Kinder Morgan agent Bob Clayton told Montezuma County commissioners on Monday, May 5, that \u201cabsolutely no new disturbance\u201d would be encountered to convert the well, which would be used by North America\u2019s third-largest energy company to inject salt water more than 9,000 feet below the Earth\u2019s surface.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe definitely see the need for an additional salt water disposal well,\u201d Clayton said.<\/p>\n
Clayton requested commissioners certify the company\u2019s plan as prescribed by the county\u2019s land use code. The conversion requires the company to drill 900 feet deeper than the existing well, Clayton added.<\/p>\n
Clayton said company officials worked two years to receive a federal permit for the injection well, which falls Environmental Protection Agency regulations.<\/p>\n
Located on public Canyons of the Ancient Monument land near the end of County Road 9.2, the EPA permitted the 1.5-acre site as a Class I nonhazardous industrial waste disposal injection well in June 2012. The permit is valid for 10 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe EPA has very stringent rules,\u201d Clayton said.<\/p>\n
Montezuma County planning director Susan Carver warned commissioners that Kinder Morgan officials had yet to provide any written documentation to verify company claims that the injection well would not have any new impact.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re verbally saying this to the board, but there\u2019s no written record,\u201d Carver told Clayton.<\/p>\n
With \u201cso many unknowns,\u201d Carver said the certification requirement would help protect both the county and the operator from \u201cunwarranted criticism,\u201d especially if \u201csomething were to go wrong.\u201d She suggested the company provide a written narrative that demonstrates the well conversion would not impact county roadways, for example.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need complete detailed information,\u201d Carver added.<\/p>\n
Clayton signed a Montezuma County high-impact permit application for the injection well on May 2. He told commissioners the EPA permit required the company to complete its work to transform the well by June 30. Clayton indicated it would take three days to drill the additional 900 feet.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll along we thought it was a June 30 deadline to start drilling,\u201d Clayton said.<\/p>\n
Commissioner Steve Chappel said the planning department should serve as a governmental check, but added he was also concerned about the EPA deadline.<\/p>\n
\u201cKinder Morgan is under a real crunch right now,\u201d Chappel said.<\/p>\n
Carver responded the \u201crush\u201d could have been avoided, citing the company notified the Bureau of Land Management of its intentions to convert the old well to an injection well in July 2013.<\/p>\n
\u201cInjection wells are very controversial,\u201d Carver said.<\/p>\n
Commissioners tabled the certification, instructing Carver to work with Clayton to help fast track the process. The county is expected to revisit the issue at their next meeting on Monday, May 12.<\/p>\n
An injection well is a device that places fluid deep underground into porous rock formations, such as sandstone or limestone, or into or below the shallow soil layer. These fluids may be water, wastewater, brine (salt water), or water mixed with chemicals.<\/p>\n
Due to the depths and porous nature of the formations, Clayton said Kinder Morgan does not have to use high pressure for its injection wells. He added that the company\u2019s injection wells were the only ones in the state that operate under a vacuum.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe open the valve and it goes down,\u201d he said. \u201cIt makes our wells a lot less critical.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the EPA, 19 states have permitted nonhazardous industrial waste disposal wells.<\/p>\n
Kinder Morgan plans to request three additional injection wells in Montezuma County, Carver said.<\/p>\n