BLM field manager updates San Miguel County on Dry Creek ACEC, County Road U29 options and American Helium compliance

Derek J. Padilla, field manager for the Bureau of Land Management(BLM) Tres Rios Field Office, told San Miguel County commissioners on Dec. 11 that a mid-October amendment to the Gunnison sage-grouse resource management plan added the Dry Creek Area of Critical Environmental Concern and prompted consideration of a reroute for County Road U29 to reduce impacts on a sage-grouse lek area.

Padilla said BLM staff have identified at least one feasible reroute on BLM land and offered to meet on site with county staff to compare that route to a decade-old county file. If the county chooses a new alignment, it would need to reapply for a right-of-way; any final decision would require completion of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis and reissuance of the right-of-way.

County staff and commissioners pressed Padilla on cost and responsibility. Padilla said the reroute was proposed at the countys request, so construction and ongoing maintenance would be the countys responsibility. He said the BLM could possibly handle some NEPA work internally but cautioned that the Tres Rios field office currently lacks a permanent realty specialist and could not commit to performing NEPA until staffing is resolved.

Commissioners and staff discussed alternatives to a full reroute, including seasonal closure or gates during the grouse lek (breeding) season. County wildlife staff and BLM staff said gates and seasonal closures have been used elsewhere; Star (county staff) clarified the lek season as March 1 through July 15. Padilla said the BLMs wildlife biologist identified the newly proposed route with raptor and lek concerns in mind. The commissioners asked Ryan (county staff) to share a historic file about prior routing work so the BLM and county could compare analyses before deciding whether a field visit is needed.

Padilla also updated the board on American Helium, the company that acquired Paradox Resources. He said BLM required the company to increase reclamation bonding from $25,000 to $540,000 on Oct. 21; the company secured the bond. BLM inspectors have rechecked sites and issued written orders addressing safety and health deficiencies; American Helium has 60 days to respond and could face notices of noncompliance if it fails to act. Padilla said other issues, such as invasive weeds, are constrained by the companys bankruptcy status and by directions from the bankruptcy court to allow the new operator time to stabilize operations.

County officials raised unpaid-taxes concerns tied to the company. Treasurer Brandy Hatfields office reported $108,000 in delinquent taxes earlier in the discussion, and Padilla corrected that the total in back taxes is over $800,000; county staff said outside counsel in Denver is working on the case and coordination with neighboring Dolores County is ongoing. Padilla agreed to share his BLM contact names for American Helium so county staff could compare them to contacts the county has found.

Padilla said the BLM finalized a separate big-game resource management plan amendment at the same time as the sage-grouse amendment; that amendment identifies wildlife corridors and areas for no-surface-occupancy that could affect oil-and-gas siting, but he said the immediate local impact is limited and more details are available on the BLM ePlanning site.

On wildfire- and vegetation-management operations, Padilla said crews will likely burn several hundred treatment piles near Slickrock Hill in the Dawson area once snow and smoke-permitting conditions allow, probably in January or February. He said the BLM obtains state smoke permits (air-quality permits) and sends mass notifications to local emergency operations, sheriffs offices and volunteer fire districts; commissioners asked Padilla to confirm that the local volunteer fire department (named in the meeting) is on the notification list and to copy county emergency management and the county public information officer when burns are scheduled.

Padilla closed by confirming he would follow up with county staff to compare files, share BLM contact names for American Helium, and provide a schedule for planned pile burning and the notification list.

Ending: Commissioners thanked Padilla and said they would await the county file and an initial cost estimate from Ryan before deciding whether to pursue a field visit or pursue a gate/seasonal-closure option.