The San Juan National Forest Columbine Ranger District has announced a second 30-day comment period on the draft environmental assessment oil and gas development in the HD Mountains near Bayfield.
Members of the public and environmental watchdogs had lamented during the previous comment period, which ended Jan. 16, that certain documents cited in the 90-page EA were not available for review.
The project in question is a proposal by Catamount Energy Partners to drill seven horizontal wells from an existing well pad and build 8.4 miles of pipeline. The well pad in question falls just over the county line into Archuleta County, and the pipeline would stretch back into La Plata County.
The forest’s preferred action would involve the drilling of seven horizontal wells from an existing well pad, which would disturb 1.6 acres on top of a previously disturbed 1.9 acres. It would also involve the construction of 8.4 miles of pipeline, most of which would follow forest roads.
Only a half mile of pipeline would traverse undisturbed areas, and the entire project would result in the long-term disturbance of 3.55 acres.
Drilling horizontal wells would allow Catamount to deplete 6.25 square miles of a coal-bed methane reservoir, a type of natural gas, sitting under the HD Mountains.
“I am not unable to comment on the best available science provided by Cottonwood for this analysis because I cannot find the Biological Evaluation,” wrote Janine Fitzgerald, a longtime Bayfield resident and advocate for preserving the HD mountains, in a Jan. 11 comment. “Therefore, entire sections of the EA, including all of 3.1 (environmental justice, fires/fuels management, invasive/noxious weeds, migratory bird, noise and recreation) which are not evaluated in the EA, are not available to the public. Please make these documents available in the public record and extend the comment period.”
In response, Columbine District Ranger Nick Glidden did just that.
“We wanted to make sure everybody had access to those documents,” he said. “So basically, we didn't have to, but we chose to because we've traditionally provided those. So, we decided we'll continue on with that.”
Fitzgerald disagrees with the premise that the forest was not obligated to provide the biological evaluation, but said she was nonetheless satisfied with the outcome.
All documents, including the biological evaluation, are available on the project webpage.
The project has garnered attention of a small, but dedicated group of environmentalists with a vested interest in the HDs.
“They know what they're looking for, and that's great,” Glidden said. “This is part of the process.”
Some members of the public have called into question the thoroughness of the EA, which was completed by Cottonwood Consulting, a Durango-based contractor. The firm works in the oil and gas industry for both public and private entities.
“This is unfortunate from the public’s point-of-view as CC is a contractor of fossil fuel production interests/companies and with that comes a likely skewed/distorted of information related to the Draft EA’s creation,” wrote Jimbo Buickerood, a longtime environmentalist in the region.
The draft environmental assessment can be found on the webpage for the project, at fs.usda.gov/project/?project=63036, or at the Columbine Ranger District office.
Comments, which will be public record, can be submitted online or in writing to Columbine District Ranger, P.O. Box 439, 367 Pearl Street Bayfield, CO 81122 through Feb. 23.
rschafir@durangoherald.com
