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BLM official says American Helium grant will fund plugging of up to 18 wells; county to receive locations
Summary
A Bureau of Land Management field officer said American Helium provided funding to plug and abandon wells in its production area and that sundry applications for the work are expected; he said he will confirm how many of those wells are in Dolores County and send the county details.
Derek, identified during the meeting as the BLM field contact for the area, told county officials that American Helium provided a grant to plug and abandon several wells in its production area and that the BLM expects sundry permits for the work. “I believe they received funding to plug up to 18 wells,” Derek said and added he would get exact locations for the county: “I’ll actually get more information on that… and I’ll send it to you.”
Derek said the majority of those wells may be in San Miguel County rather than Dolores County and that he would confirm the count and send the county the list of locations. He also said operators sometimes leave pipelines buried when removal would cause greater environmental damage, but where there are leaks or environmental concerns operators must remedy the issue before abandoning pipe in‑ground: “If they’re found that there are… environmental concerns, we require that they remedy that… before making the decision to just abandon in ground.”
County officials did not take formal action at the meeting; Derek said the BLM has not yet approved sundry applications for the plugging work and will notify the county as those applications arrive.
