HomeMy WebLinkAbout20180501.tiffHEARING CERTIFICATION
DOCKET NO. 2018-12
RE: A SITE SPECIFIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN AND USE BY SPECIAL REVIEW PERMIT,
USR17-0046, FOR AN OIL AND GAS SUPPORT AND SERVICE FACILITY (STORAGE
AND S"OCKPILE AREA FOR SOIL AND HAY BALES FOR OFF -SITE WELL
LOCATIONS AND ASSOCIATED OIL AND GAS PRODUCTION FACILITIES) IN THE
A (AGRICULTURAL) ZONE DISTRICT - ANADARKO E & P COMPANY, LP, C/O
KERR-PICGEE OIL AND GAS ONSHORE, LP
A public hearirg was conducted on February 21, 2018, at 10:00 a.m., with the following present:
Commissioner Steve Moreno, Chair
Commissioner Barbara Kirkmeyer, Pro-Tem
Commissioner Sean P. Conway
Commissioner Julie A. Cozad
Commissioner Mike Freeman
Also present:
Acting Clerk to the Board, Tisa Juanicorena
Assistant County Attorney, Bob Choate
Planning Services Department representative, Chris Gathman
Public Works Department representative, Evan Pinkham
Public Works Engineer representative, Hayley Balzano
Health Department representative, Lauren Light
The following I usiness was transacted:
El I hereb'' certify that pursuant to a notice dated January 18, 2018, and duly published
January 24, 2(18, in the Greeley Tribune, a public hearing was conducted to consider the request
of Anadarko E & P Company, LP, do Kerr-McGee Oil and Gas Onshore, LP, for a Site Specific
Development Flan and Use by Special Review Permit, USR17-0046, for an Oil and Gas Support
and Service Facility (storage and stockpile area for soil, hay bales and construction equipment
for off -site well locations and associated oil and gas production facilities) in the A (Agricultural)
Zone District. Bob Choate, Assistant County Attorney, made this a matter of record.
Chris Gathman, Department of Planning Services, presented a brief summary of the
proposal and stated materials and equipment are to be stored on the site, transported by trucks,
and used to construct off -site well locations and production facilities for various oil and gas drilling
operations in Vie vicinity. He stated there are no permanent employees associated with this use.
He described the truck traffic as sporadic and stated the applicant provided a traffic study
indicating pea:< times. He further reported general hours of operation, stated the proposed
stockpile area is 6.75 acres and is adjacent to a mud farm, which is a Use by Right and is regulated
by the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC). Mr. Gathman reported this
application to be in response to an active Zoning Violation, ZCV17-00128. He reviewed the
nearest residences and adjacent land uses and mentioned that staff received photos, emails and
telephone call.; from surrounding property owners with concerns related to truck traffic, noise,
dust, and roan impacts. Mr. Gathman stated the site is located within the Town of Firestone and
Weld County Cooperative Planning Agreement Area and the City of Fort Lupton and Weld County
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03(30 / 18
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Cooperative Planning Agreement Area and the three (3) mile referral area for both municipalities
and the Town of Frederick and he reviewed the referral responses from these jurisdictions. He
mentioned the applicant is not interested in annexation to Fort Lupton at this time; however, the
City of Fort Lupton is interested in annexation. He stated a total of 16 referrals were sent out and
there were ten (10) referral responses received with comments that have been addressed in the
staff recommerdation. In response to Commissioner Cozad, he verified the Planning Commission
vote, clarified Anadarko owns and operates the site and stated he would provide the initial date
of the violation in response to Commissioner Conway. He displayed images of the site and
surrounding properties and entered the favorable recommendation of the Planning Commission
into the record as written.
leg Evan Pinkham, Department of Public Works representative, provided a brief overview of the
transportation plans and requirements outlining the typical traffic flow from County Road (CR) 21
to CR 18 with two (2) main access points associated with the use. He reported the average daily
traffic count and truck percentage and stated the traffic study indicated an average of 68 truck
trips per day. Mr. Pinkham stated the Department of Public Works supports paving CR 18;
however, this has not been included as a Condition. He asserted if the Board does not support
paving, then they will include a requirement for magnesium chloride application. He stated both
tracking control and an Improvements Agreement are required. In response to Commissioners
Kirkmeyer and Cozad, Mr. Pinkham reviewed the traffic counts in comparison to the traffic study
and existing traffic.
