• 2008 COGCC Rulemaking
• Background Information
• Other Resources

Garden Gulch Waste Pit Spills (3/20/08 press release)

Four large spills totalling over one million gallons in an area known as "Garden Gulch" north of Parachute have locals concerned about the quality of their irrigation water. The frozen waste water, much of it trapped in a huge ice waterfall, is starting to melt. The Garden Gulch area drains into west Parachute Creek, a source of irrigation water for many local landowners and the entire Town of Parachute .

The spill that was first uncovered months ago has resulted in a Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) investigation into the spills but little to no information has been shared with the public.

Industry often uses a number of chemicals in the drilling of a well. Drilling muds typically use lubricants during the drilling process. Hydraulic fracturing can use any number of chemicals that are forced into the ground to fracture the gas-bearing rock formation to make the well more productive. The waste water that comes up from these wells can contain toxic or carcinogenic chemicals from the drilling process as well as petroleum by-products (condensates) that are also found in the rock.

Concern about the water quality has led Parachute resident Sid Lindauer and the Grand Valley Citizens Alliance to file a formal complaint with the COGCC. In the complaint, they argue the new legislation that was passed last year requires the involvement of the Colorado Department of Health and Environment as well as the Colorado Division of Wildlife in responding to a spill.

The COGCC is in the process of adopting new rules to offer more protection to public health and the environment and to involve the Division of Wildlife and the Department of Health and Environment, but those regulations have not been written yet. Regulations that have been discussed in stakeholder meetings on new COGCC rulemaking would require the industry to disclose what chemicals they used in drilling within 24 hours of a spill. Draft COGCC rules are expected in early April.

2008 COGCC Rulemaking

In 2007 the State Legislature passed legislation requiring the Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) to write new rules with the Colorado Dept of Public Health and the Division of Wildlife to better protect wildlife and the general public during oil and gas operations. Rule-making must be completed by July 2008.

The COGCC held work sessions in early 2008 on proposed regulations to improve the old and gas industry's responsiveness to health and wildlife issues. WCC wants to see the regs strengthened in key areas. The COGCC's proposed regs should be released by the end of April.

This effort is a result of WCC's number one success in the 2007 state legislature, the passage of House Bill (HB) 1341 to reform the COGCC. HB 1341:

• Revises the mission of the COGCC to include more focus on “responsible and balanced development”  and adds specific language regarding “protection of public health, safety, and welfare, including protection of the environment and wildlife resources.”
• Gives the CDPHE a permanent role in reviewing and commenting on COGCC decisions that could affect public health.
• Expands the COGCC to nine members (from the current seven) with expertise in the following areas: environmental or wildlife protection (1); local government (1); soil conservation or reclamation (1); oil & gas industry (3); Director of Dept of Natural Resources and Director of the Dept of Public Health & the Environment.

Two other important bills passed in last year's state legislature. HB 1252 - the Colorado Landowners Protection Bill - requires that: 1) oil and gas companies minimize their impact to the surface; 2) unreasonable use of the surface gives a landowner a cause of action (to bring a lawsuit); and 3) in any litigation, the burden of proof is on companies - not landowners - to demonstrate their reasonable use of the surface.

HB 1298 makes protecting wildlife resources part of the COGCC's mission and ensures that the Division of Wildlife plays a more prominent role in protecting wildlife in the face of oil & gas development.

Recent Updates

You can read and download all of the following items as Adobe Acrobat PDF files (If you don't have it already, click here to download Adobe Acrobat Reader).

• "Torched and burned" (Oct 2007) A report that finds Colorado selling off its oil and gas resources at bargain basement prices.
• "Roan leasing delay entirely appropriate" (5/20/07 Grand Junction Daily Sentinel editorial)
• "Find way to monitor wells" (5/19/07 Denver Post editorial)
• "Oil, gas leader counts days to job's end" (5/16/07 Durango Herald)
• "Gas leases sold despite official protest" (Sept/Oct 2005 WCC Clarion) WCC protests sale of Montrose/Ouray parcels in August auction.
• "Who will pay for Energy Bill?" (Sept/Oct 2005 WCC Clarion) Calling recent passage of US Energy Bill a step toward energy independence misses the mark.
• "Gas leases off auction block at least temporarily" (July/August 2005 WCC Clarion)
• "Montrose, Ouray Counties feeling gas pains" (May/June 2005 WCC Clarion article) BLM leases mineral rights under thousands of acres.
• "Signing gas lease leaves gate open to trouble" (Mar/Apr 2005 WCC Clarion article) Impacts of gas drilling on Pitman ranch in Garfield County.
• "WCC Takes on One of North America's Largest Gas Producers Over Water Pollution" (6/15/04 news release)
• "US Energy Bill Sacrificies Western Land for Gas Companies' Profit" (10/29/03 news release)

Background Information

• Colorado's natural gas production has risen 450% since 1990 with over 27,000 active wells statewide.
• Gas development includes much more than drilling for a well. Thousands of acres of land in Colorado will be disturbed by pipelines, roads, compressor stations, transmission lines, wastewater containment ponds and well pads – turning agricultural land into industrial sites.
• The state regulatory agency for gas development, the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC), has a dual mandate of promoting gas development and protecting public health, safety and the environment. Frequently, these mandates are at odds with one another.
• Six of the COGCC’s seven-member board have financial ties to the industry.
• Underground minerals (like oil and gas) in the West can be owned by a different individual or corporation than the one who owns the surface property above. Under current law, companies that lease oil and gas have a legal right to extract their minerals, and landowners have only limited power to ensure responsible development on their land.
• Requirements that developers consult with landowners about the placement of roads, pipelines, power lines, and noisy compressor stations, and the disposal of millions of gallons of poor quality wastewater are weak and poorly enforced.

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Other Resources

• The surface use agreement negotiated for Ted Turner's Vermjo Park Ranch in New Mexico allows for the development of coalbed methane in the most environmentally responsible manner possible.
• WCC is part of the Save Roan Plateau coalition, working to ensure balanced management of this biological hotspot in light of gas drilling proposals.
• Filling the Gaps: WORC finds multi-billion dollar taxpayer liability for oil and gas clean-up.
• Law and Order in the Gasfields: A new report from WORC focuses on safeguarding our air, water, land, and quality of life by strengthening oil and gas inspection and enforcement programs.
• Coalbed Methane Boom: A special High Country News report available for $4.25.
• Doing It Right: A landowner guide for coalbed methane development from Northern Plains Resource Council in Montana.
• Oil & Gas Accountability Project in Durango, Colorado.

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Garden Gulch Photos

Click photo for full-size image. Photos from COGCC.

Download a pdf version of Your Land, Your Rights for Garfield, Delta and Rio Blanco Counties. Call 970-249-1978 to request a copy of the new version for Montrose, Mesa, Ouray and San Miguel Counties.

Click here for a sample Surface Use Agreement with a supplemental Exhibit between a surface landowner and an owner of underlying mineral rights.