As part of ongoing discussions regarding oil and gas development, the countyís local government designee, Diana May, held a public meeting Oct. 3.In attendance were representatives from the El Paso County Public Health, Ultra Petroleum, Hilcorp Energy Co., Banko Petroleum Management, EPC Development Services Department, the city of Colorado Springs and interested parties.May began with an update on the Intergovernmental Agreement the county is hoping to enter into with the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. The agreement has been in the works for several months, May said. ìThe status is that it is not signed yet,î she said. ìThe final copy weíve negotiated is at the COGCC waiting for its blessing.î May said the delay in getting the IGA finalized is because of personnel changes at COGCC.Don Spicer, division land man for Hilcorp, updated the group on Hilcorpís activities in the county since the last LGD meeting. Hilcorp contracted with Geophysical Explorer, Ltd. to perform seismic testing in an area of about 50 square miles, as reported in the Sept. 1 issue of The New Falcon Herald. ìThe acquisition of data (from the seismic testing) is done,î Spicer said. ìI am told they (Geophysical Explorer) will be out of there by the end of the week.îSpicer also said that Hilcorp is still planning on drilling wells at both the Myers and State well sites around Nov. 1, if possible. Myers is off Peyton Highway, north of Highway 94; and State is off Peyton Highway, south of Highway 94. Spicer said the plan is to drill at the Myers well site first.ìWe are going to drill both as vertical pilot wells,î Spicer said. ìThen we will take core samples before we choose to drill one, both, or neither as horizontal wells.îKent Rogers, vice president of drilling and completion for Ultra, discussed his companyís activity. Rogers said they are currently waiting on the city to give them information regarding its draft of drilling regulations. The two sites where Ultra plans to drill are east of Marksheffel Road (Sept. 1 NFH): the 7-acre plot called Ranch North and an eight- acre plot called Ranch Central.Kyle Campbell, interim LGD for the city of Colorado Springs, said the Colorado Springs City Council heard the initial presentation of the regulations Sept. 26. ìThey sent it back to us for 30 days to determine other options,î Campbell said, adding that he cannot estimate when the final rules will be in place.Rogers said Ultra would like to drill its two well sites before they agree to the terms in the regulations, which would ultimately outline commercial operations. ìThese vertical wells are being drilled for testing, not commerciality,î he said. ìWe knew that going through the process. But the probability of success is about 20 percent. There is an 80 percent chance that weíll go away (after the initial exploratory drilling).îSean Chambers, general manager for the Cherokee Metropolitan District, discussed the groundwater quality study currently under way by the United States Geological Survey. The study is phase two of an ongoing effort to understand the impact of surface activities on groundwater quality. It will take about three years to complete, Chambers said. Wells are chosen by a randomized system and are voluntarily offered by the well owner for use in the study, he said. The test will focus only on shallow, alluvial wells, he added.ìWe have 25 out of 50 wells identified and about 12 of those have had contracts signed on them,î Chambers said. ìThere is the potential for us to drill 10 new wells, if it looks like we need information from a certain area.îìAll three wells weíve drilled (in the county) are zero discharge closed-loop systems,î said Tom Wilson, drilling manager for Ultra Petroleum. ìThe shallow wells like Chambers is talking about; their biggest contamination concern is surface contamination. Their own septic tank is a greater risk to their water than we are.îUltraís three wells that have already been vertically drilled: Brutus off Highway 94, east of Ellicott; Olive Oyl south of Drennan Road, near Curtis Road; and Ponderosa south of Highway 94, near Blaney Road.Craig Dossey, director of the countyís development services department, said the only new permits the county has received since the last LGD meeting were for the seismic testing.The next LGD meeting is Dec. 5, from 2 to 3 p.m. in the Pikes Peak meeting room at Centennial Hall in Colorado Springs.
