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Home My WebLink About20042694.tiff ra KRUG &SOBEL, LLC 1700 Broadway, Suite 508 ATTORNEYS AT LAW Denver,Colorado 80290 Telephone: 303-831-8450 Facsimile: 303-831-8482 Molly Sommerville E-mail: law@krug-sobel.com msommerville@krug-sobel.com July 16, 2004 Via Telefax and Federal Express [1-970-304-6498J Jacqueline Hatch, Planner Weld County Department of Planning Services 1555 North 17th Avenue Greeley, Colorado 80631 Re: Highland Acquisition Group PZ-1045 Township 1 North, Range 68 West Section 5: N/2NW/4 (portion) Weld County, Colorado Dear Ms. Hatch: This law firm represents Anadarko Land Corp. ("Anadarko Land"), formerly known as Union Pacific Land Resources Corporation, and Anadarko E&P Company LP ("Anadarko E&P"), formerly known as Union Pacific Resources Company, with respect to the application that has been filed with Weld County by Highland Acquisition Group for the approval of zoning for the property referenced above ("Property"). Anadarko Land and Anadarko E&P together own all of the minerals that underlie the Property. Enclosed is a letter to the members of the Planning Commission and the Board of County Commissioners for Weld County entitled "Notice of Mineral Interests Owned by Anadarko Land Corp. and Anadarko E&P Company LP and Objection" which I ask that you provide to the Planning Commission and the Board to be included in the record of the proceedings to be held on the application. As you are aware, C.R.S. § 24-65.5-101 et. seq. requires that developers give notice to mineral interest owners of hearings on applications for development and certify to the local jurisdiction that notice was given. Local governments are to require the certification as a condition for the approval of the application. EXHIBIT 6A 2004-2694 • e s` Jacqueline Hatch July 16, 2004 Page 2 Notices of hearings should be provided to the Anadarko entities as follows: Anadarko E&P Company LP Post Office Box 9149 Houston, Texas 77387-9147 Attention: Land Manager—Northern U.S. Land Anadarko Land Corp. Post Office Box 9149 Houston, Texas 77387-9147 Attention: Manager, Property and Rights-of-Way Thank you for your consideration and attention to this matter. Very truly yours, KRUG &SOBEL, LLC iJ r�iz12 Z ..... Molly Sommerville MS/sa Enclosure cc: Mike Dollarhide Don Ballard Donna Powers, Esq. Lois Hall/ for EnCana Energy Resources, Inc. Lauren Light/ for Applicant KRUG &SOBEL, LLC 1700 Broadway, Suite 508 ATTORNEYS AT LAW Denver,Colorado 80290 Telephone: 303-831-8450 Facsimile: 303-831-8482 E-mail: law@krug-sobel.com Molly Sommerville,Esq. msommerville@krug-sobel.com July 16, 2004 Via Telefax and Federal Express Members of the Planning Commission of Weld County 1555 North 17th Avenue Greeley, Colorado 80631 Members of the Board of County Commissioners of Weld County 915 Tenth Street Greeley, Colorado 80631 NOTICE OF MINERAL INTERESTS OWNED BY ANADARKO LAND CORP. AND ANADARKO E&P COMPANY LP AND OBJECTION Re: Highland Acquisition Group PZ-1045 Township 1 North, Range 68 West Section 5: N/2NW/4 (portion) Weld County, Colorado Ladies and Gentlemen: This law firm represents Anadarko Land Corp. ("Anadarko Land"), formerly known as Union Pacific Land Resources Corporation, and Anadarko E&P Company LP ("Anadarko E&P"), formerly known as Union Pacific Resources Company, with respect to the application that has been filed with Weld County ("County") for a change of zone and for the development by Highland Acquisition Group ("Highland") of property that consists of a portion of the N/2NW/4 of Section 5, Township 1 North, Range 68 West in Weld County ("Property"). The Anadarko entities own all of the minerals that underlie the Property. r EXHIBIT b . Members of the Planning Commission of Weld County Members of the Board of County Commissioners of Weld County July 16, 2004 Page 2 Anadarko Land and Anadarko E&P wish to give notice to the County of the mineral interests they own under the Property and object to the approval by the