in Adams, Boulder, Broomfield, Larimer and Weld counties receive royalty revenues from Wattenberg producers, and some local school districts receive more than half of their funding from oil and gas property taxes. Lastly, some communities also receive tax royalties and grants for public purposes.
The Town of Frederick. Colorado Learn to Live with Oil & Gas Drilling, Live with Pollution and Like it
* Who regulates well sites in the Greater Wattenberg Area?
Colorado’s Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) is the State agency in charge of regulating oil and gas production for non-federal lands in Colorado and in the Greater Wattenberg Area. However, county and local regulations may also play a role in some circumstances.
In 2008 there are over 340 wells within the Town of Frederick (see inset C). With each annexation the town may acquire additional existing or planned wells. Within the Town limits, the Town of Frederick requires all proposed oil and gas wells to be approved through the Special Use Process which includes neighbor notification, compliance with specific requirements of the Town Code, and may require a public hearing prior to installation of the well and collection facilities. Maintenance operations may occur at any time and don’t normally require notification to neighboring property owners.
As noted above, the Town of Frederick and surrounding area are within the Wattenberg Field, (see inset C) which is a large mineral resource area subject to multiple subsurface strata and mineral resources including coal, gas, oil, gravel, water, etc. Some of these mineral resources are near the surface of the ground while others may be several thousand feet below ground. Most of the oil and gas resources are fairly deep within the earth's crust requiring drilling for extraction (see inset D).
In order to allow for the extraction of these resources and to preserve the surface owner's ability to utilize the land, various state laws have been enacted to determine the location for any new oil and gas well. One of these laws established the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC). The Oil and Gas Conservation Commission has determined that there are five potential drilling windows in any particular quarter section (160 acres) (or 20 sites per section). A section of land consists of a division or parcel of land fixed by government survey, compromising one square mile or 640 acres (see inset E).
State Law provides for multiple wells within each of these drilling windows. Specific well sites are selected after consideration of a number of factors such as; surface topography, subsurface geology, and reservoir characteristics using the most current technology to locate oil and gas resources. In addition, proximity to existing and planned surface uses or resources is also a significant factor. The selection of drill sites is also impacted by the terms of the oil and gas lease covering the tract, which typically includes the right to utilize the surface for exploration, drilling and development operations. Unless an exception is granted, a well site must be located within a “drilling window” on the property (see below for a more complete discussion of drilling windows). COGCC regulations require that good faith negotiations with the surface owner take place in an effort to determine an agreed upon well-site location within the drilling window, and the ultimate location will be influenced by existing surface uses as well as the needs and preferences of the surface owner. In many cases, the location of drill sites (as well as roads, production tanks and pipeline corridors) have been previously agreed to by contract under a surface-use agreement, which is of public record. If property is subject to a surface use agreement the title documentation should reflect that contractual obligation.
