Safety, And Quality Of Life Needs

Transcription

1 The Ivey Wellpad Demands Adams County Mitigation Measures Required To Protect Critical Urban Area Health, Safety, And Quality Of Life Needs Overview Health Safety Quality of Live Citizens Support For Mitigation Requirements By Adams County Commissioners 1

2 York St. Overview Ivey Wellpad Information From COGCC, Ward Petroleum & Adams Co. Rt. 7 E th Ave 136 th Ave Permitted Ivey Wellpad North Fracking Area 1.5 miles 128 th Ave 17 Silver Creek Elementary School 3,200 ft. From Wellpad 2 I-25. Washington St. o COGCC Wellpad I.D July 2015 Permitted includes 26 wells o Horizontal well length is 3 miles to the south and 1.5 miles to the north o Production pad will have 52 crude oil tanks o 10 water tanks (water tanks for produced fracking fluids) o 26 separators (crude oil, gas, water/ fracking fluids o 10 volatile organic compound (VOC) combustors o A second potential wellpad to the west includes an additional 26 wells (may or may not be Ward Petroleum ownership) South Fracking Area 3.0 miles

3 Overview The Permitted Ivey Wellpad Is Located On The Valley Floor Of Big Dry Creek Adjacent To A Designated Open Space There are no homes located within 1,000 ft. of the permitted Ivey Wellpad. Approximately half of the area within the 1,000 ft. radius is either Open Space or E470 Right of Way. The rest of the 1,000 ft. radius space is agricultural land. Permitted Wellpad 26 Wells Total Adams Co. Trailside Subdivision North of E470 E470 Big Dry Creek Open Space City of Thornton 3

4 Overview The Permitted And Potential Future Wellpads Are Massive Industrial Sized Facilities (Note: The COGCC Permit Has Different Numbers Than The AdCo Permit) Permitted Ivey Wellpad 26 Wells 52 crude tanks, 10 water tanks, 26 separators, 10 VOC combustors Potential Future Wellpad 26 Wells 52 crude tanks, 10 water tanks, 26 separators, 10 VOC combustors Total Infrastructure At Full Build Out 104 crude tanks, 20 water tanks, 52 separators, 20 VOC combustors Total On-Site Crude Oil Storage = 2,300,000 Gallons Total On-Site Water Storage = 200,000 Gallons (Recovered Fracking Fluids) 4

5 Overview Urban Area Notification Processes & Agreements Vary COGCC considers residences within 1,000 feet of well pad. Adams County considers residences within 0.5 miles of the well pad. The county will accept input from anyone. COGCC approved the Ivey Wellpad Permit in July 2015 without any public notice or input since no one lives within a 1,000 foot radius from the well pad. Permitted Ivey Wellpad North Fracking Area South Fracking Area Ivey Wellpad Presentation 16FEB17 17 Silver Creek Elementary School 1,906 homes within the Adams Co. contact area. Silver Creek Elementary is 3,200 feet east of the wellpad. 1,322 homes are directly over the South Fracking Area. 5

6 Overview Urban Neighborhoods Impacted By The Ivey Site 1 Urban Areas Within The Adams County Contact Area (0.5 miles) Orchard Farms (308 Homes) Trailside (280 Homes) Eastcreek Farm (276 Homes) Haven at York St. (522 Homes) Fairfield (108 Homes) Quail Valley (412 Homes) Total Homes Within Adams Co Contact Area = 1,906 Urban Areas Directly Over The Permitted Fracking Area North Creek Farms (432 Homes) Fairfield (108 Homes) Quail Valley (412 Homes) Wadley Farms (60 Homes) Hunters Glen (416 Homes) York Crossing (114 Homes) Lake Avery Estates (70 Homes) Peach Tree at the Lake (142 Homes) Total Homes Over Permitted Fracking Area = 1,754 Urban Areas Within Sight Of The Proposed Production Pad (i.e. Primary Entry = York Street North Of 144 th Ave to Route 7) Orchard Farms (308 Homes) Trailside (280 Homes) Eastcreek Farm (276 Homes) Haven at York St. (522 Homes) Fairfield (108 Homes) Quail Valley (412 Homes) Total Homes Within Sight Of The Proposed Production Pad = 1,906 Estimated Current Real Estate Value = $760 million Estimated Current Real Estate Value = $700 million Estimated Current Real Estate Value = $760 million 1 Existing Homes In Existing Subdivision, Subdivisions Under Construction, + Planned & Permitted Subdivisions 6