Hayley Balzano, Public Works Engineer representative, presented the drainage and grading
requirements, stating the site meets Drainage Exception #1.A.8, due to not increasing the
imperviousnes3 of the site. She stated as a result of keeping loose soil stockpiles on the site, staff
is requesting an Erosion Control Plan and she reviewed the Conditions and Development
Standards relF4.ed to Engineering.
el Ben Frissall, Department of Public Health and Environment, reviewed the water and sewer
provisions, stating there will be no permanent employees at the site; therefore, portable toilets
and bottled water are acceptable. He confirmed Development Standards (DS) #7-17 address
Environmental Health items and he reminded the Board that the site is currently approved as a
Centralized E&P Facility, which can accept water -based drilling fluids and cuttings for land
application. He stated this is a Use by Right and not part of this request; however, the facility must
still comply with all COGCC rules and regulations.
el Mr. Gathman interjected in response to Commissioner Conway's earlier request that the
initial violation was documented June 9, 2017.
Nathan Kaiser, applicant, began by stating he recognizes that at the time of the complaint
there was a higher traffic volume due to traffic associated with the other uses on the parcel. He
continued by mentioning that Anadarko has owned this location since 2011, and it was purchased
for several uses to include drilling, the mud farm, and agriculture operations to include utilizing
the drill cuttings and water based drilling fluids for land application which was permitted in 2014,
by the ColoradD Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. He clarified the agriculture operation part
of the site is used to farm hay, there are also many Oil and Gas uses on the parcel and what has
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been mentioned today is the soil and hay stockpile associated with construction operations at oil
and gas sites. Mr. Kaiser stated they like to have multiple locations to decrease truck traffic
through municipalities and they are proposing solutions to minimize the impact to surrounding
property owners and to treat this use like a drilling activity. They are willing to send notification to
surrounding property owners if they anticipate a higher traffic volume and they are willing to
perform dust abatement, and commit to not use the mud farm after hours with the exception of
the hydro -vac trucks that must have access. He stated, since they had the community meeting,
they have reduced the hours of operation to 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and want to reduce the traffic
and provide solutions and mitigations. In response to Commissioner Conway, Mr. Kaiser
explained the violation regarding stockpiling and once they were aware of it they moved forward
with this application. In response to Commissioner Cozad, Mr. Kaiser stated averages were used
because there may be six months with no traffic at all.
Titia Jones, surrounding property owner (SPO), stated she lives directly north of the mud
farm and she is opposed to paving CR 18 and CR 21 because she moved to be in the country
and dirt roads mean less every day traffic and she is also opposed to using magnesium chloride
for dust abatement due to the impact it has on vehicles. She clarified she moved in a year ago
and there is continuous traffic and she hears the back-up beeping of the trucks inside her house
at all hours of the night. Ms. Jonas stated she has heard the applicant is farming hay, wheat and
sunflowers and she attested she has seen nothing being farmed. She has seen many trucks,
dumping and tiling of the soil and nothing grows. She stated the hours mentioned are not what
they follow and she clarified the area is an agricultural zone not industrial and she suggested the
site remain an agricultural site. In response to Chair Moreno, she stated the hours of 7:00 a.m. to
6:00 p.m. are reasonable, she requested plain water be used for the dust abatement, and she
requested a significant decrease in the traffic.
