WHITNEY ROYSTER Star-Tribune environmental reporter | Posted: Wednesday, November 9, 2005 12:00 am
JACKSON - Residents of the Hoback Ranches subdivision asked the state Bureau of Land Management director to review a decision to consolidate oil and gas leases in and near their subdivision.
Judi Adler, chairwoman of the board of directors for the Hoback Ranches Service and Improvement District, sent a letter Friday asking state BLM Director Bob Bennett to review the so-called South Rim Unit unitization. The unitization was authorized last month and allows disparate leaseholders to operate as one unit for energy development of the 19,500 acres on public and private land.
Adler said many of the more than 200 homeowners in the subdivision about 35 miles southeast of Jackson were surprised when they heard a unitization had been approved with no public input.
"To kind of plunk this thing down on a subdivision that has 140 homes without any notice is shocking," she said. "Most of us can understand development on the Anticline or on the Jonah Field, but on this level, near homes, some people that's their only home, and everything they have is tied up in there."
Steven Hall, spokesman with the BLM's Cheyenne office, said the agency will "have to determine whether a (state director review) is appropriate when we receive that letter."
"We're not sure it's an appropriate format, but we'll take a look," he said.
"Unitization is a means of providing a consistent way of developing these resources," Hall said. "It will provide a plan or a larger approach to how that oil and gas resource can be developed as opposed to" different companies drilling in different areas.
"In all likelihood this will be a good thing for people," he said.
But in her letter, Adler said the request for review is appropriate because of "extraordinary circumstances" within the subdivision, including the water supply from wells.
"Any additional impacts, such as may be incurred during natural gas drilling and attendant aquifer reduction, may cause disruption, contamination or even elimination of these important aquifers, with consequences to the safety and/or viability of principal drinking water wells and aquifers in the area," she wrote.
The area is also an important wildlife corridor, she said.
And the unitization agreement means if there is an active well on any of the acres, the unit is considered active and is not subject to a 10-year "sunset." Typically, if a lease parcel has no been drilled for 10 years after leasing, the lease expires and may be reissued by the BLM.
Linda Baker with the Upper Green River Valley Coalition said the 10-year expiration date is important so the public and agencies can re-evaluate the situation surrounding a lease parcel.
"This is a back-door way of maintaining areas available for oil and gas leasing," she said. "It's important to allow that 10-year period to expire so you can take a look at whatever resource values are as important as the mineral resource and allow the public to weigh in on that."
Adler said she was under the impression some of those leases in the area expired in April.
Hall said the time for people to protest a lease in the Hoback Ranches subdivision was during the lease stage.
"At this point, the decision to develop was issued when leases were issued," he said.
He said it's difficult when a surface owner's wants are in conflict with a mineral rights holder.
NewsTracker
* Last we knew: Energy companies combined their efforts for natural gas exploration in northern Sublette County, including part of the Hoback Ranches subdivision.
* The latest: Residents of the subdivision are seeking a review of the Bureau of Land Management's decision allowing the combined energy development.
* What's next: The BLM hosts a public meeting about how the project will affect landowners in Hoback Ranches from 6 to 8 p.m. today at the Pinedale Fire Hall.
Environmental reporter Whitney Royster can be reached at (307) 734-0260 or royster@tribcsp.com.