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BOCC endorses Thompson unitization request

John Colson
Post Independent Staff
Glenwood Springs, CO Colorado

Federal land managers should move ahead with a “unitization” request for natural gas leases in the Thompson Divide area, no matter what Colorado’s two U.S. senators have to say on the subject, say the Garfield Board of County Commissioners (BOCC).

The commissioners voted unanimously Monday to send a letter supporting the position of industry trade groups, and in opposition to an Oct. 13 letter from Sens. Michael Bennet and Mark Udall, both Democrats.

Bennet and Udall have asked the federal Bureau of Land Management to delay a decision on a “unitization” request by energy company SG Interests, which seeks to consolidate gas leases in the Thompson Divide area into the single Lake Ridge unit of roughly 32,000 acres in size.



The request is opposed by the Thompson Divide Coalition, which hopes to prevent further drilling over approximately 225,000 acres in the region southwest of Carbondale.

Udall and Bennet have asked that the unitization request be opened up to public involvement, while the industry believes it should remain an administrative decision made by officials in the BLM.


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