A plan by Kinder Morgan to revive an abandoned CO2 well would improve recreation access and facilities at the Big Point Scenic Overlook.
The Sand Canyon No. 5 well was drilled in 1984, but was never developed or connected to a pipeline.
The well is on the Big Point Road, 500 feet north of the overlook. The site is eight miles west of Cortez on Canyons of the Ancients National Monument.
Kinder Morgan plans to improve the Big Point road with gravel, grading, and drainage to allow for construction truck traffic.
A two-acre well-pad would be constructed at the well-head, and involve removing vegetation and bringing in gravel to level the site.
"The well will be a re-entry drill with a horizontal lateral to access CO2," said Tracy Perfors, a BLM natural resource specialist. "Putting this existing well into production avoids the disturbance of drilling a brand new well."
There will be no reserve pits, all fluids will be recycled, and cuttings from the drilling operation will be hauled off to a licensed disposal facility.
Kinder Morgan's improvement of the Big Point Road is expected to increase visitation to the overlook. To accommodate, the BLM is proposing to improve the Big Point Scenic Overlook with benches, interpretive signs, vehicle pull-outs, and trailheads.
"Right now the road to the overlook is very simple in an area managed for undeveloped recreation," Perfors said.
Access to the overlook is from the west end of County Road N. At the signed monument boundary, the Big Point road heads to the left, or south.
Kinder Morgan plans to build a pipeline from the well to the Goodman Point compression stations two miles to the northeast. The pipeline would cross 1,100 feet of monument land and 9,300 feet of private land. It avoids natural and cultural resources and includes a surface-use agreement with the private landowner.
The BLM is planning to conduct an Environmental Assessment of the project. They are asking the public for input on what they would like to see happen at Big Point, and for ways to make the project more environmentally friendly.
Submit comments in writing to Dolores Public Lands Office, attn: Tracy Perfors, 29211 Highway 184, Dolores, CO. 81323. They are due Jan. 23.
jmimiaga@cortezjournal.com