Colorado regulators on Monday fined a La Plata County oil and gas operator more than $650,000 for several outstanding violations at a well site near Redmesa, about 20 miles southwest of Durango.
At the Colorado Oil and Gas Conversation Commission’s monthly meeting in Denver, enforcement officer Steven Mah ran through numerous violations associated with a well owned by William Taylor of Springfield, Illinois.
According to Mah, Taylor failed to sign up for a pipeline notification program, had not posted a sign at the well with a phone number in case of emergencies and was not filing monthly operation reports – all actions required by the state.
At the well site itself near Redmesa, state inspectors found berm and containment devices had fallen into disrepair, valves and pipes were not securely fastened, and an infrared camera detected gas leaks.
All these infractions led the state to issue a “Notice of Alleged Violation” to Taylor in September. However, Taylor or representatives with this operation have failed to respond to the notice and have not been in contact with COGCC.
“Of all the matters I will discuss,” Mah said, “I would have to say the most serious is the fact that this operator is completely non-responsive at this point in time.”
COGCC staff asked the commission to approve an order that would fine Taylor $388,703; revoke his right to operate in the state of Colorado; and seize a $10,000 bond Taylor previously posted.
But despite levying a fine, COGCC staff told the commission they didn’t expect Taylor or representatives to pay.
Instead, the order would declare the well “orphan,” opening up the bond money and allowing staff to sell Taylor’s equipment for repair work.
One commission member took issue with letting Taylor off the hook.
“Why not go after this guy?” the commissioner asked.
It was then it came to light: Taylor is deceased, though it was unclear when he died. Mah said Taylor’s niece was named executor of his estate.
From 2014 to 2015, Sandra Taylor signed off on monthly production reports for the well, though The Durango Herald could not confirm if Sandra is Taylor’s niece.
Calls to Sandra Taylor were not returned Tuesday. Regardless, the situation sparked a lengthy debate on the larger issue of where money should come from to clean up “orphaned” – or abandoned – wells throughout the state, of which there are an estimated 700 to 800.
“There’s no reason why people should just be able to avoid any meaningful sanction because they’re not here,” one commissioner said. “We have to come up with a way to proceed on this.”
COGCC staff said the commission is in the third year of identifying operators in the state who present the likelihood of abandoning wells.
That way, the state can require the company to post more bond money before it becomes an issue.
In the case of Taylor, COGCC commissioners voted to increase the fine to about $652,000, along with the other stipulations previously mentioned.
When The Herald asked COGCC spokesman Todd Hartman for clarification on the order and how the commission expected the penalty to be paid, Hartman wrote in an email:
“AG’s (Attorney General) office plans to report back to the Commission on whether it can refer the collection of penalties to outside counsel.”
jromeo@durangoherald.com