County of a final plat for the Property unless and until agreements on surface use are reached between the Anadarko entities and the Applicant with respect to the mineral interests. The following are comments in support of this Notice and Objection: 1. The Oil and Gas Resources Owned by the Anadarko Entities. The oil and gas interests owned by the Anadarko entities are the subject of oil and gas leases between a predecessor company to Anadarko E&P and a predecessor company to EnCana Energy Resources, Inc. ("EnCana"). EnCana operates four producing oil and gas wells on or adjacent to the Property that are located in the NE/4NW/4; NW/4NW/4 SE/4NW/4 and the SW/4NW/4 of Section 5. 2. The Hard Rock Minerals Owned by Anadarko Land Corp. Anadarko Land owns all of the hard rock minerals that underlie the Property, including the coal. A senior geologist with Anadarko Land has reviewed the Property for coal resource potential and determined that the Property lies within the Boulder-Weld Coal Field where there has been extensive coal mining in the past. The geologist opines that there are Laramie Formation coals under the Property that are approximately six feet thick and that lie at depths of approximately 110 feet. The Laramie Formation coals have a high BTU of approximately 8900 to 9800 btu/lb and a low sulfur content of between .3 and .8 percent. The geologist believes that there are approximately 1.6 million tons of coal under the NW/4 of Section 5. Enclosed is a copy of the pertinent portion of the Coal Resources and Development Map of Colorado which documents the numerous coal resources that underlie the Property. Members of the Planning Commission of Weld County Members of the Board of County Commissioners of Weld County July 16, 2004 Page 3 3. There Is Clear Statutory Authority and Direction for the County to Take into Account the Rights of Mineral Interest Owners in Its Consideration of Subdivision Applications. The State of Colorado recognizes the important rights of mineral owners and lessees in C.R.S. § 30-28-133O0) which states and acknowledges that both the mineral estate and the surface estate are interests in land and that the two interests are "separate and distinct." The subsection specifically recognizes that the owners of subsurface mineral interests and their lessees have "the same rights and privileges as surface owners." Further, C.R.S. § 24-65.5-101, et. seq. requires that applicants for development approvals give notice to mineral estate owners of hearings to be held before local jurisdictions for applications for development and further requires that the developer certify that he has given the required notice as a condition to the approval of the ,.. application by the local jurisdiction. 4. Government Action Which Allows Surface Development in a Manner Which Precludes Mineral Development May Impair the Vested Property and Contractual Rights of the Mineral Interest Owner. Colorado case law provides that the mineral owner has the right of reasonable access to and use of the surface estate to extract minerals and that the surface owner and mineral owner must exercise their rights in a manner consistent with one another.' Actions by a government entity which may have the effect of reversing this basic tenet of Colorado property law and thereby deprive the mineral interest owner of its vested property and contractual rights may violate federal and state constitutional provisions. Union Pacific Railroad Company gave a deed to William Hurley dated May 9, 1900 and recorded July 17, 1900 in Book 178, Page 401 in which the Railroad reserved the minerals for the Property. The Railroad granted the minerals to Union Pacific Land Resources Corporation by quitclaim deed dated April 1, 1971 and recorded on April 14, 1971 in Book 644, Reception number 1565712. Applicant had record notice at the time it acquired its interests in the Property that the minerals were severed from the surface estate and that it received less than the entire interest in the Property. 