From the Styx by Peggy Tibbetts

Encana’s request to drill near Silt seep opposed
A request from EnCana Oil and Gas to drill natural-gas wells near the site of a gas seep in West Divide Creek south of Silt has been opposed by Garfield County and a citizens group. EnCana has asked the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to lift a two-mile drilling moratorium put in place after the discovery that methane and cancer-causing benzene were seeping into the creek. The seep, discovered in March 2004, resulted from an improperly cemented EnCana gas well. The accident prompted the commission to levy its largest-ever fine of $371,200 against EnCana …

I love this – Encana’s environmental health and safety advisor Eric Williams said more than 1,000 water samples take from irrigation ditches, streams and creeks found no effects from the seep. He added: “We think we’ve effectively stopped the migration of the seep.”

“We think,” he said. They CAN’T be serious. I mean, if the implications of this weren’t so deadly, it would be laughable. Encana has their very own Mr.-Scientist-on-the-payroll taking water samples and we’re supposed to think he’s going to come up with any other result than: Experts agree, everything’s fine. Especially when we take into consideration that Encana wants to drill 25-35 new wells in that area.

In view of that news, I think the Encana’s Team Leader Joel Fox said it best: “We’re just ready to get back to work out there.” Oh there’s absolutely no doubt Encana can’t wait to get back out to West Divide Creek.

Can they prevent a seep? Fox added that if a new well intercepts another natural fracture: “We can prevent a seep.” Oh please. This reminds me of Dinosaurs, a hilarious sitcom from the 90s. Earl the dad pushed over trees for the WeSaySo Corporation. Which is exactly how Encana, Williams, and Halliburton treat people around here. We Say So.

Here’s what happens when we stand back and let the Encana fox look after us chickens:

Industry Self-Reporting Leads to Water Well Contamination

Like many state and federal agencies, the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) has relied heavily on industry self-monitoring and reporting to ensure compliance with the state’s standards. A gas leak in Silt, Colorado has demonstrated just how dangerous it can be to depend on companies to “Do It Right” without close oversight from regulatory agencies.

Local landowners reported gas bubbling in West Divide Creek south of Silt to state authorities on April 1, 2004. They worried the bubbles might be caused by nearby natural gas drilling. Samples taken the next day by a COGCC inspector confirmed the landowners’ suspicions, revealing high levels of toxic chemicals associated with oil and gas production such as benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, and xylene.

Upon further investigation, the COGCC determined that EnCana Oil and Gas (USA), Inc. was responsible for gas leaking into the creek and the wells of four landowners. Encana had drilled a well nearby on February 9, 2004 -– the Schwartz 2-15B well. During drilling, Encana experienced lost circulation and “kicks” — an indication that the cement casing designed to contain drilling fluids and protect surface and groundwater from contamination has failed. One week later, Encana ran tests that revealed that the top of the well’s casing ended less than 200 feet above the top of the gas, and that gas had entered the space between the casing and the well bore and migrated behind the pipe.

Colorado’s rules require oil and gas operators to take immediate steps to bring such wells under control, yet Encana did not take immediate remedial action or notify the COGCC. On March 30, 2004, one day before the seep was discovered by the landowners, Encana notified the COGCC that it planned to remediate the casing of the Schwartz 2-15B well and one other well. Encana completed the remedial cementing on April 7, 2004.

According to the COGCC, inadequate cementing allowed the well to blowout underground, uncontrolled, and 115.5 million cubic feet of gas was lost over the following 55 days. The COGCC issued a Notice of Alleged Violation to Encana on April 23, 2004, charging that Encana contaminated fresh water, failed to notify the state that public health or safety was in jeopardy, inadequately cemented the well casing, and failed to notify the Director of a gas release.

At first, Encana claimed not to have violated any rules, and stated that there was no definitive evidence that it caused the gas seep. But on August 17, the company admitted to nine violations arising from the incident and endorsed a recommended fine by the COGCC staff of $371,000.

“In my opinion it was through sheer unadulterated incompetence that we are here today and over the last few days to address this problem,” said COGCC commissioner John Ashby, addressing Encana representatives at a public hearing where the $371,200 fine was officially approved. “I’m very upset about that. I think it reflects poorly on the industry and on your company in particular.”

Fellow COGCC commissioner Tom Ann Casey said, “It’s not a problem with the geology, it’s a problem of some people not following the rules.”

The BLM’s “National Oil and Gas Inspection and Enforcement Strategy” states: “Ensuring that drilling and plugging operations are in compliance from the outset will minimize potential problems in the long term, particularly with regard to contamination of subsurface water resources and surface related environmental concerns, to reduce future liability problems and workload.”

Not only was Encana’s Schwartz 2-15B well not “in compliance from the outset,” but an over reliance on industry self-monitoring and reporting led to the “contamination of subsurface water resources” and “future liability problems and workload.”

“In all the years my family has owned land, recreated on, and enjoyed the benefit of West Divide Creek, we’ve never seen this sort of reckless treatment of our water,” said local landowner and member of the Western Colorado Congress, Lisa Bracken. “ It’s a sad day when oil and gas companies try to get away with polluting our water and state agencies try to regulate disasters after the fact.”

“Colorado can take advantage of our gas reserves, but we can do it in an orderly, environmentally sound way,” said Bracken. “We only have one chance to protect our family farms and ranches, local communities, and good clean water. Let’s not screw it up in a rush to develop.”

[Excerpted from Law and Order in the Oil and Gas Fields:
A Review of Inspection and Enforcement Programs in Five Western States - by the Western Organization of Resource Councils - February 2005]

Okay so back in August 2004, a moratorium was placed on gas welling drilling for a two-mile section of West Divide Creek. That’s roughly 17 months ago. Hardly enough time to determine the health and environmental impacts of the seep. Another year passed. Then on August 1, 2005, the Garfield County Commissioners awarded $35,000 to the Saccomanno Research Institute to begin a 2-year study on the health risks associated with gas well drilling. The point is, the studies are still ongoing. The impact of the seep has yet to be determined – but here we go again. Encana wants to rush back into an area where geological fracturing has already caused hazardous chemicals to leech into the groundwater.  And everything will be okay because “We Say So.”

I don’t think so.

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