MRP 110: Making Sure Your Voice is Heard – Great Western Petroleum Mineral Owner Forum Replay

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MRP 110: Making Sure Your Voice is Heard – Great Western Petroleum Mineral Owner Forum Replay

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In my role as the president of the Colorado Chapter of the National Association of Royalty Owners (NARO), I was invited to be a panelist on a Mineral Interest Owner Forum hosted by Great Western Petroleum who is the largest oil and gas operator in Adams County Colorado. Thanks again to Great Western for organizing this event.

This episode features a replay of this Forum held on June 8th, 2021. It features a panel discussion between myself and Energy Attorney Jamie Jost about private property rights and making sure your voice is heard when oil and gas regulations are developed that could affect the future development of mineral interests.

This episode is a must listen for all Colorado mineral owners and useful tips for all mineral owners around protecting your private property rights and how to make sure your voice is heard when oil and gas regulations are developed.

You can also watch the replay of the discussion on my YouTube Channel where you can see the slides that were presented.

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Great Western Petroleum Mineral Owner Forum

This episode features a replay of the Adams County Colorado Mineral Interest Owner Forum hosted by Great Western Petroleum on June 8th, 2021. Great Western is the primary Oil and Gas Operator in Adams County, Colorado. More information on Great Western can be found here.

The purpose of this forum was to provide mineral interest owners with the necessary information about the proposed regulations so that YOU can determine how they might affect you and how to protect your real property rights before these rights are potentially taken away.

Overview of Adams County Proposed Oil and Gas Regulations

There are numerous concerns with the current draft of the Adams County proposed oil and gas regulations as they relate to prohibitive development of mineral interests:

  • Setbacks:
    • Oil and Gas Facilities shall be at least 2,000 feet from the property line of any existing residences or platted residential lots, schools or future school facilities, state licensed daycares, high occupancy building units, and environmentally sensitive areas, and designated parks and open spaces.
    • Oil and Gas Facilities shall be at least 1,000 feet from groundwater under the direct influence of surface water (GUDI) wells and Type III Aquifer wells as defined by Colorado Water Quality Control Commission and COGCC rules.
  • Waivers: no guaranteed approval
    • An administrative waiver may be obtained from the setback requirements if the Operator receives a written waiver from each primary resident and property owner located within the setback.
    • A waiver may be granted by the Board of County Commissioners after a public hearing if the Oil and Gas Facility is deemed to provide substantially equivalent protections to public health, safety, welfare, the environment, and wildlife resources that are equal to or more effective to satisfy the criteria of approval.
    • No waiver but within 2,000’ of the above listed items = no permit for development.
  • Alternative Site Analysis: requires justification for at least three potential sites and a description of whether “mineral extraction is possible and reasonable from those sites” and the criteria for reviewing the three sites does not include any review of loss of mineral interest development – only addresses surface impacts (02-02-14-05).
  • Neighborhood Meetings: do not include invitations to mineral interest owners (02-02-14-05).
  • Notice: does not require notice to mineral interest owners (02-02-14-05).
  • Term: allows only a 3 year term for Oil and Gas Facility permit; no extension of term if well is not completed or has not commenced production operations; for any wells for which approval has lapsed, a new OGF Permit is required (02-02-14-05).
  • Noise “Psuedo-Setbacks”:
    • For Oil and Gas Facilities located within 2,000 feet of a land use or zoning designation boundary the Operator shall be required to comply with the lower maximum permissible noise level as defined in COGCC regulations for noise of that corresponding land use or zone district
    • For locations within 2,000 feet of a land use or zoning designation boundary, noise must be attenuated to the maximum permissible noise levels for the corresponding land use or zone district, as specified in COGCC rules, at the land use designation boundary as determined by the Director of Community and Economic Development

Don’t Let Your Property Rights Be Ignored

This week’s discussion is centered around the proposed oil and gas regulations in Adams County, Colorado. If you are a Colorado resident, you may remember that less than 3 years ago, voters overwhelmingly voted down Proposition 112 which would have required a minimum 2500-foot setback for new oil and gas development. Prop 112 was an effective ban on oil and natural gas development in Colorado, potentially costing tens of thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions in tax revenue. The proposed Adams County regulations, as currently drafted, could effectively ban development of the lands where you own minerals – your real property right.

This is an important topic because as Colorado Oil and Gas Regulations stand, local governments can develop additional regulations on top of the already robust and potentially restrictive rules around how oil and gas may be developed. The proposed Adams County could be seen as a template for other counties to follow and could block future development of our mineral rights if changes are not made to give mineral interest owners a voice in the process. ​

If you listen to this before the end of July, 2021, there are a few ways you can help.

Ways You Can Protect Your Rights:

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

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