Dennis Neal, SPO, stated he lives in close proximity to the proposed operation and it is
difficult to listen to the misinformation provided by Anadarko. He reviewed the history of his
contacts with Weld County documenting his complaints regarding truck traffic, dust and lack of
permits and the responses received from both the County and Anadarko. He stated his issue is
he built his house in an Agricultural area to enjoy the country and he asserted the availability of
commercial and industrial land that is in close proximity and would be better suited for this
operation. Mr. 'deal described the existing dust and road issues and expressed his frustration with
the proposed addition of 68 more trucks and he reported his efforts to notify and discuss these
issues with Public Works employees. He continued to express his frustration with Anadarko not
keeping their commitment for dust abatement and his concern with adding more trucks to the
operation. He also stated he is concerned with property values decreasing. He submitted a letter
(Exhibit J) from Charles Baum, a neighbor who could not be present. In response to Chair Moreno,
he explained the situation when his tractor broke down and there were 31 fully loaded belly dump
trucks on the road and clarified this is the truck traffic they are living with. In response to
Commissioner Kirkmeyer, Mr. Neal stated Anadarko applied magnesium chloride for dust
abatement a couple times but he reiterated it will never keep up with the number of trucks on that
road
Maribel Castro, SPO, explained she moved to the country to enjoy their horses and they
cannot ride their horses at times because there are too many trucks causing issues with dust,
noise, traffic, road damage and safety. She stated the deterioration of the roads is making them
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more narrow and dangerous and she has to pull over for the semis because they will not move
over. Ms. Castro stated the traffic is constant. She conveyed she did not get notified regarding
the meeting and was brought up to speed by Mr. Neal. In response to Commissioner Conway,
Ms. Castro stated she has lived there for four years and she pointed out her residence on the
map.
Don Saathoff, SPO, stated he is frustrated with the number of semi -trucks, and dust and that
he has stopped several trucks and told them to get some water on the road for dust abatement.
He explained when he moved out there four years ago, there were no trucks and now the truck
traffic is constant. He explained he does not mind the smell of the neighboring dairy because that
is compatible but the heavy use of the County road causing road damage, noise, dust and safety
issues is not acceptable. Mr. Saathoff explained Anadarko digs the road out and it makes it higher
and more narrow and now he has difficulty getting out of his driveway. He stated the dust and
trucks and tumbleweeds make the area look terrible and he added the lights are lit up at night on
the site. He stated he supports paving. Mr. Saathoff submitted a letter (Exhibit J) from a neighbor,
Charles Baum, who could not be present. In response to Commissioner Cozad, Mr. Saathoff
stated he is concerned with County Road 21.
• Chair Moreno closed public input and asked the applicant to address the concerns.
• Mr. Kaiser explained that there was disagreement amongst the neighbors at the community
meeting regarding the type of dust abatement to be used and he stated that they made a
concerted effort to follow up with those in attendance that requested further correspondence. He
reiterated Anadarko's willingness to mitigate regarding dust abatement, limiting traffic to daylight
hours, limiting the hours of operation and rerouting mud farm traffic to another location after hours.
He explained there has to be access to the oil and gas wells and production facilities 24 hours a
day based on the nature of maintenance and safety requirements. Mr. Kaiser stated they are
happy to work with the County regarding dust abatement efforts. In response to Commissioner
Conway, Mr. Kaiser repeated the plan to communicate to neighbors when the traffic is anticipated
to be heavier than usual.
• In response to Commissioner Kirkmeyer, Mr. Kaiser provided the traffic route, access to the
location, the p2rcel boundaries, and the exact location of the stockpile and mud farm. Mr. Frissell
stated, regarding any kind of permitting for mud farms, they must be in line with the Colorado Oil
and Gas Cons9rvation Commission regulations and they must submit a Design and Operations
Plan to the state for approval, but it is not something the County oversees or approves. Mr. Kaiser
reiterated they are willing to operate only during daylight hours. He explained the soil stockpile
and how it is used and recycled and used again, and he explained the purpose of the stockpile
assists with sail availability and allows them to recycle and reuse and they have several central
locations for stockpiling soil and they try to keep them in close proximity to areas of high use to
prevent hauling dirt through municipalities and lessen impact to County roads by having soil
available. Mr. Kaiser explained there are reclamation regulations that prevent soil stockpiling at
drill sites thereby necessitating a stockpile location off -site. He clarified the application is only for
soil and hay bales and not for other construction equipment. He stated he is open to whatever
dust suppression is acceptable and appropriate. In further response to Commissioner Kirkmeyer,
Mr. Kaiser stated they direct calls to the Colorado response line. She stated that is not sufficient
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when there is a wall of dust because Anadarko is not very responsive to those lines. He agreed
to provide a better contact to neighbors and post it accordingly. Mr. Kaiser stated they are in the
process of creating a better system to integrate operations and get dust issues resolved much
quicker. Commissioner Kirkmeyer stated she would like to hear more about that because as it
stands, Anadarko is not a very good neighbor, and she receives a lot of calls and complaints from
constituents regarding Anadarko.
