Regular Meeting Dates: Generally the first Wednesday of each month at 7pm at the WSERC office.  
 
Proposed 2009 Activities (proposed activities are in black and accomplishments/updates are in red)

Note: Until recently, most Delta County gas-development activity centered around Cedaredge (Grand Mesa), so most Gas Committee members have been from Cedaredge. The wells drilled around Cedaredge did not produce, and drilling there has stopped. Most drilling is now occurring in the Muddy region, particularly in the Bull Mountain Unit, and on Oak Mesa Gunnsion Energy Corporation is proposing to drill a single well. Because of this geographical shift in drilling activity, we are expecting more involvement by North Fork Valley citizens in our Gas Committee.  

 The Gas Committee will: 
 
1. Review and comment on ongoing COGCC rule-making process. Over the past two years WSERC has organized community input to the COGCC rule-making, including organizing a letter-writing campaign and busing members to a COGCC hearing in Grand Junction.  The final rulemaking on Reclamation, Bonding and Wildlife was to begin in June, 09, however it did not occur. 

• 12-2-09 a lawsuit was filed against COGCC by the CO. Oil and Gas Association asking for judicial review of COGCC's new and amended rules.  
  
• 6-11-09 Held an Energy Forum which included an update from WCC on the status of COGCC rulemaking. The final rulemaking on reclamation, bonding, wildlife, watersheds, restricted surface occupancy, and setbacks from homes has been delayed.  As of 8-12-09 the public hearings/meetings have not begun on these remaining rules.  

2. Track BLM quarterly gas lease sales and notify property owners.

• ID and notify landowners and adjacent landowners and pass info to WSERC staff for prospective member mailings. We have a volunteer to do this.  2009 BLM lease sales did not include any properties in Delta County. 

3. Meet with High Country Citizens Alliance to discuss coordinating our efforts on gas development when it straddles Delta and Gunnison County lines.  Determine how we can work together more effectively.

• Lawton Grinter, HCCA, has agreed to attend a WSERC/WCC Public Lands meeting.  The Gas Committee will be invited to attend.   

 4. Interest High Country News in writing an article on gas development using maps and data from COGCC.

• HCN reporter is coordinating article(s) about gas wastewater evaporative ponds.

5. Investigate how WSERC might help the Watershed Conservancy (Colleen Williams) with creation of a watershed protection district in Delta County.

Gas Committee members from Cedaredge area have been attending meetings to explore the potential for creation of a source water protection plan for the Surface Creek watershed. The amount of local interest will be judged through a series of local meetings. At the first meeting, 8-26-09 an overview of the Source Water Protection Plan process and the State's Source Water Assessment for these water systems was presented.

The Colorado Rural Water Assn. would like to invite you to participate in developing a Source Water protection Plan for the public drinking water providers:  Town of Cedaredge and Orchard City, Coalby Domestic Water Co. and Upper Surface Creek Domestic Water Users Association.  These water providers value a clean, high quality, drinking water supply and would like to work "collaboratively" with you to develop a plan to protect this resource.” Colleen's role is to "coordinate and facilitate the process of developing this plan to promote communication and "collaboration" between communities and govt. agencies.

 If there is not enough local interest the project will not materialize.

6. Participate in the Gas Collaborative Group quarterly meetings and report back to committee. Gas Committee chair and WSERC Executive Director attend the Gas Collab. Meetings. The GCG allows WSERC and others to be involved in pre-scoping energy projects.   

7. Comment as needed to government agencies on gas development proposals.

• Work with environmental groups, including HCCA, on responding to well development proposals in the Bull Mountain unit, particularly if proposed in roadless areas. 
• WSERC Gas Committee member Doug Gill discovered two staked well sites (proposed to be drilled for the purpose of getting lease extensions) in the 300’ excluded area (setback from centerline of two-track trail) in Springhouse Park Roadless Area. BLM has since extended the leases without requiring drilling.  
• Researched Oak Mesa unitization plan to extend leases by drilling one well (GEC).  Land is privately owned.  
  

8. Develop strategy for dealing with Wells Gulch Evaporative Ponds Project.

•  WSERC co-sponsored a public meeting at Bill Heddlese Recreation Center in Delta in July, 2009 with Delta County Economic Development about proposed gas well wastewater evaporative ponds. 
  
• WSERC held a Gas Committee meeting 8-5-09 to discuss strategy about ponds and assign tasks to volunteers.  CONTACT WSERC FOR THE LATEST RESEARCH FINDINGS RE: WELLS GULCH.
•  WSERC met with the proponents of the Wells Gulch project to share our concerns about possible health and environmental effects. As a result, the project proponents have agreed to "scrub" the produced water to remove potentially toxic volatile organic compounds.
  
• WSERC has reviewed Delta County's Oil and Gas Performance Standards of the Specific Development Regulations and discovered that there are no regulations specifically for waste-water evaporation ponds. WSERC is currently researching regulations and best management practices developed by other counties that could be useful to Delta County.
  
• WSERC is having frequent discussions with environmental groups and government agencies about the project. We know that the threatened Uinta Basin Hookless Cactus occurs on the site, which will require consultation between the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. We are researching whether the presence of this cactus on the private land where the ponds would be built could stop the project.
  

9. Request a meeting with Delta County planning staff to discuss policies and procedures.

10. Engage gas committee members in more meaningful ways in the work of the committee.  Identify well-defined, achievable activities that can be done by volunteers. Recruit 1 new gas committee member.  

• Depending upon the issue, attendance at the committee meetings ranges from 3 to 18 (18 people attended Gas Committee meeting re: Wells Gulch).
• Conducted one field trip to Springhouse Park
• New member recruited in November.

11. Prepare at least 3 public information pieces to educate members and the public about issues of concern to WSERC.  Examples: newsletter, press release, letter to editor, news article, educational forum, video, power point, map, movie, field trip, etc.

• Organized Springhouse Park field trip
• Published newsletter article about Springhouse Park
• Energy Forum 6-11-09 – Reps of BLM, FS, WCC, WSERC updated audience about energy issues on Western Slope including COGCC rulemaking. 
  
• In October, 2009, Committee Chair Lorie Molitor and WSERC executive director Rob Peters did a one-hour KVNF radio show on gas issues in Delta County.
• WSERC will join the Paonia Chamber of Commerce in putting on a gas development forum in March of 2010 to educate the public. The forum will probably focus on "What the County Can Do to Regulate Oil and Gas."
  

12. Prepare history of WSERC's gas efforts for posting on web site. Include such things as

• Appeal of Springhouse Park leases in 2002.
• Organizing citizens in 2003 to influence county as it prepared county gas regulations.
• Successful protest of leases in Crystal Meadow area.
• Leon Lake lawsuit to stop redevelopment of expired lease.
• Bull Mountain Pipeline lawsuit in 2008.