[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6157004,"mediaKeyId","5467668-2b9f00d1a91f75ccade265e49b98d473","parentId",5467668,"title","ECMC approves Verdad's Jayhawk OGDP with Jan. 15 preproduction completion condition","audioSeconds",2164,"startMs",3654000,"endMs",5818000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5467668-2b9f00d1a91f75ccade265e49b98d473&start=3654&end=5818","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5467668-2b9f00d1a91f75ccade265e49b98d473/thumbnail_3654000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6157004/Colorado/ECMC-approves-Verdads-Jayhawk-OGDP-with-Jan-15-preproduction-completion-condition","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6157004-74502191969d8c6be33c39b23fc8fca1/orig.mp4?Expires=1770975015&Signature=G4E51dXJDFg5H5Ui~xw04IyjPiazvM1pbTQbN33lYSZGlgV4K9bAVMXmkh46TjmCuU5IeMyE~vI8Qw1yy~kO6m9cG1uBfcGRc6cvK8uAIvlVMrTOrvNyCJzEsoB3sXj2Q7u23qXqzRu4gf6cs9d0XeVwIXX1MIPOieQEVAytbhaXH8xyh8q7WYwl6AAGliSg55TFlRc6BwLdOlWmt7-La6zPgkc~RXyP02~vHgFzTZlG4jD4P2yzeaIF2MYZi~VvyOKJnkrziZZWMUl3bp68fj4n2lh-J7yt6WpJvcMxf5naTgoWGAL3MOQb4WwNHd40RPvpGtv5FUk-U~sq-Wyuzw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission","date","2025-07-24T23:07:05.453Z","article","The Energy and Carbon Management Commission on July 23 approved Verdad Resources LLC's Jayhawk oil and gas development plan (OGDP), allowing a 10-well development on a 1,600-acre spacing unit in Weld County, with a condition that all preproduction activities be finished by Jan. 15 to limit work during mule deer winter timing restrictions.

Verdad's regulatory manager Heather Mitchell told the commission the proposal reoccupies and expands an existing pad and will use an existing gas line and access road. Mitchell said the operator will drill 10 new horizontal wells from a 117.63-acre location and develop the Niobrara, Fort Hays, Codell and Carlisle formations. \"We will convert it from its current condition into a tank-lite pad with line-powered production equipment,\" Mitchell said; she also corrected the director's recommendation to note Verdad will install a produced water pipeline and that an oil line will be in place by the time of production.

Weld County staff, represented by a county speaker, told the commission the county held a pre-application meeting, the county hearings officer approved the local 1041 mobile hearing for the Jayhawk site on Jan. 30, 2025, and the county recorded a final order on Feb. 11, 2025; Weld County submitted two comments that were included in the director's recommendation and supported the application.

ECMC staff and the applicant presented alternatives. Verdad said the chosen site reduces new surface disturbance by expanding an existing pad and using existing road and pipeline infrastructure; the pad is partially within mule deer winter concentration habitat, which required an avoidance, minimization and mitigation analysis and a CPW waiver for chemical storage during completion operations. Verdad also committed to mitigations including sound walls on the south and east sides of the pad (installed prior to any timing-limited operations), natural-gas-powered rig and frac equipment, electrified production equipment, produced-water and oil takeaway pipelines, and compensatory mitigation for direct and indirect impacts.

As proposed by the applicant and summarized in ECMC's review, Verdad plans to plug four wells on a unit pad and reclaim about two acres of high-priority habitat, remove production equipment from the plugged pad and achieve a net annual production-emissions reduction estimated at about 2.61 tons of NOx, 2.51 tons of CO and 6.747 tons of VOCs compared with a baseline of continued operation of the existing pads.

During deliberations Commissioner Ackerman said he had concerns about the imprecision of the applicant's drilling and completion schedule and requested a condition that preproduction activities be complete by Jan. 15 to reduce the chance that completions and flowback would occur deep into the mule deer winter timing window. Commissioner Ackerman moved approval with that condition; the motion was seconded and carried on a recorded affirmative vote, and the commission closed the hearing.

