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Wakeman pad approved with similar mitigation; surface owner supports site
Summary
The Board approved POCO’s Wakeman pad (OGF202401) with conditions similar to the Connor decision, including strengthened air monitoring. The Wakeman application received several informed consents and included the surface‑owner’s support.
The Adams County Board of County Commissioners on March 18 approved the Wakeman oil‑and‑gas facility permit (OGF202401), a site proposed by Providence Operating (POCO), by a vote of 4–1. The Wakeman site is a separate application from the Connor pad but includes near‑identical mitigation measures and county requirements.
Staff and applicant presentation
Greg Dean, Adams County oil and gas administrator, noted the Wakeman pad is proposed as up to 16 horizontal wells on a 43.3‑acre parcel zoned A‑3, with 7.8 acres of temporary disturbance and interim reclamation to 5.8 acres. The operator submitted the required impact‑assessment plans for noise, air, traffic and water and received staff recommendations for approval with conditions. The application requires one residential setback waiver; staff recommended approval because it found substantially equivalent protections via project design and BMPs.
POCO’s team described the permitting timeline and outreach. The surface owner, Catherine Wakeman (13721 Powhatan Road), spoke in favor of the site; she identified herself as a retired environmental chemist and said she was comfortable with the plan and the mitigation measures.
Conditions and monitoring
The Wakeman permit incorporates the same set of mitigation measures required for the Connor pad: electric drilling rigs where high‑line power is available, perimeter sound walls during drilling and completions, a county‑approved air quality monitoring plan with continuous sensors and canister sampling, pipeline takeaway for oil and gas, water‑well baseline and follow‑up sampling, traffic mitigation through county‑approved haul routes, and payment of the traffic impact fee ($314,721) before construction.
The board adopted the same strengthened air monitoring language that it applied to the Connor permit (minimum 10 days background monitoring; monitoring through one year of production; minimum of four continuous sensors; one meteorological station; triggered VOC/BTEX summa canister sampling; raw data available to the county on request). The Wakeman approval did not include the specific Gun Club resurfacing clause because the Wakeman haul routes differ and use different county roads.
Board action and next steps
The board approved OGF202401 (Wakeman pad) 4–1, adopting staff findings, the requested residential waiver, and the county conditions that attach the stricter air‑monitoring and operation measures as a permit precedent and condition of approval. County staff will review and approve the operator’s air monitoring plan and will require payment of the traffic impact fee prior to issuance of a notice to proceed. The operator must also comply with state permitting processes including ECMC review and CDPHE permitting where required.
