There are more than ninety oil and gas well sites in Broomfield, primarily located north of 136th. During Wildgrass’s recent meeting with Extraction, Extraction described the steps they take to limit the risks to ground water within the wells themselves. However, what was not addressed in the meeting was the impact due to surface leaks and spills. That omission got us wondering what the risks were at the surface. This is particularly important due to our proximity to the Lowell pad and the fact that the pad is directly between the two reservoirs.
The first question we looked into was air/gas related leaks. These air polution related regulations are set by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). Actual inspections are done by the City and County of Broomfield’s Public Health and Environment Division (PHE). This division checks all of the sites with gas storage facilities annually using a FLIR Infrared camera that identifies gas leaks. In addition to the PHE, the COGCC will also inspect gas related leaks when there is a complaint about air related issues.
According to Broomfield PHE, last year they inspected the 38 active sites in Broomfield with storage facilities. Of those, 22 sites were identified to have an identified leak. As of the June 14, 2016 City Council meeting, PHE reported that 21 out of the 22 leaking sites had been fixed and validated. With the exception of one well that was plugged and abandoned, they will all be inspected again this year. More details and the information supporting this can be found here: http://www.broomfield.org/DocumentCenter/View/14442
Next, we researched ground spills and releases. These leak reports are managed by the COGCC and are based on reports from the Oil and Gas producers themselves. Rule 906 defines when a spill must be reported to the COGCC (https://cogcc.state.co.us/Announcements/Hot_Topics/Hydraulic_Fracturing/Rule906.pdf)
Since 2012, seven spills were reported in Broomfield that met the defined criteria. These spills could be dirty water, condensate, oil, or chemicals. The seven spills can be seen by selecting Broomfield here: http://cogcc.state.co.us/cogis/IncidentSearch.asp . We recommend running that query and reading the reports to better interpret if you that there is a potential impact. A few notable ones you'll see in that search include:
Finally, the third area we reviewed was Extraction O&G’s spill incidents at their existing wells. This does not include gas leaks as that information is not readily available, and instead only focuses on ground spills and releases. If you go to the COGCC Incident Search and select all of the counties and enter a Operator ID of 10459, you can see Extraction’s 17 documented incidents. Some notable issues include these two which occured within the past 3 months:
Again, the above is just a sample of the information out there and we encourage everyone to continue to read and look through the incidents occurring around our houses and with the vendor that is planning work in the area.
Two documents were sent to the Broomfield City Council detailing necessary improvements to the MOU to better protect the residents of Broomfield
Meeting minutes and slides from the Wildgrass and Anthem Symposium held in November, 2016
Extraction delivered a presentation to investors today. It provided more information on their planned growth into Broomfield
In the past two years, Extraction has had 16 documented spill incidents. This post explores those.
We need volunteers! Whether it's talking to your neighbors, researching with one of the working groups, writing your representatives, or engaging the nearby communities, there are jobs for everyone who would like to participate. If you want to help, please contact us. Also, join the facebook group below for interactive discussion.
