Category: Natural Gas Issues

Baca Residents Trying to Protect Wildlife Refuge from Gas Drilling (Colorado Central Magazine, April 1, 2008)

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Baca Residents Trying to Protect Wildlife Refuge from Gas Drilling (Colorado Central Magazine, April 1, 2008) Baca Residents Fight Drilling In Wildlife Refuge (April 1, 2008) By Eric Karlstrom Water Watch Alliance I have always told people that the San Luis Valley is more than a home to me. It is a spiritual place unlike any other on earth. Senator Ken Salazar The San Luis Valley of southern Colorado is a unique, special place- a national treasure. Considered North America’s largest, alpine agricultural valley, the San Luis Valley is bounded on the east by the spectacular Sangre de Cristo Range and on the west by the San Juan Mountains. It Read More …

History of Lexam, Inc.’s Gas “Drill Play” on the Baca National Wildlife Refuge

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Dr. Eric T. Karlstrom, Professor of Geography, California State University, Stanislaus, 2008 Background on Lexam’s “drillplay” on the Baca National Wildlife Refuge (BNWR) Figure 1. Buffalo in wetlands west of Great Sand Dunes National Park Figure 2. Location of San Luis Valley and Rio Grande Watershed in south-central Colorado Plans for Another 22,812 Wells in Colorado Alone! The “BIG PICTURE:” Radical Increases in Gas Drilling Throughout the Rocky Mountains To understand what is happening here, we need to look at the larger context of Lexam’s “drillplay.” There is currently a “land rush” by oil and gas companies on federal lands in the Rocky Mountain region that has been going on Read More …

Why We Believe the San Luis Valley is a NO-GO (No Gas and Oil) Zone

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Why We Believe the San Luis Valley Must Remain a NO-GO (No Gas and Oil drilling) Zone! Figure 1. Wetlands in the Baca National Wildlife Refuge; Sangre de Cristo Mountains in background. Figure 2. Sand dunes in The Great Sand Dunes National Park and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. I have always told people that the San Luis Valley is more than home to me. It is a spiritual place unlike any other on earth. Senator Ken Salazar (Valley of the Dunes) Figure 3. Proposed Lexam/Concoco-Philips project area on Baca National Wildlife Refuge (green dotted line). Baca #1 and #2 wells are on The Great Sand Dunes National Park and Read More …

Background on Lexam’s “drillplay” on the Baca National Wildlife Refuge (BNWR)

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The “BIG PICTURE:” Radical Increases in Gas Drilling Throughout the Rocky Mountains To understand what is happening here, we need to look at the larger context of Lexam’s “drillplay.” There is currently a “land rush” by oil and gas companies on federal lands in the Rocky Mountain region that has been going on ever since President George W. Bush signed Exective Order 13212 in 2001. The horrific scope of this “land grab” and the determined and heroic efforts of local citizens to protect their homes and landscapes is portrayed in the excellent video, “A Land Out of Time” (www.alandoutoftime.com). Although federal law mandates that federal lands should serve “multiple uses”, Read More …

My Articles and Reports Related to Proposed Gas Drilling

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Archives-2: My Articles and Reports Related to Proposed Gas Drilling Our Visit to Silt with Peggy Utesch of the Grand Valley Citizen’s Alliance (10/28/06). By Eric Karlstrom Attending were Eric Karlstrom David Bright, MacKenzie Trujillo, and Maya Madrigal of the San Luis Valley Citizen’s Alliance (SLVCA). We met Peggy for breakfast at 8:30 am at the Newcastle Diner and discussed general issues and asked questions that we had prepared for her. From that breakfast discussion we learned: 1) Answer to Vince and Mary’s questions: Did Peggy and Drilling Co. address water questions before they started drilling? Yes, they had a community development plan. 2) Was there a change in the Read More …

(CBM) Coal Bed Methane Gas

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CBM- Coal-Bed Methane Gas Dr. Eric T. Karlstrom, Professor of Geography, California State University, Stanislaus, 2008 Figure 1. Map of major gas producing basins in southern Colorado. In their July, 2007 press release, Lexam states that their 3-D seismic survey confirms the presence of Cretaceous-age source and reservoir rocks for hydrocarbons (natural gas) over the entire 16,000 acre area they surveyed. They report that total prospect area is 2,180 acres in size and the two priority targets are estimated to be located 14,000 feet below the surface. They further state that the Cretaceous-aged Dakota Sandstone is the primary target (Figure 2). Figure 2. Lexam’s cross-section of valley sediments based on Read More …

Accidents in the Gas Fields

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Dr. Eric T. Karlstrom, Professor of Geography, California State University, Stanislaus Accidents in the Gas Fields Clean water is a gift from God, a gift for the common good. Without clean water there cannot be physical, emotional, or spiritual health. So clean water is a spiritual and ethical concern. The level of our concern reflects the level of our spiritual awareness and commitment. Catholic nun protesting pollution of the Rio Grande River by Los Alamos National Labs. We know that every day there are accidents in the field. Just look at the (Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation) Commissions’ reports. Peggy Utesch, Grand Valley Citizen’s Alliance, re: EnCana’s gas drilling near Read More …

CBM: Coal-Bed Methane Gas?

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In their July, 2007 press release, Lexam states that their 3-D seismic survey confirms the presence of Cretaceous-age source and reservoir rocks for hydrocarbons (natural gas) over the entire 16,000 acre area they surveyed. They report that total prospect area is 2,180 acres in size and the two priority targets are estimated to be located 14,000 feet below the surface. They further state that the Cretaceous-aged Dakota Sandstone is the primary target (Figure 2) Lexam consulting geologist, Thomas A. Watkins, also identified Cretaceous-aged Mancos Shale and Jurassic Morrison Formation. Both Lexam’s recent press release and the earlier geological report suggest that Lexam’s target is “conventional natural gas”. However, the nearby Read More …

Water and Gas Don’t Mix!

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The Regulations Fall Short! Americans get over half of their clean drinking water from underground sources. In 2005, the oil and gas industry was granted an exemption from the Safe Drinking Water Act, making the oil and gas the only industry allowed to inject toxic fluids directly into good quality groundwater without oversight by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). At the state level, most oil and gas regulatory agencies do not require companies to report the volumes or names of the chemicals being injected during hydraulic fracturing. Thus, neither the government nor the public can evaluate the risks posed by injecting these fluids underground. (www.earthworksaction.org/pubs/Fracking.pdf)   San Luis Valley Water: Read More …

Best Management Practices Recommendations to BNWR- 11/09/06

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Best Management Practices Recommendations to Baca National Wildlife Refuge  By Water Watch Alliance (formerly San Luis Valley Citizen’s Alliance, 11/9/06) These Guidelines are for the drilling of two 14,000 feet test wells by Lexam Explorations, Inc. Should gas or other valuable minerals be discovered, these guidelines will be held in full force, but an additional set of guidelines will be developed to cover the extraction of discovered gas and all aspects of commercial natural gas production or production of other valuable minerals.“Responsible Development is a proven way of conducting natural gas development operations, which eliminates or minimizes adverse impacts from natural gas development on public health and the environment, landowners, Read More …