Autopsies and Kinder Morgan construction issues were dealt with at Monday\u2019s Montezuma County commission meeting.<\/p>\n
Coroner George Deavers presented a proposal to make Montezuma County a central hub for regional autopsy needs. A shortage of forensic pathologists means one from Grand Junction has to travel to southwest Colorado once a month to conduct autopsies.<\/p>\n
Instead of performing them in Durango and Pagosa Springs, Deavers suggested converting an old evidence room at the county court building into an autopsy suite.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe could save revenue by not sending autopsies to La Plata or Archuleta County,\u201d Deavers said. \u201cThey would send their autopsies cases here, and we collect a fee.\u201d<\/p>\n
Using available space at the county armory building was also a suggestion. A remodel was estimated at under $40,000. The county requires 50 to 75 autopsies or forensic-death investigations per year.<\/p>\n
Deavers asked if there was a county policy against \u201cgreen burials,\u201d and the commission didn\u2019t think there was. It was thought that a family could bury a body on their land once a death certificate is obtained and there are no infection issues or medical-examiner investigations.<\/p>\n
Commissioner Keenan Ertel said green burials have to avoid leach fields and water sources such as a well to avoid contamination.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople also need to understand that if they don\u2019t separate and deed a family cemetery separate from their land it could be sold with the property and they would lose access,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Hearing focuses on Kinder Morgan wells<\/p>\n
During a public hearing on a new CO2 well, landowner Allan Blake commented that his water well was affected after seismic work was done near his Pleasant View home.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt used to draw 15 gallons per minute, and now I\u2019m lucking to get 4 gallons per minute,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Blake\u2019s home is \u00c2\u00bc mile from a new well. He said he\u2019s concerned about truck traffic, dust and road damage.<\/p>\n
Pete Dronkers, of Earthworks, commented that oil-and-gas companies need to take a more active role in testing water wells near their operations for contaminates.<\/p>\n
\u201cDrilling is literally happening in people\u2019s backyards. Water testing on wells should be done even though it is not required,\u201d he said. \u201cIt shows the company is committed to being a good neighbor.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another Kinder Morgan project drew the ire of a Pleasant View farmer, but a partial solution was worked out.<\/p>\n
Using existing easements, Kinder Morgan will install a 5-mile pipeline to deliver brine water, produced from CO2 wells, to a specialized injection well that returns it deep underground.<\/p>\n
However, the new pipeline will run through Judith Rohwer\u2019s commercial fruit and vegetable farm. She wants the pipe to be buried, and said construction timing presents problems for her planting plans.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis farm is my livelihood, and I have a customer base depending on me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The commissioners approved the permit for the discharge line, contingent that it be installed by March 15 to accommodate Rohwer\u2019s farming schedule.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will do our best to expedite that section,\u201d said Jamie Conway, a Kinder Morgan representative. A portion of the line will be buried as well.<\/p>\n
A community meeting is being planned on oil-and-gas operations in Montezuma and Dolores counties. It will be held at the County Annex in Cortez, but a date hasn\u2019t been confirmed.<\/p>\n
Presentations will be given by industry representatives and regulatory agencies, including the Colorado Oil and Gas Commission, and Colorado Department of Health and Environment.<\/p>\n