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Texas oil company cited for improper drilling in Colorado that spewed waste

Bruce Finley
The Denver Post

A Texas oil company enmeshed in a decade-long dispute over leases to drill in western Colorado’s Thompson Divide area was hit with three federal “non-compliance” notices for improper drilling last week that led to a spill.

Bureau of Land Management officials ordered SG Interests to stop drilling and clean up spilled foam chemicals, wastewater and drill cuttings, BLM spokesman Steven Hall said in an email response to Denver Post queries.

“The unapproved drilling technique was intermittently discharging drill cuttings, water and foaming agent through a flaring stack,” Hall said.

SG Interests’ crew was drilling under a valid lease on land a few miles southwest of the Thompson Divide, tapping gas resources in the Bull Mountain area. But the company’s permit required capture of all waste in a tank, Hall said. Less than 2,100 gallons of waste spilled, none of it spreading beyond the immediate drilling area, located 10 miles west of McClure Pass, he said. BLM land managers ordered an immediate cleanup, then issued the non-compliance notices for failure to follow the approved drilling plan.

Full story on The Denver Post.


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