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Study: Nuke site drilling 95% safe

Rulison residents still fear presence of radioactive gas

Gargi Chakrabarty, Rocky Mountain News

Published September 20, 2007 at midnight

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A federal study released Wednesday says drilling for natural gas in an area in Garfield County where an underground nuclear test took place in 1969 is relatively safe.

The much-awaited Department of Energy study based on computer-simulated models suggests that a gas well drilled within 900 feet of the blast site has a 95 percent probability of not encountering radioactive gas.

But homeowners who live near the site aren't convinced.

"We need a 100 percent assurance that a well would not encounter radioactive gas - 95 percent is not good enough," said Rulison resident Wesley Kent. "More experts need to weigh in on the study and review it."

Kent lives within a half-mile radius of the nuclear blast site at Project Rulison, eight miles southwest of Rifle. The nonmilitary nuclear explosion nearly 40 years ago by the government was intended to break shale and release natural gas trapped in the rock. A well at Rulison produced gas, but it was determined to be too radioactive.

Oil and gas companies don't drill within the half-mile radius of the blast site, a buffer made official by regulators after local residents protested drilling because of safety concerns.

State regulators will review the study, said Brian Macke, director of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.

"Any information that the commissioners and staff can gather regarding Project Rulison is very helpful in our decision-making process that includes this DOE model," Macke said.

The commission will hold an informational hearing in Grand Junction on Oct. 2 to discuss the history of the Rulison Project site and monitoring that is in place.

Drilling near Project Rulison grabbed headlines this year when Woodlands, Texas-based Presco Inc. sold its properties in the area, leaving a string of environmental violations.

Presco began drilling outside the buffer in 2005. Earlier this year, Presco Vice President Kim Bennetts said the company would request a commission hearing to drill within the half-mile radius.

Then in May, Presco sold its properties and wells to Noble Energy, even as the commission issued eight notices "of alleged violations" against the company. Noble is paying to correct those violations.

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