Council grants conditional approval for seismic survey permitting process after presentation by TGS

The Roosevelt City Council voted Sept. 16 to allow geophysical data firm TGS and its contractors to proceed with city permit review and to continue pre-survey work, contingent on staff and legal review of submitted documents.

Royce Hammer, introducing the project for TGS, described the company’s plan to run a 3D seismic survey in and around Roosevelt to map subsurface geology for the oil-and-gas industry. Hammer said the survey is “a relatively non-intrusive way for oil and gas producers to collect data on underlying geology” and showed preplan maps of sensor and source-point grids for city streets, the golf course and other city-owned parcels.

TGS representatives said they had obtained signed permissions from about 373 property owners within the city to place small, walk-in nodes in yard edges and proposed $10-per-acre permitting fees for city-owned lands. TGS told the council it would pay roughly $17,177 for the planned acreage permit and offer $2,500 for a road permit; staff said the company also proposed a $250,000 three-year bond and commercial general liability insurance. The company described monitoring procedures, a third-party PPV (peak particle velocity) monitoring firm and a plan to abort a sweep if vibration levels raised concern.

Council members asked about public benefits, data ownership and risk. Hammer said TGS sells the seismic data to oil-and-gas operators, universities and other buyers; he described direct permit fees, some hotel stays for crews and per-acre payments to landowners as local economic benefits. On risk and monitoring, Hammer and Doug Moore (TGS consultant) said they had noncity monitoring in place during a recent demonstration and would deploy third-party monitors during operations. Lieutenant Tucker and city staff confirmed that the generator procurement and other city projects are separate and unrelated.

Council discussion emphasized the need for staff and legal review of permits and insurance limits before final approval; public-safety and public-works staff asked for time to examine the liability and operation details. Councilman White moved that TGS be allowed to continue the permitting and survey process with the requirement that staff and the city attorney review and finalize permit conditions; Councilwoman Goodrich seconded. The motion passed on a voice vote. Council directed staff and the attorney to negotiate permit terms, insurance language and operational contingencies and to return a final permit for formal approval.

Why it matters: If carried out, the survey would place temporary sensors on private yards and run vibration-producing vibroseis trucks on city roads and fields; council approval with conditions begins a process that could permit work inside city rights-of-way and on city-owned property but requires final signed permits and staff oversight.