'See Frankfort Oil Company v. Abrams,413 P.2d 190(Colo. 1966)and Gerrity Oil&Gas Corporation v. Magness, 946 P.2d 913 (Colo. 1977). Members of the Planning Commission of Weld County Members of the Board of County Commissioners of Weld County July 16, 2004 Page 4 5. An Action by the County to Approve the Application May Amount to a Regulatory Taking within the Meaning of the State and United States Constitutions. Action by the County to approve an application for surface development may constitute a regulatory taking, especially where the operator is deprived of all economically viable use of land or his investment-backed expectations to develop his property.2 The United States Claims Court and the Federal Circuit Courts have awarded compensation or affirmed decisions to award compensation to energy and mining companies based upon claims by the companies that their mineral properties had been taken by the government without just compensation because of government regulations which disallowed the development by the companies of their mineral rights.3 6. The Anadarko Entities Have Entered into Many Agreements with Developers With Respect to the Disposition of the Minerals at the Time that the Developer Proposes to Develop the Surface Estate, and the Public Interest is Served by the Parties Entering into Such an Agreement. The Anadarko entities have extensive mineral interests throughout Colorado where the surface estate and the mineral estate have been severed. The Anadarko entities have worked with many parties who wish to develop the surface estate in order to assure the compatible development of the surface and the minerals or to effect some other disposition of the minerals. The Anadarko entities wish to work with the Applicant in the same manner that they have worked with other developers. 2See,for example, Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council 505 U.S. 1003, 112 S.Ct. 2886, 120 L.Ed. 2d 798(1992). 'See for example Whitney Benefits, Inc.v.United States 18 CI.Ct.394(1989), corrected, 20 CI.Ct. 324(1990),affd. 926 F.2d 1169(Fed.Cir.),cert.denied, 112 S.O. 406(1991); United Nuclear Corporation v.United States 17 CI.Ct. 768,affd.,912 F.2d 1432(1990). Members of the Planning Commission of Weld County Members of the Board of County Commissioners of Weld County July 16, 2004 Page 5 The Anadarko entities object to the Application, however, until such time as they reach agreements with the Applicant with respect to their mineral interests and request that the County make any approval of a final plat for the Property conditioned upon an agreement between the Applicant and the Anadarko entities. Very truly yours, KRUG &SOBEL, LLC W 2;'/ Molly Sommerville MS/sa cc: Donna Powers, Esq. Don Ballard Mike Dollarhide Lois Hall/ for EnCana Energy Resources, Inc. Lauren Light/ for Applicant r COLORADO GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Map Series 9 EXPLANATION LIGNITE WITH LESS THAN. ISO: Fr. (46 N.I OF OVE OUREFJt • • LIGNITE WITH 150 FT. (46 M'.) TO L,000 Fr (30,5 K.j' OF-CNT OURO> SUBBITUMINOUS OR BITUMINOUS COAL MIT}t LESS THAN ISO FL. RENO: OF OVERBURDEN =t SUBBITUMINOUS OR BITUMINOUS COAL WITH 150 FT. (4€ L). TO Low FT. (910 M.) OF OVERBURDEN BITUMINOUS COAL WITH MORE THAN 3,000 FT_ (910 M.) OF OVERBURDEN ELIII ANTHRACITE AND SEMIANTHRACITE • AREA OF PAST OR PRESENT COKING-COAL PRODUCTION • DENVER REGION COAL-BEARING REGION 42.47 ESTIMATED ORIGINAL IN-PLACE RESOURCES TO 6;000 FT. (1820 M. ) , IN 3-oF TONS 42.36 ESTIMATEDIREMAIINING IN-PLACE RESOURCES TO 6,000 FT. (1820 M. ) , IN BILLIONS OF TONS, AS OF 1/1/77 SOMERSET MINES AND PRELIMINARY 1977 PRODUCTION IN MILLION TONS o.ss (FOR MINES THAT PRODUCED %> 0.25 MILLION TONS IN 1977) MI UNDERGROUND MINE (LICENSED AS OF DECEMBER 31, 1977) r C ABANDONED UNDERGROUND MINE SURFACE MINE (LICENSED AS OF DECEMBER 31, 1977) $iNia ABANDONED SURFACE MINE o s• - J s WBvefly r (ft' (..f x � I Welbngfp IN;, ip outlre Park reds ! 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