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Residents plead with Duchesne County to block oil pad access on Lehi Lane, cite safety and health worries
Summary
Several residents told the commission they oppose a proposed SM Energy pad and use of Lehi Lane for industrial traffic, raising child-safety concerns, property-value losses and possible health effects; commissioners acknowledged the concerns and said they will review the county’s 600-foot setback ordinance and routing options.
A string of residents urged the Duchesne County Commission to block use of Lehi Lane and to reconsider approving a nearby oil pad during the commission’s public-comment period.
Shelby, who said they live on Ledge Lane and would be directly affected, described a cluster of small homes that would be encircled by three sides of oil-field activity and warned of increased heavy-truck traffic past family yards. “Please, don't let him drill the pad. Please, don't let him use the road,” Shelby said, arguing that industry risk is being forced on neighbors while corporate operators retain the profit.
Shelby said property values could fall and recounted discussions with attorneys who told them legal remedies are limited until harm occurs. They also raised health concerns, citing studies that show correlations between proximity to hydraulic fracturing sites and developmental issues in infants and children; Shelby said local school special-education rates raised a red flag for the community.
Other residents amplified safety and quality-of-life concerns. Nelson Burton and Kevin Mitchell described repeated truck traffic on closed or residential roads, trucks missing turns and creating hazards by turning into driveways at night. Mitchell said a pad built near his property in recent years had placed compressors and equipment within a few hundred feet of bedrooms and that noise and truck traffic had disrupted sleep and safety.
During public comment, Jenny Thompson — a Roosevelt resident who said she did not represent oil operators — cautioned commissioners on scientific language. “There appears to be correlation between the two, but my understanding is we do not know for sure that the oil-field activity causes that,” she said, urging the commission to avoid asserting causation where studies show correlation.
Commissioners responded that the county is balancing permit authority with residents' safety concerns and noted the original ordinance allowing a 600-foot setback may warrant revisiting. “Now it's not a dozen trucks. Now it's hundreds of trucks,” one commissioner said, arguing the scale and intensity of modern multiwell pads differ from earlier single-well operations.
The commission did not take an immediate regulatory action during the meeting. Commissioners asked staff and planning to coordinate with operators about routing, discourage the use of agricultural land where possible, and consider whether changes to the county’s setback ordinance are appropriate.
Next steps: commissioners indicated they will review the ordinance and coordinate with planning staff. Residents asked for further engagement and for the county to avoid conveying Lehi Lane or otherwise enabling industrial truck traffic through the neighborhood.