7 Health Air Inversions Over The Big Dry Creek Valley Occur Frequently, Increasing The Risks of Trapping Hazardous Emissions From The Ivey Wellpad Air inversions are caused when calm winds are experienced and warm air aloft traps cold air near the ground. Pollution can be trapped by air inversions. Trapped Polluted Air Emissions from the massive Ivey Wellpad will act as a significant point source discharge of hazardous off-gases & VOCs from the 20 combustors and 52 separators. Point Source Discharge 7

8 Health Air Inversions Over The Big Dry Creek Valley Are Very Noticeable Because Of The Fog Bank Trapped In The Valley Floor During Calm, Cool Weather Conditions 17 Ivey Wellpad York St. Stargate Charter School 144 th Ave Silver Creek Elementary School Rocky Top Middle School Washingtpn St. During air inversions, hazardous off-gases from the Ivey Wellpad will mix with the inverted air envelop causing the concentration of hazardous pollutants to significantly increase. This is a real worry for increased Asthma Attacks requiring hospitalization (reference next slides). Existing air inversion envelope in the Big Dry Creek Valley (Over 2,600 homes and three schools within air inversion envelope = 8,500 people) + St. Anthony North Health Center CDOT s limited visibility area warning system on I-25 from 120 th Avenue north to E470 to warn of fog due to air inversions in the Big Dry Creek Valley. St. Anthony North Health Center 136 th Ave Warm wastewater discharged from the Westminister Treatment Facility causes fog to be generated which is trapped by frequent valley air inversions. 128 th Ave 8

9 Health A Team Of Seven Medical Researchers Have Recently Documented Long-term Evidence That Individuals Living Close To Fracking Wellpads Have Significantly Higher Occurrences Of Asthma Attacks 1 July 18, 2016 From Johns Hopkins School of Public Health Baltimore Md. Brian S. Schwartz, a medical doctor and a professor in the Department of Environmental Health Services at the Bloomberg School was the senior author of this study and states: We are concerned with the growing number of studies that have observed health effects associated with this industry, We believe it s time to take a more cautions approach to fracking well development with an eye on environmental and public health impacts. This comprehensive study of 400,000 people (2005 to 2012) involved more than 35,000 asthma patients between the ages of 5 and 90. Patients that reported attacks were mapped and studied in relation to the fracking well locations. The researchers discovered that those that lived in close proximity to multiple or large active natural gas wells were 1.5 to 4 times more likely to experience asthma attacks that required hospitalization. 1 JAMA Intern Med. doi: /jamaintermmed Published online July 18,

10 Health Use Of A Pipeline For All Production Fluids And Gases To Off-site Separators, Combustors, And Storage Tanks Is Required To Reduce The Risks Of Asthma Attacks 1. Air inversions do occur frequently in the Big Dry Creek valley (several per month). 2. The air inversion envelope of the Big Dry Creek covers an urban area containing over 2,600 homes and three major schools with a total population of approximately 8,500 people. 3. The point source discharges from the Ivey Wellpad are very significant and have proven hazardous emissions that cause asthma attacks. 4. Using U.S. averages, a single air inversion in Big Dry Creek that includes emissions from the permitted Ivey Site could trigger over 400 asthma attacks requiring hospitalization The combination of hazardous emissions and air inversions require a pipeline mitigation by Adams County Commissioners that transfers all production fluids and gases to an off-site facility (i.e. out of the Big Dry Creek valley) including separators, combustors, crude oil storage tanks and water storage tanks. 2 American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology 10