Ending: The commission approved the Jayhawk OGDP with the Jan. 15 preproduction-completion condition and directed staff to monitor compliance with the condition and the mitigation measures specified in the OGDP record.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","ECMC Commission Hearing - July 23, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","The commission approved Verdad Resources' 10-well Jayhawk oil and gas development plan for a 1,600-acre spacing unit in Weld County, imposing a condition that preproduction activities be complete by Jan. 15 to limit operations during mule deer winter habitat timing restrictions.","taxTitle","Energy and Mineral Impact Assistance State Advisory Committee, Governor's Boards and Commissions, Organizations, Executive, Colorado","taxId",28063,"location","Colorado","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6157007,"ECMC: Investigation finds extensive falsified lab data; 7 notices of alleged violation issued",2901,132000,3033000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5467668-2b9f00d1a91f75ccade265e49b98d473&start=132&end=3033","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5467668-2b9f00d1a91f75ccade265e49b98d473/thumbnail_132000.jpg","/articles/6157007/Colorado/ECMC-Investigation-finds-extensive-falsified-lab-data-7-notices-of-alleged-violation-issued","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6157007-3eec059184696477c865772219dca62e/orig.mp4?Expires=1770975015&Signature=ng~Ex1QB~dftgSSth6edN-y5jDtlZvxQ-DxESh6BvDRRSlbOYfvB-gw-reZ45Qq2-kgjvMhAYWZ2wwTfeEBaMPbxdyNLSAHVSiLHUHjeGH2ZdEO9BBPKfCFGjwvCxiguLGpW28eeCihG3W8GgCNaK5gfy6RwT7iNE2mTKGhIs8YLvhw7IKBP90VhlI9RXm1pFnXmku8QtMBKQiFYkszOiDY-Awra8r8amO8ttvTVl7OrZYsmTurVz3eya1Vzhp~tVUjr5PBp8xhceuFgiSsLtD7VCdrGz4gtauJ1FwhvndGOMDWkX0iLpm8WN3ewWgKOc7p9snBUb49bIyoB63jnxQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","At its July 23 meeting the Energy and Carbon Management Commission (ECMC) reported that a staff investigation has identified thousands of manipulated data fields in laboratory reports submitted to the agency and has led staff to issue seven notices of alleged violation to operators.

The update, delivered by Director Murphy and senior ECMC staff, summarized the scope of the agency's review of form 27 site investigation and remediation work plans and math-based comparisons of original lab reports with reports submitted by contractors. Director Murphy said the investigation is continuing and described the subject as “a disheartening and heavy subject.”

ECMC environmental data group supervisor Arthur Kepsel told commissioners the agency's environmental data unit reviewed more than 1,000 PDF documents and 683 lab reports provided by operators and identified 3,275 individual instances of falsified data attributed to three operators. Kepsel said staff identified roughly 2,800 instances traceable to Chevron remediation projects and cataloged altered fields spanning analyte results, quality-control results, administrative fields and report formatting. \"The most heavily affected category is the analyte data,\" Kepsel said.

Kepsel gave specific examples. In one remediation project he said benzene concentrations originally reported at 1,010 micrograms per liter were recorded in altered reports as 4.55 micrograms per liter; ECMC's table 9-15-1 maximum contaminant limit (MCL) for benzene is 5 micrograms per liter. Kepsel said the falsified numbers had the practical effect of showing a cleanup was successful when post-remediation rebound in groundwater concentrations indicated additional work was required.

Trent Lindley of ECMC's enforcement unit said staff issued seven notices of alleged violation (NOAVs) on July 22 to the registered operators for projects whose submitted data staff identified as manipulated. Lindley summarized the enforcement process and said issuance of an NOAV triggers an administrative enforcement path: operators have 28 days to file an answer, then staff may file an application for hearing and seek negotiated settlements or adjudication before the commission. He said the NOAVs include corrective actions and require operators to submit prioritized compliance plans by Aug. 19 and to re-submit a form 27 for each of the 404 locations identified so far.

Mike Leonard, ECMC's QA/QC manager, described steps the agency has taken to reduce future risks of manipulated reports, including requiring standalone lab reports, digitally certified signatures and password security, and contracting a forensic firm to test PDF metadata and detect alterations. Leonard said staff will run a second-phase blind test on 200 randomly chosen laboratory documents and that the forensic work should be refined by mid-August.

Director Murphy said staff will prioritize physical remediation of impacted locations, correct the administrative record transparently, and continue enforcement. She said ECMC referred aspects of the matter to criminal prosecutors but that determining why falsification occurred lies outside ECMC's statutory enforcement scope. Murphy said the agency's ongoing work is intended to reestablish confidence in the data the agency relies on for public-health and cleanup decisions.

Commissioners asked staff for clarifications about exposure pathways and the status of closed sites. Staff said the manipulated data pertained to soil and groundwater testing (form 27 site investigation work plans) and not to air monitoring. For sites that had been closed based on falsified reports, Murphy said staff is prioritizing re-opening and re-evaluating those files so any required cleanup can proceed.

The commission did not take formal action on the NOAVs at the meeting; Lindley said the enforcement process will proceed through statutory administrative filings and commission adjudication where appropriate.

Ending: ECMC said it will continue to provide updates as enforcement filings and remediation plans progress. The agency posted datasets and maps of affected locations online and told commissioners that staff will return with updates when there is substantive progress in the enforcement or remediation work.

","At its July 23 meeting the Energy and Carbon Management Commission reported a multiyear investigation that identified manipulated laboratory data at hundreds of remediation projects, issued seven notices of alleged violation and ordered operators to submit corrective plans.","actionData","errors"]

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ECMC approves Verdad's Jayhawk OGDP with Jan. 15 preproduction completion condition

ECMC: Investigation finds extensive falsified lab data; 7 notices of alleged violation issued