A major expansion project by Kinder Morgan west of Pleasant View still needs approvals from the Dolores Water Conservancy District and the Bureau of Reclamation.<\/p>\n
The Cow Canyon project envisions 14 additional wells and associated pipelines, cluster stations, and power lines to produce more CO2 to meet demand.<\/p>\n
But it was revealed at the Nov. 13 Water Conservancy meeting that some of Kinder Morgan\u2019s proposed infrastructure cross Conservancy and Reclamation easements serving that farming community.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey do not have our approvals for where they want to get to,\u201d said DWCD engineer Ken Curtis. \u201cWe\u2019re in initial conversations with the company about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a letter to the county, DWCD outlines several areas where new Kinder Morgan construction cross easement and infrastructure held by the irrigation district. Impacts include loss of irrigable acres.<\/p>\n
Proposed well CX-5 at County Roads CC and 10 requires a gas line and road to a cluster station that will cross a delivery lateral serving 18 individual fields and possible some delivery box lines.<\/p>\n
The letter states that Kinder Morgan lines need to go beneath irrigation lines, and legally require DWCD review and approval.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout more complete CO2 line information, some potential impacts remain unknown,\u201d the letter states.<\/p>\n
A dry-gas loop pipeline is planned from the Yellow Jacket Compressor station near County Roads U, W and 15. This pipeline crosses one delivery lateral serving six farmers and three delivery box lines.<\/p>\n
Proposed production well CX-7 off of County Road BB is not on land served by DWCD, but connected CO2 lines are not shown and may cross delivery laterals.<\/p>\n
A Kinder Morgan plan to develop 5.8 miles of CO2 and produced-water pipelines between the CD cluster site on Country Road 10, and the Cow Canyon Compressor stations at Roads BB and 8, would cross many DWCD lateral crossings.<\/p>\n
The DWCD is also concerned about a proposed private power line along County Road 10 that has sparked a lawsuit between Kinder Morgan and Montezuma County.<\/p>\n
The county is requiring all surface-use agreements be signed before the poles go up. But Kinder Morgan sued, arguing that it works in good faith to secure agreements with landowners, but making their success a condition of a permit violates Kinder Morgan\u2019s legal rights to access leased minerals under private land.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe power lines get very close to our lateral, and would interfere with our tract hoe during maintenance,\u201d Curtis said.<\/p>\n
Kinder Morgan has verbally agreed to de-energize the lines when DWCD needs to work on laterals and pipelines.<\/p>\n
To access their minerals, Kinder Morgan installs infrastructure across private land. They stay out of the right-of-way of other agencies, including the county roads.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fear is that to better avoid rights-of-way, they will move the poles further into the fields,\u201d Curtis said.<\/p>\n
Farmer Joe Lanier said he and other farmers would like to see the power line buried to minimize farming impacts.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to stick together and hope the board will back us up on our cause,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Kinder Morgan\u2019s plan for a new private power plant west of Pleasant View has gotten a lot of attention. And it puts the country\u2019s fourth-largest energy company into the local farming business.<\/p>\n
Kinder Morgan recently purchased 580 acres of land between County Roads CC and BB with a long-term plan of building a private, gas-fired, electrical power plant for their operations. No plan has been submitted for the plant.<\/p>\n
The land contains 433 allocated acres of farmland, and 849 acre feet of Dolores Project irrigation water.<\/p>\n
\u201cKinder Morgan has asked the BOR if they can farm in 2015,\u201d Curtis informed the board.<\/p>\n
DWCD estimates the potential loss of between 500 and 1,000 acres of local irrigated agriculture as a result of Kinder Morgan\u2019s Cow Canyon expansion project. The board is seeking more transparency from the company on its long-term plans, and recommends it conduct an independent impact analysis for release to the local community.<\/p>\n