11 Safe Truck Transportation At The Ivey Wellpad is Very Limited To Using E470 Only During the drilling and fracking phase, a total of more than 100,000 truck trips will be completed using CDOT estimates. When the production phase begins, heavy truck traffic will occur daily... and forever with out the pipeline mitigation. E470 offers the only safe transportation avenue to and from the Ivey Wellpad because there are three school pedestrian crossing points south of the site and a dangerous, pinch-point to the north caused by the damaged, York St. Bridge over Big Dry Creek. 17 Ivey Well Pad Site CO Route 7 Dangerous Pinch-Point York St. 144 th Ave 11 Washingtpn St. X Safety Stargate Charter School Silver Creek Elementary School Rocky Top Middle School

12 Safety York Street Bridge At Big Dry Creek Is A Dangerous Pinch-Point For Truck Traffic 1 No Pedestrian Walkways Barricades in front of Damaged Bridge Railing Big Dry Creek Bank CDOT Safe Lane = 12 Wide Lane = 10 Wide 200 ft. Area of Occasional Flooding One Car & A Truck Be Careful & Slow Down... Roadway Centerline Mitigation Requirements All truck traffic must use exclusively E470 for access to and from the Ivey Wellpad. 1 On January 8, 2017 a two car, head-on collision happened on this bridge resulting in one fatality. 12

13 Safety Storm Frequencies And Intensities Are Increasing Exponentially Rendering FEMA s Long-standing 100-Year Safe Design Flood Level NOT SAFE High intensity storms like the ,000-year rainfall event in Lyons, CO have made FEMA s 100-year floodplain UNSAFE. This storm event caused $2 billion in infrastructure damage and the loss of 22,000 gallons of crude oil from petroleum tanks in the flood area. Many organizations are working on the impacts of Climate Change including: Colorado Water Conservation Board Colorado Department of Transportation Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Federal Emergency Management Agency President Obama s Executive Order Establishing a 500-Year Safe Design Flood Level For Major Federal Facilities. 13

14 Safety Establishing A Design Floodplain Level For A 500-year Rainfall Event Reduces Ivey Wellpad Risks From Intense, Up-slope Storms And Resulting Floodwaters All major structures at the Ivey Wellpad should be placed at or above FEMA s 500-year floodplain to reduce the risks of damage (i.e. separators, combustors, crude oil storage tanks and contaminated water storage tanks). This is particularly important since over 1 million gallons of crude oil capacity is provided at the COGCC permitted Ivey Wellpad and this represents a serious environmental threat downstream (i.e. Big Dry Creek and the Platt River). Permitted Ivey Wellpad 26 Wells Total Old O&G Site Below The 100-year Floodplain Big Dry Creek Bank 200 Feet From Old Site 14

15 Quality of Life The Ivey Wellpad Industrial Facility Adjacent to Big Dry Creek Open Space Does Not Work For Urban Areas Open space with bike and walking pathway is a critical component of sustainable communities. 1,906 Homes will have visibility to the Ivey Wellpad. Property values will likely be reduced by 25%. Permitted 26 Well Ivey Site Permitted Ivey Wellpad Big Dry Creek Bike Paths York St. Exit Bridge From E470 Eastbound Ivey Wellpad Presentation ti 16FEB17 17 Mitigation Requirements Use a pipeline alternative to move produced petroleum liquids and gases to a rural area for processing. Eliminate both the massive oil pad look and production trucking. 15

16 Conclusion With Citizen s Support, Adams County Commissioners Need To Establish Mitigation Measures For The Ivey Site That Will Protect Critical Urban Area Health, Safety and Quality of Life Needs 1. Require the use of a pipeline for all production fluids and gases to off-site separators, combustors, and storage tanks to reduce the very high risks of asthma attacks during air inversions that frequently occur in the Big Dry Creek valley. 2. Require the exclusive use of only E470 during the drilling and fracking operations to reduce the very dangerous heavy truck safety concerns in close proximity to schools and urban areas. 3. Require a design floodplain level for a 500-year rainfall event to reduce the flooding and environmental risks from more intense, up-slope storms. 4. Require the use of a pipeline to an off-site production pad to eliminate the important quality of life concerns and the risks of real estate property value losses (estimated to be $190 million). 16