As Kinder Morgan embarks on a major expansion near Pleasant View, some rural residents are finding themselves next door to industrial facilities.
Thomas Hayden is one of them. His home and farm on County Road 12 borders property owned by Kinder Morgan, which specializes in drilling for CO2 in the area.
Last year, the Cortez Pipeline built a dry-gas booster station on company property at Road BB to deliver Kinder Morgan’s CO2 gas.
And last week, county commissioners approved a high-impact permit for a new Kinder Morgan CO2 well, CX-14. Contingencies were added for air monitoring and irrigation line repair. Hayden’s property line is 1,000 feet from the booster station and future well site.
“I’d like to know who is responsible for myself and my family’s safety while drilling occurs?” Hayden asked during a public hearing on the matter. “As a next door resident, I’ll be right there with the workers, I need to be protected just like they are.”
He expressed concerns of dangerous gases sometimes released during drilling. Other concerns are protection of his irrigation line during well construction, and disturbing noise from the booster station.
Kinder Morgan officials Phil Kennedy and Andy Weygant assured Hayden his irrigation line would be protected and repaired if damaged.
As for air quality, the permit requires that air monitoring devices detecting dangerous gases will be installed, including one at the Hayden residence, and another between his home and the drilling site.
The air monitors detect hydro-carbon gases, hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, and oxygen.
Hayden and other neighbors are to be notified when flaring and venting occurs. If air quality is poor, they will have the choice to be relocated at Kinder Morgan’s expense until the air has cleared.
Road plates and fill dirt will be used to protect the irrigation line from heavy truck traffic during construction of the new well.
“If we are responsible for any kind of destruction on the water line, we will fix it immediately,” Weygant said.
The county stated that Kinder Morgan has plans for emergencies, spills, fires, and hazardous gases as part of state and county permits. The well will be drilled in 2017 and take 40 days.
Hayden said his family has had to endure industrial noise as a result of the new pumping station.
“I can hear it all day and all night right now,” Hayden said. “If you could make the noise go away, that would be nice.”
According to the pumping plant permit, during normal operations noise levels must be less than 70 decibels at the property boundary, and cannot exceed 55 decibels at the property boundary between 7 p.m. and 6:59 a.m.
“This is the first I’ve heard that the noise level is a problem, so we will investigate the matter further,” said Montezuma County planning director LeeAnn Milligan.
It was suggested that dampers be installed at the pumping station to reduce the noise level.
During public comment on the well permit, citizens suggested ways to mitigate the conflicts that arise between industry and rural residents.
Ellen Foster said air quality monitors should sound an alarm and record what was detected. To further protect residents she also wants specialized cameras to be installed that can detect 20 different gases.
Added Gayla Pock, “The area is becoming an industrial park. The ethical thing to do would be for Kinder Morgan to buy out the Haydens so he can buy a comparable property somewhere else.”
jmimiaga@the-journal.com