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Well pits draw citations

Regulators find pooled oil, damage to nets, bad berms

By Todd Hartman, Rocky Mountain News

Published February 11, 2008 at 12:30 a.m.

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A bird killed by oil well runoff is shown in this photo taken during the oil pit investigation in northeastern Colorado in the summer of 2007.

A bird killed by oil well runoff is shown in this photo taken during the oil pit investigation in northeastern Colorado in the summer of 2007.

A marshy area shows oil well runoff during the investigation last summer. Eighty citations have been issued.

Photo by Division Of Wildlife / Special To The Rocky

A marshy area shows oil well runoff during the investigation last summer. Eighty citations have been issued.

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State and federal regulators have issued 80 citations to energy companies, saying they failed to protect wildlife in northeastern Colorado from pits filled with leftover water and oil from drilling.

Between last August and November, inspectors said they found numerous violations among several companies spanning eight counties, including 13 violations in Adams County and 16 in Larimer County.

Many of the alleged violations involved oil slicks in pits designed only to hold water drawn from underground during drilling. Such oil slicks prove deadly to waterfowl that land in the polluted waters.

"These pits are flypaper for birds; they are killers and it's very important that they be identified and cleaned up," said Gary Mowad, special agent in charge for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's regional office in Lakewood.

Other problems included damage to netting that covers the pits, or insufficient berms to protect from overflows in the event of storms. Failure to contain the water can lead to streams overcome by oil-blackened scum.

An August flyover of the region by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found four pits with "significant" problems, according to a report by the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.

That, in turn, prompted a larger sweep by COGCC inspectors that led to 76 more citations.

"This was a special investigatory effort, not a routine action," said Dave Neslin, interim COGCC director. Regulators found violations at 25 percent to 30 percent of the pits inspected, he said.

It's not known whether the citations - Notices of Alleged Violation issued by state regulators - will result in any fines. In at least 33 of the 80 cases, violations have been corrected, and no penalties will be issued, Neslin said.

"We gave companies a certain period of time to come into compliance and take corrective action and, assuming they've done so, then no further enforcement action will be taken," he said. "But we would reserve our right and advised them that fines would be considered for repeat violations."

Normally, groundwater extracted during drilling is separated from oil and left in the pit to evaporate. But sometimes, oil residue combines with the water, creating a lethal trap for ducks and other birds, Mowad said.

"Once they land on the (water's) surface, they'll die," he said. "They might suffer for a while first."

Once dead, the animals pose a threat to scavengers such as foxes, coyotes, skunks and badgers that consume them. Those animals are often poisoned by the petroleum and die, Mowad said.

In other cases, companies are allowed to have oil mixed in with the pit water but must use protective barriers to ensure wildlife can't get into the waste. Worn or tattered netting constitutes a violation.

Despite the recent citations, Mowad credited oil and gas operators in Colorado with taking big steps toward improving their practices. In the early 1990s, inspectors often found violations in 70 percent of inspections. That compares with a rate of just 10 percent to 15 percent today, he said.

Mowad tipped his hat to state regulators and the Colorado Oil & Gas Association, the industry trade group, for "getting the word out" to operators.

"I'd have to say that Colorado - if you take into consideration the number of oil and gas wells that are out there - this is probably our best state (in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's eight- state region) with maintaining compliance," Mowad said.

Randy Ward, owner of Alfred Ward & Son of Ogallala, Neb. - one of four companies that received the bulk of the citations - said most of his company's problems involved protective nets that were in poor condition. The company is repairing them, he said.

"Over time they get beat up and torn up," Ward said. "We've already fixed a whole lot of them."

Two other companies that received most of the violations - Magpie Operating Inc. of Broomfield and Fritzler Resources Inc. of Fort Morgan - didn't return calls seeking comment.

An official with a fourth company, Ritchie Exploration Inc. of Wichita declined to comment on the matter.

hartmant@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5048

Comments

  • February 11, 2008

    3:56 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Ike writes:

    When you report the news please be sure of the correct nomenclature, Todd. The pits described and photographed in your article are pits used when wells are being produced, not during drilling operations. Contract drilling is demonized enough without the unneeded misrepresentation of facts. The amount of oil found in these production pits is not allowed nor tolerated by oil and gas operators, drilling contractors, OSHA, BLM, COGCC, county and state government and results in large and immediate fines.

  • February 11, 2008

    7:57 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Theoldguy writes:

    ike

    Looking at the obscene profits made by the oil companies I would think they'd start to clean up their mess and start being good neighbors. Before you attack me, while continuing to side with them, it has become common knowledge that as the price of oil goes up with OPEC the American companies follow suit not because of competition, but to gain more profit. This is profiteering at its worst. If for any reason I would "go green" just to stick it to BIG OIL.
    And don't try to correct Todd's use of nomenclature...He's a scribe from a newspaper. He doesn't know everything. But give him time and he may well surpass us with his knowledge. At least I'm hoping.