The Garfield County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 11 approved a limited‑impact oil and gas permit for TEP Rocky Mountain LLC to build a new oil‑and‑gas pad known as NR‑413 and drill up to 39 natural gas wells from that location, subject to staff conditions and an added county restriction. The permit covers a new pad site, access road and pipelines on private surface overlying both fee and federal minerals.

County staff said the application met the requirements of the Garfield County Land Use and Development Code and the Energy and Carbon Management Commission (ECMC) rules, and that the applicant had submitted plans for stormwater, air and noise control, wildlife mitigation and reclamation. TEP presented an alternatives analysis arguing the selected pad minimizes impacts to public health, safety, wildlife and the environment compared with alternate sites.

County staff and TEP told the board the NR‑413 pad would initially disturb about 12.705 acres on the pad plus about 33.699 acres for a new access road and pipeline corridor (about 46.405 acres total new disturbance), with interim reclamation reducing the long‑term pad footprint to roughly 1.95 acres. TEP said it will use three existing nearby production/frac locations as support facilities and install pipelines to move condensate and produced water to those sites, reducing heavy truck traffic to the new pad.

Commissioners and referral agencies discussed winter big‑game habitat, and the application was reviewed under ECMC/County rules for development within high‑priority habitats. Colorado Parks and Wildlife granted a waiver for aquatic sport fish habitat after finding the local drainage lacked year‑round sport fish habitat. CPW and TEP negotiated a mitigation package; TEP committed to a concern‑mitigation fee of up to $155,793.78 and to timing limitations and best management practices intended to avoid, minimize and mitigate wildlife impacts.

TEP and county staff described traffic mitigation already approved by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT): intersection improvements on Highway 13 at County Road 244, restriping and deceleration lanes approved in a CDOT conditional access permit; CDOT issued a notice to proceed in December 2024 and a one‑year extension was granted in June 2025. TEP said drilling and completions would be staged over two visits; construction could start in 2026, with drilling and completions beginning in 2027 under the schedule presented.

Public commenters raised concerns about timing of public notice and the potential wildfire impacts to mule deer habitat from the nearby Lee Fire. Board members asked TEP to clarify construction grades, controls for invasive species spread from gravel sources, and the scale and management of temporary worker housing. TEP said it planned a small temporary housing permit to house rig crews only during drilling operations and that the company’s policy prohibits firearms by employees; the board added an explicit permit condition banning firearms for employees and contractors on the pad.

Motion and conditions: The board adopted the four staff findings and the recommended conditions of approval and added a county condition prohibiting firearms by employees and contractors on the site. The motion carried with a standard roll call of commissioners present; the hearing record notes the motion was seconded and approved by the board (verbal vote recorded as “all in favor”).

The permit is conditioned on compliance with federal, state and local permits, ECMC approvals, submittal of the CDPHE air permit when issued, final grading and drainage details, and payment of wildlife mitigation fees and any required timing limitations. BLM approvals for federal minerals and APDs remain separate; county approval does not substitute for federal approvals.