• In response to Commissioner Conway, Mr. Kaiser reiterated Anadarko's willingness to
reduce traffic, appropriate dust abatement more often, reduce the hours of operation, notify public
of situations when traffic will be higher in volume, and not use the site during the evening hours.
He stated they can notify the public two to three weeks in advance of busy traffic times.
• Commissioner Cozad stated it would be helpful to communicate more with the neighbors.
In response to Commissioner Cozad, Mr. Kaiser explained the beeping noise is from all the above
uses on that parcel and limiting the hours of the mud farm and the stockpile will prevent that from
happening on those locations. Commissioner Cozad suggested signage requesting no beeping
or consideration of solutions regarding this disturbance. Mr. Kaiser stated several neighbors they
have followed up with recently stated they have noticed an improvement. In response to
Commissioner Kirkmeyer, he approximated the stockpile to be 25-30 feet in height.
El In response to Chair Moreno, Mr. Kaiser indicated he cannot control other operators visiting
the location fcr the wells on -site. He stated he has reviewed, and agrees to abide by, the
Conditions of Approval and Development Standards, as proposed.
El Commissioner Cozad stated there is an Improvements and Road Maintenance Agreement
requirement which will address dust abatement, road maintenance, tracking control, and triggers
for improvements and it will have to come before the Board for review and approval.
• In response to Chair Moreno, Mr. Pinkham provided the typical gravel road width and stated
staff ensures proper width in consideration of proposed uses.
• Commissioner Freeman suggested amending Condition of Approval (COA) #1.A to: "...shall
attempt to...," and Commissioner Kirkmeyer recommended adding the requirement to COA #1.C
that there be an annual review and/or revision of the Improvements and Road Maintenance
Agreement. She further suggested the deletion of "and construction equipment" from the title
description and anywhere else it is referenced in the document. Commissioner Kirkmeyer stated
that change allows for the deletion of COA #1.D. Commissioner Cozad suggested deleting COA
#1.F.6 as well. The Board agreed to these changes.
El Commissioner Kirkmeyer requested the deletion of the second sentence in Development
Standard (DS) #3, and the deletion of DS #4 and #6. She requested a new DS #6 to include the
requirement fc- signage citing contact information, and a new COA #1.D to read, "The applicant
shall develop a Communications Plan to be submitted to the Department of Planning Services,
after consultat,on with area property owners. Such Communications Plan shall be updated on an
annual basis."
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• Mr. Gathman suggested adding associated Development Standards #6 and #18 regarding
the requirements for annual review for both the Improvements and Road Maintenance Agreement
and the Communications Plan. The Board agreed.
e Chair Moreno reviewed the changes for the applicant. In response to Chair Moreno,
Mr. Kaiser indicated he has reviewed, and agrees to abide by, the Conditions of Approval and
Development Standards, as amended.
e Commissioner Kirkmeyer moved to approve the request of Anadarko E & P Company, LP,
c/o Kerr-McGee Oil and Gas Onshore, LP, for a Site Specific Development Plan and Use by
Special Review Permit, USR17-0046, for an Oil and Gas Support and Service Facility (storage
and stockpile area for soil and hay bales for off -site well locations and associated oil and gas
production facilities) in the A (Agricultural) Zone District, based on the recommendations of
Planning staff and the Planning Commission, with the Conditions of Approval and Development
Standards as amended and entered into the record. The motion was seconded by Commissioner
Freeman, and it carried unanimously. There being no further discussion, the hearing was
completed at 12:29 p.m.
This Certification was approved on the 26th day of February, 2018.
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
WELD COUNTY, COLORADO
ATTEST: die/Lev jd4o; e1
Weld County Clerk to the Board
BY:
Deputy Clerk to the Bo
APPROV D AS
ounty Attorney
Stee Moreno, Chair
Date of signature: o -x-18
arbara Kirkmeyer, ro-Tem
Sean P. Conway
. ozad
•
Mike Freeman
2018-0501
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ATTENDANCE LIST
DATE: g,- ) - rb
NAME - PLEASE PRINT LEGIBLY
EMAIL
ADDRESS
COUNTY OF RESIDENCE
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