This was our second meeting in a series to address issues related to the oil and gas exploration frenzy that is coming to El Paso County. We brought together a lineup of presenters to help you make better decisions that could impact your ground water and your pocket book.

Michelle Smith, Director for The National Association of Royalty Owners (NARO), is also a landman for Quiat Companies. Primarily addressing Mineral Rights Owners, she hared extensive information about what to look for in a lease and what to try to negotiate out.

Richard Hirsch, Hirsch Gibney Environmental Consulting, provided excellent information on why and how to do a baseline water test especially when the prospect of oil and gas drilling is on the horizon.

Michael Leonard, Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC), directed us to there website for addtional information about the COGCC's role in oil and gas drilling.

Edward McCord, Attorney specializing in Oil & Gas, was candid about some of the pitfalls that property owners can fall into from a lease perspective and the difficulties for those with only surface rights and the need to negotiate agreements with the mineral rights owners and operators.

I want to thank each of these presenters for their time and excellent information. We plan our next meeting to target primarily ground water issues and risks identification and mitigation. The schedule for that will follow a joint meeting hosted by Representative Marsha Looper and BOCC Chairman Amy Lathen.

Pleae sign up to receive an email notification when that meeting is finalized.

We want to thank Dr. Bob Raynolds for his presentation on the Denver Basin and the impacts of Oil and Gas Drilling.

These slides represent how the number of oil and gas wells have increased in the last 40 years in Weld County north of Denver. Is that the future for El Paso County?

1960	1980	2000
Click on each photo to enlarge

Dr Raynolds and others explained how some of the decisions regarding drilling on your property could be taken out of your hands if the mineral rights have been severed. We stressed that you should take steps now to understand the status of your property.

This was found in the Title Policy of a resident on Curtis Road:

" Pursuant to Colorado Revised statutes Section 10-11-123 the Company hereby notifies the proposed buyer in the current transaction that there is recorded evidence that the mineral estate, or a portion thereof, has been severed, leased or otherwise conveyed from the surface estate. There is liklihood that a third party holds some of all interest in the oil, gas, other minerals, or geothermal energy in the subject property. Such mineral estate may include the right to enter and use the property without the surface owner's permission. "

You may find the following resources helpful:

• How To Verify Mineral Rights

• How To Know If You Own Your Mineral Rights

SENATE BILL 09-080 - CONCERNING LIMITED EXEMPTIONS FOR WATER COLLECTED FROM CERTAIN RESIDENTIAL ROOFTOPS

On April 22, 2009, Govenor Ritter signed SB09-080 which became effective July 1, 2009 and allows rainwater to be gathered from roofs under the following conditions:

• The property on which the collection takes place is residential property, and
• The landowner uses a well, or is legally entitled to a well, for the water supply, and
• The well is permitted for domestic uses according to Section 37-92-602, C.R.S.(generally this means the permit number will be five or six digits with no "-F" suffix at the end), and
• There is no water supply available in the area from a municipaliity or water district, and
• The rainwater is collected only from the roof, and
• The water is used only for those uses that are allowed by, and identified on, the well permit.

The application process from the Colorado Division of Water Resources can be found here or to find it on their site click here.

	Useful information:   Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's) regarding Rainwater Harvesting (click here) HarvestH2O.com   A helpful primer on how to set up a system can be found at Rainwater Harvesting Specialists, LLC.

News articles:

• It's Now Legal To Catch a Raindrop in Colorado - "Two new laws in Colorado will allow many people to collect rainwater legally. The laws are the latest crack in the rainwater edifice, as other states, driven by population growth, drought, or declining groundwater in their aquifers, have already opened the skies or begun actively encouraging people to collect." New York Times, June 29, 2009 (Click here for full story)

• Colorado Bill Legalizes Rainwater Harvesting - "Colorado just came closer to making rainwater harvesting a legal option for more its residents". Earth911.com, July 3, 2009 (Click here for full story)

Southern Denver Basin Bedrock Aquifer Monitoring Plan

One of the major findings from the 2003 Colorado Statewide Water Supply Iniative (SWSI) identified that an "increased reliance on nonrenewable, nontributary groundwater for permanent water supply brings serious reliability and sustainability concerns to some areas, particularly along the Front Range." There is little information available on the available water within the bedrock aquifers or the degree at which it is being depleted in rural areas. Protect Our Wells, with the assistance of Julia Murphy, Hydrogeologist, Groundwater Investigations, developed a Monitoring Plan for the Southern Denver Basin.

In 2006, the Colorado legislature established the Water Supply Reserve Account managed by the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB). This account was to provide funds for grants and loans to complete water activities to include water supply and environmental projects and/or studies.

To be considered by CWCB, the proposal first needed approval from one of the Basin Roundtables. El Paso County falls within the boundaries of the Arkansas Basin Roundtable (ABRT). POW presented the proposal to the ABRT on May 14, 2008, requesting $25K each from the ABRT and the Metro Roundtable, with the CWCB making up the difference of $175K.

Despite justification from Dick Wolfe, State Engineer,

"The proposed dedicated monitoring wells and additional 25 existing wells to be

selected for monitoring will provide additional geologic

and water level information needed to better define

and understand ground water conditions in this area."

Dick Wolfe, State Engineer, Director

The ABRT rejected to fund $25K and would not refer the project to the CWCB.

POW continues to seek funding sources for this project. In January 2011, the IRS approved our Tax Exempt Status under the IRS 501 (c) (3) code which will make donations to POW tax deductible. We will be applying for grants and solicitng donations.

Click here for project details.

See our August 2007 Newsletter for more information about the Arkansas Basin Roundtable.