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County staff warn Weld County well pad laterals could extend beneath Boulder County, limiting local authority
Summary
County Parks and Open Space staff told the advisory committee that approved and proposed Weld County well pads (notably the DRACO project) include long lateral wells that may pass under Boulder County lands, and that state law and split-estate leases substantially limit the county's ability to block subsurface development.
Boulder County staff told the Parks and Open Space Advisory Committee on March 27 that several large oil-and-gas projects approved or proposed in neighboring Weld County could send horizontal wellbores underneath county open space, leaving the county with limited legal tools to stop subsurface development.
"We have no legal legs to stand on with a project like this," said Kate Burke, an attorney with the county attorney's office who focuses on oil and gas, describing the recently approved DRACO project and other pads whose laterals appear routed to avoid county-owned minerals. County presenters said the DRACO pad includes on the order of two dozen laterals, some planned to travel multiple miles and to enter under Boulder County near Erie.
Michael Sylvester, the county's oil-and-gas regulatory specialist…
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