HomeMy WebLinkAbout20163636.tiffHEARING CERTIFICATION
DOCKET NO. 2016-91
RE: A SITE SPECIFIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN AND USE BY SPECIAL REVIEW PERMIT,
USR16-0037, FOR MINERAL RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT FACILITIES, OIL AND GAS
SUPPORT AND SERVICE, INCLUDING PRODUCED WATER RECYCLING,
TRANSLOADING, OUTDOOR EQUIPMENT AND MATERIALS STORAGE YARD AND
MORE THAN ONE (1) CARGO (CONEX) CONTAINER IN THE A (AGRICULTURAL)
ZONE DISTRICT - TIMBRO RANCH AND CATTLE CO, LLC, C/O NOBLE ENERGY,
INC.
A public hearing was conducted on December 7, 2016, at 10:00 a.m., with the following present:
Commissioner Mike Freeman, Chair - EXCUSED
Commissioner Sean P. Conway, Pro-Tem - EXCUSED
Commissioner Julie A. Cozad, Acting Pro-Tem
Commissioner Barbara Kirkmeyer
Commissioner Steve Moreno
Also present:
Acting Clerk to the Board, Tisa Juanicorena
Assistant County Attorney, Bob Choate
Planning Services Department representative, Kim Ogle
Public Works Department representative, Evan Pinkham
Planning Services Engineer representative, Hayley Balzano
Health Department representative, Ben Frissell
The following business was transacted:
I hereby certify that pursuant to a notice dated October 28, 2016, and duly published
November 2, 2016, in the Greeley Tribune, a public hearing was conducted to consider the
request of Timbro Ranch and Cattle Co, LLC, do Noble Energy, Inc., for a Site Specific
Development Plan and Use by Special Review Permit, USR16-0037, for Mineral Resource
Development Facilities, Oil and Gas Support and Service, including produced water recycling,
transloading, outdoor equipment and materials storage yard and more than one (1) cargo (Conex)
container in the A (Agricultural) Zone District. Bob Choate, Assistant County Attorney, made this
a matter of record.
ki Acting Chair Pro-Tem Cozad instructed the applicant and reviewed for the public, with two
(2) of the five (5) commissioners being excused, the vote must be unanimous for the case to be
approved today.
El Kim Ogle, Department of Planning Services, presented a brief summary of the proposal and
described the location of the site as part of a Subdivision Exemption, SUBX16-0017. He identified
the relevant County Roads and stated the site is not located in the three (3) mile referral area of
any municipality or any Intergovernmental Agreement Area. Mr. Ogle described surrounding land
uses and the location of the nearest residence and explained the location is isolated which
mitigates any concerns. He stated there has been no correspondence received from surrounding
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property owners. Mr. Ogle explained the logistics of the daily operations and stated 15 referrals
had been sent out with three (3) responses offering recommendations. He displayed images of
the site and entered the favorable recommendation of the Planning Commission into the record
as written.
• Evan Pinkham, Public Works Department representative, provided a brief overview of the
transportation plans and requirements to include the details of the Access Permit, AP#16-00459,
which would utilize the existing shared access. Mr. Pinkham provided the traffic narrative to
include the average daily traffic counts for the area and stated tracking control and an
Improvements Agreement would be required. In response to Acting Chair Pro-Tem Cozad, he
clarified the average daily traffic counts and truck percentages.
• Hayley Balzano, Planning Services Engineer representative, presented the drainage and
grading requirements.
• Ben Frissell, Department of Public Health and Environment, reviewed the water and sewer
provisions and stated bottled water and portable toilets are acceptable. He stated Development
Standards (DS) #6 - 20 represent Environmental Health items. In response to Commissioner
Kirkmeyer, Mr. Frissell stated the Department of Public Health and Environment can do spot
checks and they have to log and document what they receive.
Anne Best Johnson, TetraTech, introduced the team representing the applicant and stated
letters of notification were sent to surrounding land owners prior to completing the application
process and, to date, there have been no concerns. She explained the intent of the applicant to
develop and construct a water recycling facility that can recycle up to 84 million gallons of water
a year resulting in the reduction and consumption of fresh water. Ms. Johnson stated this facility
may be the first of its scale in Weld County, the applicant is working very closely with the State to
track the volume of water recycled and the facility has been recognized by the Colorado Oil and
Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) as an example. She reviewed the operations plan,
traffic flow, and how the information is tracked. She explained it is not a commercial operation.
Ms. Johnson reviewed the details regarding the temporary access, the construction access and
tracking control. She explained the number of vehicles, hours of operation and traffic route,
number of on -site employees, and the proposed lighting. Ms. Johnson reviewed Conditions of
Approval (COA) #1.A and #1.B regarding the Improvements Agreement and the recording of the
plat and respectfully requested approval of the USR as well as concurrent approval of Noble
Energy's ability to begin operating the facility prior to recording the plat. In response to
Commissioner Kirkmeyer, Ms. Johnson reviewed the specific Conditions related to the applicant's
request to begin operations prior to recording the plat.
• No public testimony was offered concerning this matter.
• In response to Commissioner Moreno, Ms. Johnson stated it is her understanding that the
water can be recycled many times.
