By Lindy J. Gwinn, Mountain Valley News staff
Delta County officials have long been supportive of responsible natural gas development.
Recently, along with their local county designee for gas and oil, Bruce Bertram, Delta County Commissioners drafted a letter to send to the BLM for consideration of the Master Development Plan for the Whitewater Unit that has been submitted by FRAM Operating, LLC.
FRAM has proposed the master plan for the development of up to 492 wells on 55 well pads in the Whitewater Unit. The unit is just a little over 90,000 acres. About 10,000 acres are in Delta County.
There are about 15 miles of new road proposed, 48 miles of existing road upgrades and about 90 miles of gathering line pipe that will need to be constructed. The proposal seeks permitting for a small portion of the overall master plan to begin in 2011.
Delta County Commissioners sent the letter to the BLM last week. It addresses and outlines the issues in the proposal that pertained to the broad scope of the entire master plan.
Site-specific comments and issues will be addressed later, after the application for a permit to drill and the facility permits go through the state and local permitting process.
The comments from the commissioners at this time flag issues they want addressed in the planning stage. “We want to at least raise the concerns and issues so that we make sure they are part of the discussions and being addressed,” said Commissioner Jan McCracken.
Quoting the letter: “The Whitewater Unit, by geography, (Mancos Shale outcrops) presents particularly significant storm water and erosion problems. We also have concerns about mobilizing selenium, and want to make sure we address that.”
Commissioners also asked that, because the county is responsible for some of the roads, including Wells Gulch, Starr Nelson, and others in the area, they be involved in any approvals of access, construction or maintenance of the roads in Delta County during the development of the unit.
“We ask that consideration for impacts to all of the other activities and multiple uses that these public lands offer the residents and visitors in this area, are taken into account.”
“This area is used for horseback riding, off road vehicle recreation, hiking, motorcycling, hunting, agricultural grazing, stock drive corridors, and other agricultural activities. We want those activities to be considered as the long term planning takes place and shape,” said Commissioner Olen Lund.
“We really do support the Master Plan (long term planning) process that demonstrates the whole project. It is nice for us to be able to see what the whole long term plan is. It seems easier to look at potential impacts and address them early. It also allows us to see the accumulative impacts, and mitigate them, rather than when we only see one or two wells at a time in an area,” said McCracken.
FRAM Field Manager Harold Mayland said, “We are beginning the project in Mesa County. We are utilizing directional drilling technology to keep the surface disturbance to a minimum. I don't anticipate us being in Delta County for another year or two.”
BLM is taking comment on the Whitewater Master Plan Development at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
The proposal submitted by FRAM Operating can be viewed at www.blm.gov/co/st/en/fo/ufo.html.
