Public hearing for Battlement Mesa well pads if permits issued

PRESS RELEASE
December 6, 2010

The Battlement Concerned Citizens (BCC) group appeared on December 6 to request that the Garfield County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) request a hearing on three well pad site locations Antero Resources has applied for. Antero’s proposed site locations would be well pads that would host multiple oil and gas wells if the permit applications were granted by Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC), which currently has them on hold.

Antero spokesman David Strickland said that each of the proposed pads (known as Speakman A, Speakman B and Monument Ridge) is outside the Battlement Mesa Planned Unit Development (PUD), over which Garfield County has special land use authority. BCC representatives, Ron Galterio and Dave Devanney, stated that although the pads are outside the PUD, the air emissions and other potential problems can still affect residents within the PUD, and they would like decisions on the three pads to be delayed until completion of the Battlement Mesa Health Impact Assessment, contracted by Garfield County.

The BOCC decided to direct Judy Jordan, the county’s local government designee to the COGCC, to request a hearing on all three pads if COGCC issues the permits.