• Patrick Schauer, applicant, explained the process to recycle the water and confirmed the
water can be recycled indefinitely. He further described the methodology to prevent the pipelines
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from freezing. Mr. Schauer stated the facility will not remove trucks from the road but will keep
the Noble trucks on -site or in the operating area which will minimize travel by eliminating the need
to travel to other water disposal facilities.
• In response to Acting Chair Pro-Tem Cozad, Mr. Schauer stated Noble has operated smaller
scale similar facilities in 2013 and 2014 as pilot scale projects and because it was successful,
they are now using the successful model to build this new facility. In further response, Mr. Schauer
stated because it is a non-commercial facility, it does not fall under the jurisdiction of the Colorado
Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) and they are not required to have a
formal Engineering Development and Operations Plan (EDOP). He clarified that the facility is
under the jurisdiction of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC), which
requires a Waste Management Plan that describes how they propose to operate the facility and
that is public record. Mr. Schauer stated they can provide a copy of that to the Weld County
Department of Planning Services if that would be helpful. He further explained the ticketing system
used to record waste water received and that this information can be made available to the County
if that is requested. In response to Acting Chair Pro-Tem Cozad, Mr. Schauer gave the location
of the closest current water disposal facility.
In response to Commissioner Kirkmeyer, Ms. Johnson explained the reason behind the
request to operate prior to the Improvements Agreement being completed and the plat being
recorded. She assured the Board that as soon as the Improvements Agreement is completed,
they can move forward with getting the plat recorded. Mr. Pinkham interjected the timeline for the
completion of the Improvements Agreement. Ms. Johnson explained that Noble received an early
release for a Grading Permit and would like to be operating in two (2) weeks based on the
construction schedule. In further response, she explained that none of the equipment requires a
building permit and that there is some minor electrical work which has been discussed with
Morgan County REA and Noble can begin operating the site without it if necessary. She stated
they have an exemption for the temporary use of a generator on -site and reiterated there will be
no permanent structures and that all the equipment is move -in ready and they are working closely
with the Building Department. In response to Commissioner Kirkmeyer, she verified the only
waste is produced water. In response to Acting Chair Pro-Tem Cozad, Ms. Johnson stated they
are awaiting approval today before submitting the Improvements Agreement; thereafter, they are
hoping for a quick turn -around.
• In response to Acting Chair Pro -Tern Cozad, Mr. Schauer stated the easements have been
turned in to the Clerk and Recorder so that the reception numbers can be placed on the plat when
it is ready to be recorded. Mr. Ogle expressed his agreement.
• In response to Acting Chair Pro-Tem Cozad, Ms. Johnson indicated they have reviewed,
and agree to abide by, the Conditions of Approval and Development Standards, and have no
concerns.
El Commissioner Kirkmeyer amended COA #1.C.5 to reflect a single access. She further
suggested language to better define DS #4 to read, "Number of employees for operations on the
site is limited to two (2) persons per each 12 hour shift..."After discussion with staff regarding the
Waste Management Plan and if a Certificate of Designation is required, Commissioner Kirkmeyer
recommended creating a new DS #15 to read, "A Waste Management Plan prepared in
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accordance with the COGCC rules and regulations, as applicable, shall be made available. The
facility shall comply at all times with these plans." Mr. Choate recommended adding, "including all
updates or changes." Commissioner Kirkmeyer then suggested adding the last sentence to
DS #16. Lastly, she suggested adding a second sentence to DS #27 to read, "The single access
point to the site shall be from CR 119." The Board agreed to all the recommended changes.
CI After further discussion, Acting Chair Pro-Tem Cozad suggested moving COA #1.A to
become the new COA #6.B. Commissioner Kirkmeyer recommended this Condition become the
new #7 instead, with January 31, 2017, as the deadline for the Improvements Agreement. The
Board agreed.
El Chair Pro-Tem Cozad reviewed the changes for the applicant.
In response to Acting Chair Pro-Tem Cozad, Ms. Johnson stated the applicant has a
question regarding the potential for the access point to change in the future if CR 106 is built.
• Mr. Pinkham stated a new access permit would be required if the applicant wishes to change
the access location. Currently the access is set for CR 119. Mr. Ogle stated the Planning
Department would require an update to the Access Permit.
el Commissioner Kirkmeyer clarified there are no plans to build CR 106 and the access would
still be off of CR 119, so this is a non -issue at this point.
• In response to Acting Chair Pro-Tem Cozad, Ms. Johnson indicated they have reviewed, and
agree to abide by, the Conditions of Approval and Development Standards, as amended.
• Commissioner Kirkmeyer moved to approve the request of Timbro Ranch and Cattle Co,
LLC, c/o Noble Energy, Inc., for a Site Specific Development Plan and Use by Special Review
Permit, USR16-0037, for Mineral Resource Development Facilities, Oil and Gas Support and
Service, including produced water recycling, transloading, outdoor equipment and materials
storage yard and more than one (1) cargo (Conex) container 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 Moreno, and it carried unanimously. There being
no further discussion, the hearing was completed at 11:03 a.m.
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This Certification was approved on the 12th day of December, 2016.
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
WELD COUNTY, COLORADO
ATTEST: W.40:444) ;i1
Weld County Clerk to the Board
BY:�
Deputy Clerk to the Board
County Attorney
Date of signature: OVO5/t1
EXCUSED
Mike Freeman, Chair
Steve Moreno
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