By Alex Zorn Garfield County is being asked to provide comments on a request before neighboring Pitkin County by Rocky Mountain Natural Gas to drill two replacement gas storage wells in the Wolf Creek storage unit in the Thompson Divide area southwest of Glenwood Springs.
Two of RMNG’s longstanding storage wells in the Wolf Creek storage unit, located south of the Four Mile Park area, are no longer operational. The natural gas supplier, which is a division of Black Hills Energy, would like to drill replacement wells on the existing well pads located in Pitkin County.
The majority of the work and possible surface disturbance would be in Pitkin on land accessed through the White River National Forest. However, the area is accessed from the Garfield County’s Four Mile Road, so county commissioners were asked at their meeting in Silt Monday if they have any concerns or thoughts on the project.
The commissioners asked that the project also be presented to the Carbondale Board of Trustees and town staff to get their comments. But, other than minor hauling questions and concerns that they shared with Pitkin County, the commissioners had few objections.
Most of the equipment will travel in and out of the area on Colorado Highway 82, Highway 133, Dry Park Road, Four Mile Road, and USFS Road 300.
RMNG hopes for the drilling and completions activity and equipment mobilization to occur in June and July 2019.
RMNG plans to acquire water from Rifle and haul along I-70 to Glenwood Springs, via exit 114 and then onto Midland Avenue and Four Mile Road, according to materials presented to the Garfield County commissioners.
Natural gas activities in the Thompson Divide area have been contentious in recent years, as the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in 2017 canceled several undeveloped natural gas leases in the area following several years of debate. Those requests were unrelated to the Wolf Creek storage facility, which is used to store already produced natural gas underground until it is needed for distribution via pipelines to customers in the Roaring Fork and Eagle river valleys.
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Via:: Post Independent